csa tu 104
Czech Airlines will cease operations on October 26th, and the industry will lose the fifth-oldest airline after 101 years of operation. Founded as CSA in 1923, the airline operated with early aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s, and post World War II, when Czechoslovakia was behind the Iron Curtain, it operated with primarily Russian aircraft for several decades. The company declared bankruptcy after the global pandemic, and after restructuring, the decision was made to divest its A319 and ATR fleet
The airline, which now flies a single A320, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Only KLM, Avianca, Qantas, and Aeroflot are older.
CSA was one of the first airlines to operate jet aircraft, flying the Tupolev Tu-104 on the Moscow-Prague route in 1957. Pan Am did not begin jet service with Boeing 707 jets until 1958.
The airline operated international routes using the Ilyushin IL-62M to New York, Montreal, and Havana.
As the Iron Curtain fell during the 1980s, the carrier selected western aircraft, operating Boeing 737-300s and later Airbus A319 and A320 models, along with ATR turboprops. The airline became one of the more successful legacy Eastern European carriers. However, as low-fare competition entered the market, CSA’s cost structure was too high, and the carrier had difficulty competing in local markets.
While the airline was affiliated with Smartwings, it could not adopt its low-cost structure nor effectively compete against carriers like Wizz Air, which operated the most fuel-efficient A321neo models in high-density configuration.
Unfortunately, the carrier did not survive the pandemic intact. After bankruptcy, it was restructured into a single aircraft, which is not viable for an airline. It has hung on to make its centennial plus one, but it is no longer economically feasible. We will miss one of the oldest names in the industry, who is a true industry pioneer.
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