In 2017, Czech Airlines transported aboard its aircraft a total of 2.9 million passengers and 9,228 tons of cargo and mail.
A total of 2.68 million passengers travelled on Czech Airlines regular scheduled routes, which represents a year‑on‑year improvement of over 18%. Last year, the average load factor on Czech Airlines regular scheduled routes improved year-on-year by 6 percentage points, reaching 81.1%. Czech Airlines operated a fleet of 18 aircraft in 2017.
More than 220 thousand additional passengers were transported by Czech Airlines on flights for other air carriers to whom the company leased its aircraft on a short‑term basis.
“Favourable conditions prevailed in the aviation industry segment despite the last year’s significant rise in oil prices. Economics of nearly all EU countries continued to grow, together with demand for flights to Prague and that of Czechs travelling abroad. Czech Airlines was able to use the conditions to its advantage and improve all basic transport indicators year‑on‑year. We expanded our fleet by another ATR 72 aircraft, launched operations on two new routes, increased the number of operated flights by more than 6% year‑on‑year, the seat capacity by nearly 10% and the use of jet‑engine aircraft by almost 4%. Our average seat load factor also grew, by 5.7 percentage points, reaching 81.1%. Last year, we transported 18.3% more passengers year‑on‑year on our routes to/from Prague,” Jozef Sinčák, Chairman of the Czech Airlines Board of Directors, said.
Czech Airlines does not plan to launch new routes this year. One Airbus A319 will leave Czech Airlines’ fleet in May. Its capacity will be replaced via ACMI lease of an Airbus A321 in the 2018 summer season. “This year, we will pay even greater attention to the quality of provided services and focus on enhancements of the existing network and operated routes. We plan to increase the capacity on routes to selected destinations by the use of larger aircraft and launch additional frequencies on some routes,” Jozef Sinčák added.
After approvals of the transaction between Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., PRISKO a.s. and Travel Service, a.s., are granted by respective Offices for the Protection of Competition in several countries are granted, Travel Service, a.s., will become Czech Airlines majority shareholder.
Selected Czech Airlines Transport Indicators:
| 2016 | 2017 | Change 2017/2016 | |
| Transported Passengers, Sum Total | 2,707,760 | 2,900,590 | +7.12 % |
| Passengers Transported Aboard Czech Airlines Flights | 2,263,589 | 2,678,967 | +18.35 % |
| Passengers Transported for Other Carriers | 444,171 | 221,623 | -50.10 % |
| Transported Cargo (in Tons) | 8,813 | 9,228 | +4.71 % |
| Number of Flights | 30,890 | 32,849 | +6.34 % |
| Offered ASK in Thousands | 3,878,797 | 4,235,256 | +9.19 % |
| Seat Load Factor (SLF) | 75.40 % | 81.08 % | +5.7 p. b. |
Daniel Šabík
Czech Airlines Spokesperson
