Shifts Underway At CSA Czech Airlines As Group Retires OK Code

CSA Czech Airlines will cease operations under its OK-coded flight numbers from late October as part of forthcoming changes to its business model.

The carrier’s existing two routes—from Prague to Madrid and Paris—will switch to sister company Smartwings’ QS-coded flight numbers from Oct. 27, the airline’s booking system shows.

CSA currently flies four times per week from Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport to Madrid Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Airport (MAD) using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, as well as serving Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport twice a day onboard Airbus A320s. The MAD route will switch to A320s from December.

The move comes as owner Smartwings Group plans to undergo certain governance changes, with CSA becoming a holding company and a majority shareholder of Smartwings. However, Czech-based Smartwings and its subsidiaries in Slovakia, Poland and Hungary will become the sole operating companies for the group.

“The reason for the change … is to make the group’s operation more efficient using the synergistic effects of Czech Airlines and Smartwings with the aim of increasing productivity while maintaining the CSA and Smartwings brands,” a statement from the group said in May when the proposals were first announced.

All flights will therefore be operated by Smartwings’ fleet of aircraft, although two A320s will fly in the colors of CSA. Additionally, the group says that four new A220-300s will also be branded as CSA, with the first two deliveries expected before the end of the year, followed by two more in early 2025.

However, CSA’s OK Plus loyalty program will be “terminated in its current setup,” and utilization of miles for bonus tickets on CSA and SkyTeam alliance partners will not be possible beyond Oct. 26. 

Aviation Week has approached SkyTeam for comment regarding these changes, as well as reports that CSA will exit the alliance.

SmartWings is currently the largest operator in the Czech market during August 2024, with a 39.7% capacity share of all departure seats, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

Ryanair is the second largest with 13.8%, followed by Wizz Air on 5.1%, Eurowings on 4.2% and easyJet on 3.8%. Flag-carrier CSA, which can trace its roots back to 1923, is only the 12th-largest with a 1.2% share.

Aviation Week Fleet Discovery shows that Smartwings has a fleet of 39 aircraft at present, while its Polish subsidiary has two and its Hungarian and Slovakian businesses each have one. CSA also has one aircraft in service.

Overall, there are almost 1.2 million departure seats from the Czech Republic in August 2024, marking a year-on-year rise of 44% and up by 3% on pre-pandemic levels. SmartWings’ capacity this month is set to be 60% higher than 2019 levels, while CSA’s will be 92% lower following the group’s decision three years ago to shift more flights to the LCC.

Analysis of OAG data shows that Smartwings’ position as the largest airline and LCC in the Czech market is being challenged by Wizz Air, Eurowings and Ryanair, which have each expanded their operations in recent years. Capacity at the airlines is up by 544%, 264% and 31%, respectively, in August 2024, compared with August 2019.