Croatia Airlines Takes Delivery of the First of Three New Airbus A220-300s on Lease From Azorra
- Joe Breitfeller
- 41 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Azorra has today announced the delivery of the first of three leased Airbus A220-300s to Croatia Airlines, the national airline of the Republic of Croatia. The carrier plans on replacing their existing fleet with 12 A220s by 2027.
On Monday (May 12, 2025), aircraft lessor Azorra announced the delivery of the first of three new Airbus A220-300s on lease to Croatia Airlines. The aircraft was delivered from Azorra’s firm orderbook with Airbus, and will perform its ferry flight to Croatia today after departing Airbus’ Mirabel, Canada facility. This delivery supports Croatia Airlines as they plan on replacing their existing fleet with 15 Airbus A220s by 2027. The clean sheet designed Airbus A220 was purposely built for efficiency and performance in the 100-160 seat market, and offers the widest Economy seats in its class, large windows, and a 50 percent reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft.
In Monday’s announcement, Azorra’s Founder and CEO, John Evans, said,
“We are thrilled to deliver the first of three new Airbus A220-300s to our friends at Croatia Airlines, an achievement made possible by our strong collaboration with Airbus. This delivery marks the beginning of an exciting new relationship for Azorra, as we work with the airline to enhance operational efficiency and elevate the passenger experience for their customers. We’re proud to support Croatia Airlines’ fleet renewal strategy and are committed to deepening our partnership as they transition to a modern, single-fleet type.”
Croatia Airlines’ President and CEO, Jasmin Bajić, added,
“We are delighted to welcome our third new Airbus A220 aircraft, which will bear the name of the heroic Croatian city of Vukovar. We are pleased that today marks another step forward in the biggest project in our company’s history – the renewal of our entire fleet by 2027 – which began last year with the introduction of the first two Airbus A220 aircraft.
“The arrival of each new aircraft – and we are expecting a total of five this year – enables us to expand our network of destinations, and optimise the flight timetable. We are especially pleased that this season we have introduced five new international routes, further contributing to the development of Croatia’s tourism and the national economy as a whole. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners at Azorra, the lessor of the Vukovar aircraft, and the manufacturer Airbus for their excellent collaboration. I believe we share in the collective satisfaction of today’s milestone.”
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Azorra is a relationship driven aircraft lessor that provides leasing, financing, fleet transition and asset management solutions to investors, financiers and airline operators worldwide. Azorra currently owns and manages a fleet of over 100 aircraft, and has relationships with 38 operators in 31 countries. The company currently has commitments to acquire over 160 Airbus A220-100/300s and Embraer E190/E195-E2 jets. Azorra also has offices in Dublin, Ireland.
Founded on August 7, 1989, as Zagreb Airlines (Zagal), the carrier began passenger revenue service in December of the same year. On July 23, 1990, Zagal changed its name to Croatia Airlines, with the new carrier operating their first commercial flight from Zagreb to Split on May 5, 1991. On April 5, 1992, Croatia Airlines operated their first international flight, also with service between Zagreb and Frankfurt. The carrier is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as well as Star Alliance. Croatia Airlines’ fleet currently includes four Airbus A319s, two Airbus A320s, three Airbus A220s and four Q400s.
Source: Azorra
