Star Alliance member Croatia Airlines is adding an Airbus A320 to its fleet. The leased aircraft is 18 years old and has the registration 9A-CTO. This machine was previously used by TAP, Air Malta and Vueling, among others.

According to Croatia Airlines, the medium-haul jet is equipped with Sharlets and has 174 seats. First of all, the new addition should act as a backup machine. The term of the leasing contract is initially limited to two years, since the carrier wants to gradually renew the fleet with brand-new machines.

With regard to the contract design, the company confirmed that it is a so-called power-by-the-hour agreement. In concrete terms, this means that Croatia Airlines only has to pay per hour when the plane is actually in the air. The carrier describes this constellation as a cost-effective solution for a back-up machine.

The Croatia Airlines fleet has thus grown to 13 aircraft. It operates two Airbus A320s, five A319s and six de Havilland Dash 8-400s. The average age of the aircraft used by this carrier is around 17,3 years.