The fifth-oldest airline in the world operated its last flight yesterday. At 21:23, an Airbus A320, registration OK-IOO, took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris, bound for Prague. The departure was delayed by more than an hour. The aircraft landed in Prague at 22:35, approximately 40 minutes behind schedule.

https://twitter.com/CzechAirlinesCZ/status/1850089746933928440

This actually happened "only" as announced by CSA back in May:

Czech Airlines (CSA) will change its business model starting with the winter flight schedule, effective October 27, 2024. As part of the holding structure, CSA will become the managing company with a majority stake in Smartwings. Smartwings and its subsidiaries in Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary will operate the flight operations for the entire group. The reason for the change in CSA's business model is to improve the efficiency of the group's operations by leveraging the synergies between Czech Airlines and Smartwings, with the aim of increasing productivity while maintaining the CSA and Smartwings brands.

For CSA customers, nothing will change. The CSA brand and flights to all current destinations will remain unchanged. Customers can continue to purchase tickets on the CSA and Smartwings websites, as well as through all existing distribution channels.

Given the size of the currently operated fleet, Smartwings (47 aircraft) will provide commercial air transport for the entire group within the holding. Two Airbus A320 aircraft will continue to operate in CSA colors, as will four new Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with the first two scheduled for delivery at the end of this year and the next two in the first half of 2025.

To increase efficiency, both companies will operate all flights under a single code (QS) from October 27, 2024, which will not affect the services provided to passengers.

"It is necessary to continuously optimize operating costs within the group, simplify processes, and diversify risks. These are steps that will have a positive impact on the group's operations. At the same time, we will offer our customers a consistent, clear, and understandable range of products and services on all flights," said Jiří Jurán, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Smartwings.

https://twitter.com/CzechAirlinesCZ/status/1790666674795921460

Czech Airlines was founded in 1923 as Czechoslovak Airlines. The airline is among the five oldest still-operating airlines in the world. In 2013, Korean Air invested in CSA due to financial difficulties, holding 44 percent of the shares. In February 2018, Smartwings became the majority shareholder. In March 2021, CSA entered insolvency proceedings due to high debts. New investors, including Smartwings owners Jiří Šimáně and Roman Vik, along with Chinese partners, took over. In February of this year, Smartwings airlines were fully returned to the control of Czech shareholders, with a nearly half stake purchased by the Czech company Prague City Air, owned by entrepreneurs Šimáně and Vik, from the Chinese company CITIC.

The director of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ÚCL), David Jágr, announced on Facebook a reminder of the end of one of the oldest airlines in the world: "Tomorrow, something that has existed for 101 years will come to an end. It was a company that meant something. One cannot interfere with the free decision-making of legal entities, but feelings can be expressed even during the upcoming national holiday. I don't often do this, but sometimes the flag must be lowered." Gnews - RoZ