SkyTeam has confirmed that CSA Czech Airlines will exit the global airline alliance later this year as the carrier undergoes changes to its business model.
The airline has been a member of the alliance since April 2001—less than a year after SkyTeam was founded by Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air—but its membership will come to an end in October.
“Due to changes in the group’s operating model, CSA Czech Airlines is ceasing operations in line with its current scheduled services. As a natural consequence, CSA Czech Airlines’ SkyTeam membership will be terminated, effective Oct. 26, 2024,” a SkyTeam spokesperson told Aviation Week. “SkyTeam and its members thank CSA Czech Airlines for more than 20 years of partnership and wish our CSA Czech Airlines friends and colleagues the very best for the future. Given Czech Airlines’ current limited schedule and network, there will be little overall impact to SkyTeam’s global customer offering.”
As previously reported, CSA’s owner Smartwings Group is restructuring, making CSA a holding company and majority shareholder while sister company Smartwings and its subsidiaries become the group’s sole operating entities.
CSA’s existing two routes—from Prague to Madrid and Paris—will therefore switch to Smartwings’ QS-coded flight numbers from Oct. 27. CSA’s OK Plus loyalty program will be “terminated in its current setup,” and utilization of miles for bonus tickets on CSA and SkyTeam alliance partners will not be possible beyond Oct. 26.
CSA, which can trace its roots back to 1923, is currently the Czech Republic’s 12th-largest carrier, with a 1.2% capacity share.
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