Ryanair began preparing to launch its standalone charter branch in Poland in spring 2017. Ryanair Sun commenced operations in summer 2018 with five Boeing 737-800 aircraft. In autumn 2019, rebranding took place, and the carrier adopted the name Buzz. Today, its fleet consists of 73 aircraft: 1x B737-700, 59x B737-800, and 13x B737-8200. The latter, with a capacity for 197 passengers and based on the 737 MAX 8 type, saw Ryanair distancing them from the MAX name several years ago. Until recently, these aircraft were exclusively used on regular flights by the parent company. Charter flights were served only by Boeing 737NG aircraft.
This unwritten rule ceased to apply on Wednesday, May 15th. On that day, Buzz deployed its first delivered Boeing 737-8200, registered as SP-RZA (serial number 62314, manufactured in 2021), on the rotation of charter flights from Poznan to Antalya, Bydhost, Antalya and back to Poznan.
Buzz flies clients of travel agenc...
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On May 15, 2004, at 5:45 PM, an Airbus A330-200 registered HL7538 landed at Prague Airport from Seoul, marking the opening of regular connections between the capital cities of the Czech Republic and South Korea under the wings of Korean Air. The route celebrated its 20th year of operation this Wednesday. From 2013 to 2020, Czech Airlines also operated on the same route. During that time, they used an Airbus A330-300 leased from the Korean carrier. The pandemic permanently halted Czech Airlines' operations on the Prague – Seoul route, while Korean Air's operations were only temporarily suspended. Over 1.5 million passengers have utilized the route during its existence.
Currently, Korean Air operates Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the route. Dreamliners accommodate only 269 passengers in two travel classes, compared to the Boeing 777-300ERs that served the route in the previous flight schedule. Consequently, the number of available seats has decreased. This is a surprising change in aircraft...
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Another Boeing 737-800 for Smartwings arrived in Ostrava at 09:35 in the morning. The delivery flight from Bratislava took place on Wednesday morning. Its home base will be Mošnov Airport. Last summer, it was also leased to this Czech carrier, but its base was in Brno. The aircraft, registered as OM-GTF (manufacturing number 28070, manufactured in 1998), is operated by the Slovak carrier Go2Sky. The Smartwings group's fleet now comprises 46 aircraft, including leased ones: 3 Airbus A320s, 2 B737-700s, 29 B737-800s, 2 B737-900ERs, and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Cessna aircraft from the sister carrier UGJet are not included in this count.
Earlier this week, summer assistance from Africa arrived at the Brno base. Smartwings initiated collaboration with the South African carrier Lift, leasing an Airbus A320. The aircraft, registered as ZS-GAC (manufacturing number 2496, manufactured in 2005), arrived in Tuřan from Johannesburg on Tuesday, May 14. The delivery flight, TVS106...
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- 2024-05-13 06:46
- Changes in routes
The Airport Express (AE) bus line connecting Prague Airport and the Main Train Station will run twice as often. And now, it will also operate all night.
Starting from May 10th, the interval of the AE buses from the Main Train Station to the Airport will be shortened from 30 to 15 minutes. Additionally, the service will now operate continuously – with a 60-minute interval during the night.
Night services will also stop at Náměstà Republiky (in the direction of the airport for boarding only, and in the opposite direction for alighting only). The basic fare for a single ride is 100 CZK.
Prague Airport still lacks direct train connections. The only Czech airport from which passengers can depart by train is in Ostrava – Mošnov. Prague Airport anticipates welcoming the first train in 2030, operating from Masaryk Station as well as the main train station.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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Last summer, the Czech carrier Smartwings established a seasonal base in Porto, Portugal. From the coastal city, it operates charter flights primarily to Tunisia and the Cape Verde Islands. Czech aircraft also transport passengers to the Cape Verde Islands from Lisbon. EasyJet is also gearing up to expand into this market with its regular flights.
easyJet will be the first European low-cost carrier to start serving the Cape Verde Islands. Starting from the winter schedule of 2024/25, it will open the following routes: Lisbon – Sal, Porto – Sal.
easyJet's entry into the market could influence air ticket prices between the European mainland and the Cape Verde Islands.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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- 2024-05-08 08:05
- Changes in routes
According to novinky.cz, Uzbekistan Airways will connect Tashkent with Karlovy Vary starting Thursday, May 23rd. These will be charter flights operating until October. Due to the length of the runway in Karlovy Vary, the aircraft's capacity will only be partially filled. Uzbek carrier's charter flights last landed in Olšová Vrata in the summer of 2019.
This season, charter flights from Karlovy Vary International Airport will be heading to eight destinations. After the winter break, Smartwings charters return to Antalya, Heraklion, and Varna. New additions include charter flights to Greek Rhodes (Smartwings), Tunisian Monastir (Smartwings), Bulgarian Burgas (Smartwings and Fly Lili), and Tel Aviv in Israel (Corendon Airlines).
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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In the afternoon of Thursday, April 25th, a Boeing 737-800 from the Lithuanian carrier KlasJet landed in Prague, becoming the first in a series of leased foreign aircraft that Smartwings plans to add to its fleet for the summer. The aircraft, registered as LY-LOC (manufacturing number 33980, manufactured in 2007), arrived empty from Palermo, where it previously operated for Wizz Air. It begins its service in Prague, where it was joined by a second Boeing 737-800 from the same carrier on Saturday, April 27th. The aircraft, registered as LY-TFS (manufacturing number 37741, manufactured in 2008), arrived empty from Sofia.
Both aircraft have been deployed for Smartwings flights from Prague since May 1st.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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On Friday, May 3, 2024, an Airbus A320-214 registered OK-IOO was entered into the aircraft registry of the Czech Civil Aviation Authority. This is the aircraft that Czech Airlines leased to the Canadian carrier Air Transat at the end of January.It served in the colors of the Canadian carrier from February 13 to April 28 and was used for flights to destinations in the Caribbean under the registration C-GEXI. Still with its Canadian registration, it returned according to Flightradar24 data as flight TSC80 on Tuesday, April 30, from Toronto via Keflavik to Prague.
The registry indicates that the operator of the Airbus is now Czech Airlines. The plane was adorned with temporary Air Transat colors in Canada, and it returned from the lease in white paintscheme with red engines. Its Monday take-off to Madrid is expected in CSA colors.
Czech Airlines currently operates two Airbus A320s (OK-HEU and OK-IOO). In the autumn of this year, they are set to take delivery of their...
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Smartwings has added job advertisements to the career section on its website. The airline is currently hiring first officers (with or without type rating) for both Airbus A320 and Airbus A220 aircraft.
Details from the individual job postings indicate that the Czech carrier will need more personnel starting from winter 2024. The start of the contract for A320 pilots with or without type rating is winter 2024/25. A220 pilots with type rating will also begin their contracts in the winter 2024/25 period, while pilots without type rating will start between August 2024 and March 2025.
Smartwings currently does not operate any Airbus aircraft. Airbus aircraft are operated by their sister company, Czech Airlines, specifically two Airbus A320s (OK-HEU and OK-IOO). The same carrier also has a firm order for Airbus A220 aircraft. The first ordered aircraft is scheduled to arrive this autumn.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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- 2024-04-28 08:11
- Changes in routes
At regional airports in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the first summer charters are beginning to land, marking the start of the summer season.
The first summer charter took off from Košice at 3:45 in the morning on Friday. Charter flight 8944 operated by the Maltese subsidiary of Ukrainian SkyUp Airlines headed to Hurghada in Egypt. The flight was served by an Airbus A320 registered LZ-FSD (manufactured in 2008, serial number 3461), leased from Bulgaria by Fly2Sky and subleased by SkyUp Airlines Malta. Košice will offer 17 destinations in 11 countries during the summer season of 2024. New destinations include Tirana in Albania, Izmir in Turkey, Zakynthos and Patras in Greece, Podgorica in Montenegro, and charters to Mallorca are returning after some time.
The summer season has also kicked off in Pardubice. The first charter departed for Hurghada on Thursday morning. Smartwings, the airline operating this charter, plans to establish a base with one Boeing 737 at...
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