Croatia Airlines counts 73 months of A220 delays as winter bites

Croatia Airlines has accumulated 73 months of delays on its Airbus A220 deliveries, and it says the slippage is now complicating everything from maintenance planning to network design as the carrier heads into its weakest season with a 64.7 million net loss for the first three quarters of 2026.

The figure, disclosed in the airline's latest report, represents the total delay across all A220 deliveries from the manufacturer. The carrier put it bluntly: "Deliveries of new Airbus A220 aircraft to Croatia Airlines have already been postponed several times by the manufacturer. At present, cumulative delays for Airbus A220 aircraft amount to 73 months."

And the consequences reach beyond the factory gate. "Such uncertainty significantly complicates operational planning and creates substantial cost exposure," the company said.

What does the delay actually cost the airline?

Croatia Airlines warns that deviations from the delivery timetable can shrink available capacity and force flight cancellations. The knock-on effects spread into maintenance planning, resource allocation and network optimisation — three functions that depend on knowing, months in advance, which aircraft will be on the ramp and which will be in the hangar.

The transition itself adds another layer of friction. The airline is managing three different aircraft types simultaneously during the changeover, which it says requires additional coordination and adjustments to operational procedures. For a carrier of Croatia Airlines' size, that means crews, spare parts pools and training schedules all stretched across a wider operational footprint than a single-type fleet would demand.

Layered on top are volatile fuel prices and limited ability to pass increased costs on to passengers — a familiar squeeze for a carrier serving a price-sensitive leisure market.

How close is the fleet transition to completion?

Closer than the warnings suggest. Two A220-300s arrived in October, bringing the airline to 13 aircraft received from its fifteen-strong order. A further A220-300 is expected before the end of the year, and the final aircraft is scheduled to arrive during the first quarter of 2027.

The new arrivals are gradually pushing out the old metal. Two Airbus A319s — registered 9A-CTG and 9A-CTH — went back to their owners last month, and neither aircraft is currently scheduled to operate any flights thereafter.

Why does winter sharpen the pressure?

The timing is the problem. Croatia Airlines also dropped two routes this summer and has struggled against harsh weather conditions, leaving it thinner going into the off-season than it might have planned.

The airline's own words frame the risk: "In the final quarter of 2026, characterised by the transition to the winter timetable and seasonally lower demand for air travel, these risks could place additional pressure on the company's operations."

Managing costs and adapting to changing market conditions remain the carrier's stated priorities. For an airline rooted in a summer holiday market — where demand naturally thins between October and April — the question is how much flying the winter schedule can sustainably carry while the fleet changeover is still unfinished.

The answer will start to take shape when the fourteenth A220 lands before year-end, with the final delivery in the first quarter of 2027 closing out a transition that Airbus's production delays have stretched far beyond the original timetable.