End of an Era - Centurian Czech Airlines will lose its Brand to merge with Smart wings Group.

• After more than a century as an independent airline, Czech Airlines (ČSA) ceases operations and becomes fully part of the Smartwings Group.
• The last flight on October 26, 2024 marks the end of a traditional era in Czech aviation history and the abbreviation "OK" on Czech Airlines tickets will be replaced by "QS".
• The last own flight from Paris to Prague marks the end of an era for the once world-famous airline.

Czech Airlines, historically the country’s flagship carrier and a symbol of its aviation industry for over a century, will end its flying operations next month. The carrier will stop operating flights under its own brand name, marking the effective end of one of the world’s oldest airline companies.

As per a plan, with the introduction of the winter flight schedule on 27th October, all the Czech Airlines (CSA) flights will officially be operated by Smartwings, the parent group of the Czech national flag carrier.

According to the Czech transport website Zdopravy, ČSA flights will no longer carry flight numbers starting with the old Czech Airlines IATA airline code OK and will instead use the QS code of Smartwings from that point onwards.

Photo Courtesy : Akira Fukushima

The decision to discontinue operations results from a combination of external factors, that incldes economic crises, the rise of low-cost airlines, and the Covid-19 pandemic. 

According to Czech Television, the downfall of Czech Airlines can also be attributed to internal conflicts and inexperienced management, which led to poor financial decisions and ultimately, the sale of assets,

In recent years, the Czech airline company operated the two brands separately, with the majority of flights under the low-cost Smartwings brand, while a few services still retained the traditional branding and full-service model of ČSA.

As part of a restructuring process to streamline the brand and services, the parent company will henceforth be named Czech Airlines, while all flights will be operated under the Smartwings name.

•  With the final flight on 26 Oct. 2024, a long-standing chapter in Czech aviation history will come to an end, as the “OK” airline code on Czech Airlines tickets will be replaced by “QS.”
• After more than a hundred years as an independent carrier, Czech Airlines will stop selling tickets in just a few weeks and will exclusively operate under the Smartwings Group brand.
• On Saturday, 26 October, a Czech Airlines plane will land in Prague from Paris, the last independent flight of the airline.
• At the same time, Czech Airlines will end its membership in SkyTeam, the world’s second-largest airline alliance, reports Czech news channel ČT24.
• The change marks the complete transition of Czech Airlines into the Smartwings Group, which will take over the entire operation of the newly united Smartwings-CSA group at the end of October.

The History Of the Carrier 

For the Czech Airlines (CSA), the first regular flight took place on Oct. 29, 1923, when Československé státní aerolinie (Czechoslovak State Airlines) had been the official name.

On that day, Pilot Karel Brabenec took off with an Aero A-14 Brandenburg biplane, 760 grams of mail and a passenger on board, the historic event that marked the beginning of a long and proud tradition.

The Czech Airlines is the fifth oldest airline in the world that can be seen in operation till date, with only Aeroflot, KLM, Qantas, and Avianca being the other older carriers existing.

After the splitting of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak republic, the carrier adopted its current name, i.e. Czech Airlines (CSA).

The year 1989 marked a significant turning point for the airline, and in the following decade the airline played a pivotal role in connecting Czechoslovakia and Czechia with the West and rest of the world.

The company began leasing and purchasing Western aircraft around 1989, gradually phasing out all Soviet aircraft by 2000. Finally, in 2013, the Czech state managed to sell Czech Airlines to Korean Air.

After Korean Air acquired a minority stake in ČSA, the airline operated long-haul flights to Seoul using an Airbus A330 leased from the Korean company.

In 2017, Korean Air however sold its stake into Czech Airlines to the Travel Service Group, a local Czech transport company which in 2004 had already launched its own low-cost company called Smartwings.

Czech Airlines went bankrupt and fell into insolvency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and although it was successfully restructured, from that point on, the airline played second fiddle to Smartwings.

At present, the CSA operates only two scheduled routes from Prague Václav Havel Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport.

Carrier's fleet comprises two Airbus 320-214s (OK-IOO and OK-HEU), although one already operates for Smartwings, which will take over the rest of the existing fleet next month.

What's Next ?

Due to the suspension of flights under the CSA brand and OK flight numbers, Czech Airlines will effectively leave the SkyTeam alliance, of which the carrier has been a part since  year 2001.

With this development, Czech Airlines will also terminate its OK Plus frequent flyer programme by 26 October 2024, urging members to redeem their frequent flyer miles before this date.

However the existing flight bookings will not be affected, including those award flights booked with OK Plus miles.