During the main summer season, Czech Airlines is planning to commence regular service to destinations such as Lvov, Donetsk and Kharkov in Ukraine, Baku in Azerbaijan, and Bordeaux in France. Other connections, such as from Prague to Kazan in Russia, or from Karlovy Vary to Baku, will be added to the CSA offer through planned code-share cooperation with partner airlines. “The airline will announce the details of the new routes before the summer holidays, with a view to the aero-political situation in the Near and Middle East,” said Jiří Marek, CSA Vice President for Sales and Marketing, in commenting on the planned changes. The airline is also exploring the possibility of opening up regular air service to the Middle East and Central Asia in the future. In this context, it is analysing the possibility of flying to Riyadh, Teheran and Ashkhabad in Turkmenistan, as well as to Bagdad and on several other routes. “CSA is weighing up each business case for operation to the Middle East with a view to the synergic effects that are to be achieved by the accession of new members from the area to the SkyTeam alliance. Our interest in that region documents our effort to take heed of all promising leads, but by no means implies that a final decision has been reached,” adds Jiří Marek. On the other hand, some number of return flights per week and seat capacity will be decreased, for example, on flights to Oslo, Cairo and Damascus.
