LONDON – Croatian flag carrier, Croatia Airlines and Lufthansa’s maintenance arm, Lufthansa Technik, successfully worked along with each other for 30 years.
Lufthansa Technik is one of the world’s most advanced pioneers in aircraft maintenance. Its service includes aircraft and engine parts, and overhauls.
The two company joined forces 30 years ago and has evolved into a very good partnership. There were lots of knowledge transfers between the two companies, which consequently benefitted both firms in the realms of aircraft maintenance.
Lufthansa Technik’s role in the synergy comes in handy when they were contracted to perform maintenance on Croatia’s Airlines spare parts and engine overhaul.
Whist from the Croatian experts, from the Technical Sector of Croatia Airlines, has undergone more than 210 large technical inspections on Lufthansa’s fleet.
Jasmin Bajić, CEO and President of the Management Board of Croatia Airlines, highlighted the following: “Our collaboration with Lufthansa Technik, a world leader in the technical maintenance of aircraft, aircraft parts and engines, coincided with Croatia Airlines’ acquisition of its fleet, and with our first international flight on the Zagreb-Frankfurt route in the spring of 1992.”
“Over the past three decades, we have successfully collaborated and learned a lot, while taking care, at all times, of the safety of both our aircraft and our passengers.”
“This has always been our number one priority. Thanks to the knowledge we have acquired from Lufthansa Technik’s top-class experts, our Technical Sector has become a centre of excellence, where some of the most demanding technical work is performed on the aircraft of foreign carriers and our own fleet. And our Technical Sector is recognised as a reliable partner worldwide.”
On the German side, Kai Röpke, Vice President of Corporate Sales EUMEA at Lufthansa Technik AG, said: – The long-standing partnership between our companies is a prime example of successful international business and cooperation.”
“Our common understanding of high-quality work, our flexible reaction to unexpected events, and our passion for delivering the best service are key to creating business growth and sustainable success together.
In fact, the synergy dated back to 1992 when Croatia Airlines bought three Boeing 737-200 from Lufthansa.
At the time of the aircraft transaction, a Total Technical Support (TTS) was performed, meaning that Lufthansa will provide expertise on such aircraft that Croatia Airlines has bought them from.
The working relationship became stronger as Croatia Airlines expanded its fleet portfolio, ranging from Airbus aircraft to De Havilland Q400s.
Since then many TTS were signed and developed into a close working relationship witnessed today.
Back in 2000, Croatia Airlines’ first batch of inspectors marked the beginning of knowledge exchange and international collaboration of the Croatian flag carrier, when it dispatched its team to Shannon Aerospace.
In 2001, the airline became JAR145 certified, which is an important milestone for Croatia Airlines. JAR 145, (Joint Aviation Requirements), is meant by a certification, which upholds an organisation’s maintenance standards.
This gave access for the airline to venture into further cross-border collaboration, and importantly, to be able to independently undergo inspection of foreign aircraft at its base at the Technical Centre Zagreb’
