Accoring to Simple Flying:

No, it is not April 1st!

"A new all-A350 airline is coming, and its name is PRAGUSA.ONE. The ambitious carrier will be based out of Prague and Dubrovnik, and will fly around the world with AIrbus A350-900s. Most excitingly, the airline plans to outfit its widebodies with an all-premium economy arrangement, offering a new take on affordable long-haul comfort."

4 new aircraft to be delivered in 2024, but starting this year with leased A350s and A330s.

https://simpleflying.com/coming-soon-an ... p-airline/

How much will the fares be? I'm interested

davidjohnson6 wrote:

I *really* hope they have very deep and broad codeshare agreements from the very start with either both or Smartwings / CSA and Croatia Airlines, or alternately a wide range of carriers in other countries

Why? Looks like they are after the premium leisure market.

Livery looks like someone let their child use MS Paint for the first time.

Why wait for four years to buy new when there are plenty of NTU A359’s of the 280T variant stored. It certainly would be more cost efficient and not have to swap the fleet in 3 years time.

A320B737NGCapt wrote:

Why wait for four years to buy new when there are plenty of NTU A359’s of the 280T variant stored. It certainly would be more cost efficient and not have to swap the fleet in 3 years time.

Or used A330s. I can't imagine how they can use 359 range and size profitably out of those markets.

How many of these ambitious schemes have we witnessed? How many have actually happened?

Highly doubt this will take off, but I could see it being potentially viable if it alternates between bringing pax to Prague/Dubrovnik from the cities on their route map in summer and then Europe to higher-end warm weather destinations in winter (thinking places like MIA/BGI/MLE/etc).

Would need to be
1) An A330 or other type that's a bit cheaper to acquire so they can sit out shoulder seasons
2) A mix of premium economy and lie-flat business as any market high-end enough that it can handle an all Prem-Eco plane can likely do the same with some J up front

MIflyer12 wrote:

A320B737NGCapt wrote:

Why wait for four years to buy new when there are plenty of NTU A359’s of the 280T variant stored. It certainly would be more cost efficient and not have to swap the fleet in 3 years time.

Or used A330s. I can't imagine how they can use 359 range and size profitably out of those markets.

I think the aircraft choice is one of the least suspect thing about their business plan and how it will be profitable.

I think there may be a market for this type of service, although not sure how long it will take to develop it. Prague could be a "reasonable" hub, if they can develop spokes from there, or if they can do something jointly with CSA/Smartwings. PE has demand on long haul flights these days, and is usually sold out on the majors (I think, partially because most airlines only have 24-30 seats in PE. An A330 size airplane (either -200 or -300) probably makes more sense than an A350, but from a passenger standpoint, not much difference. Do they have the backing to afford the newer, more expensive type, and how do the economics stand up for their type of operation, as proposed?

Polot wrote:

MIflyer12 wrote:

A320B737NGCapt wrote:

Why wait for four years to buy new when there are plenty of NTU A359’s of the 280T variant stored. It certainly would be more cost efficient and not have to swap the fleet in 3 years time.

Or used A330s. I can't imagine how they can use 359 range and size profitably out of those markets.

I think the aircraft choice is one of the least suspect thing about their business plan and how it will be profitable.

Completely agree, used A330’s or 787’s in a 3 class configuration would be a better way to go. Giving more choice to the customer. I really can’t see a single class PE working in a aircraft the size of the A350 for a new airline. We’ve all see the failures of similar projects like this over the last few years.

This has to be a joke or a fraud. Is it even worth discussion? I mean how can you do transatlantic flying without even considering London, Dublin or Paris? Sometimes we need people to do a surprise me moment but this is definitely has phishy smell allover it.

Say this with your nose high in the air " Vell- I just need my passport purse and poodle and here vee go reever cruisink darlingk'
Yeah seems like anticipation of some stagnant overloaded travel wallets

Well Dubrovnik is a very nice place. I've been there a few times. Would I fly from LA to Dubrovnik just to vacation? Unlikely. Not unless I was Croatian, Montenegrin, Albanian or Bosnian. Basically, if I had family around there and it would make sense, instead of connecting via Frankfurt or some other European Hub. I honestly don't see this working out well. Who knows? Maybe they know something I don't.

digitalcloud wrote:

davidjohnson6 wrote:

I *really* hope they have very deep and broad codeshare agreements from the very start with either both or Smartwings / CSA and Croatia Airlines, or alternately a wide range of carriers in other countries

Livery looks like someone let their child use MS Paint for the first time.

I was thinking the same thing, well said. Doesn't make me think "premium"

davidjohnson6 wrote:

I *really* hope they have very deep and broad codeshare agreements from the very start with either both or Smartwings / CSA and Croatia Airlines, or alternately a wide range of carriers in other countries

And even deeper and broader pockets.

superjeff wrote:

PE has demand on long haul flights these days, and is usually sold out on the majors (I think, partially because most airlines only have 24-30 seats in PE.

And... there you have the key problem with this business plan. Yes, there is demand for premium economy transatlantic (at least, in non-pandemic times) but not ~200 seats' worth daily to PRG or DBV. You might be able to get that amount of demand to LHR/CDG/FRA/AMS but on a single flight that really only works from NYC.

Outside of peak season you're going to struggle to even fill a daily transatlantic A330 with regular economy to/from PRG or DBV. The demand just isn't there because it gets cold and dreary for several months of the year.

Where on earth to they plan on flying to? JFK seems the only somewhat logical starting route from DBV. JFK/YYZ/IAD/BOS could probably work from PRG to start. I just don't see there being many more options for all-PE A350s from PRG/DBV outside of those places. Maybe MIA/YUL/ORD/LAX but those may be a stretch.

Flying to Dubrovnik may well be aimed at cruise passengers. Which would make these flights more or less charter flights. At the least they need contracts with cruise companies to come close to a viable plan.

N292UX wrote:

Where on earth to they plan on flying to? JFK seems the only somewhat logical starting route from DBV. JFK/YYZ/IAD/BOS could probably work from PRG to start. I just don't see there being many more options for all-PE A350s from PRG/DBV outside of those places. Maybe MIA/YUL/ORD/LAX but those may be a stretch.

You gotta realize too that the market to PRG and DBV are very seasonal esp when its VFR and tourist traffic to YYZ/YUL, unsure about the US destinations but I'd believe it'd be the same. What are the planes gonna do the rest of the year? Maybe charters to places like Thailand or Vietnam for the local market?

crosscheckyyz wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Where on earth to they plan on flying to? JFK seems the only somewhat logical starting route from DBV. JFK/YYZ/IAD/BOS could probably work from PRG to start. I just don't see there being many more options for all-PE A350s from PRG/DBV outside of those places. Maybe MIA/YUL/ORD/LAX but those may be a stretch.

You gotta realize too that the market to PRG and DBV are very seasonal esp when its VFR and tourist traffic to YYZ/YUL, unsure about the US destinations but I'd believe it'd be the same. What are the planes gonna do the rest of the year? Maybe charters to places like Thailand or Vietnam for the local market?

Charters to places like Phuket and maybe the Maldives in the winter seems logical

Why not A380s? They are cheap at the moment.

Unless these aircraft are going to be operated on someone else's AOC they're going to have a couple of years of inefficient routing until the airline is ETOPS-cleared. Why not start with some A346s, plenty sitting around and the fuel-burn difference could be balanced by direct routing.

The news is extremely vague. They may be based in Prague or Dubrovnik in the same way that HiFly is based in Malta but that doesn't necessarily mean that they would be flying any passenger routes in and out of those cities. Could there be some demand for higher end passenger charter service? Possibly.

airbazar wrote:

The news is extremely vague. They may be based in Prague or Dubrovnik in the same way that HiFly is based in Malta but that doesn't necessarily mean that they would be flying any passenger routes in and out of those cities. Could there be some demand for higher end passenger charter service? Possibly.

It’s not vague at all. They have a website with a proposed route map: https://www.pragusa.one/

This sounds like a disaster

A320B737NGCapt wrote:

Polot wrote:

MIflyer12 wrote:

Or used A330s. I can't imagine how they can use 359 range and size profitably out of those markets.

I think the aircraft choice is one of the least suspect thing about their business plan and how it will be profitable.

Completely agree, used A330’s or 787’s in a 3 class configuration would be a better way to go. Giving more choice to the customer. I really can’t see a single class PE working in a aircraft the size of the A350 for a new airline. We’ve all see the failures of similar projects like this over the last few years.

Don't know if it was there before, but their website now states "A330 & A350 Fleet." Plenty of nice used A332 out there. I don't see this business model filling an A333 entirely with PE. The A350 has the double problem of not being easily fillable with all PE in these markets and having more range than they'll ever need. If these people are new to the airline business, they may not realize that airport charges are based on MTOW, and there's no sense in hauling around more than you need.

Sokes wrote:

Why not A380s? They are cheap at the moment.

They may be cheap to acquire, but not to operate. Considering that major airlines aren't even finding them profitable, a startup leisure/charter operator would strain to make them work. You may point to Hi Fly as a counterexample, but they get enough external business to sustain it (at least pre-COVID, since their A380 is now gone).

ELBOB wrote:

Unless these aircraft are going to be operated on someone else's AOC they're going to have a couple of years of inefficient routing until the airline is ETOPS-cleared. Why not start with some A346s, plenty sitting around and the fuel-burn difference could be balanced by direct routing.

The 46 would also be a bit large for this operation. The A343 would make more sense. But if this somehow becomes viable in the long term, it might not be worth the investment to acquire 4 holers that would only be needed for a few years. That would be an important cost-benefit analysis: does the cost of operating non-ETOPS with twins for a few years outweigh the cost of getting quads? This would also create a mixed fleet situation if they have A340s while working towards ETOPS certification on A330s or A350s.

Looking at their route map, I can see PRG-JFK conflicting with AA's PRG-PHL service if and when that resumes again, not to mention that they'll have to find JFK slots.

N965UW wrote:

A320B737NGCapt wrote:

Polot wrote:

I think the aircraft choice is one of the least suspect thing about their business plan and how it will be profitable.

Completely agree, used A330’s or 787’s in a 3 class configuration would be a better way to go. Giving more choice to the customer. I really can’t see a single class PE working in a aircraft the size of the A350 for a new airline. We’ve all see the failures of similar projects like this over the last few years.

Don't know if it was there before, but their website now states "A330 & A350 Fleet." Plenty of nice used A332 out there. I don't see this business model filling an A333 entirely with PE. The A350 has the double problem of not being easily fillable with all PE in these markets and having more range than they'll ever need. If these people are new to the airline business, they may not realize that airport charges are based on MTOW, and there's no sense in hauling around more than you need.

Sokes wrote:

Why not A380s? They are cheap at the moment.

They may be cheap to acquire, but not to operate. Considering that major airlines aren't even finding them profitable, a startup leisure/charter operator would strain to make them work. You may point to Hi Fly as a counterexample, but they get enough external business to sustain it (at least pre-COVID, since their A380 is now gone).

ELBOB wrote:

Unless these aircraft are going to be operated on someone else's AOC they're going to have a couple of years of inefficient routing until the airline is ETOPS-cleared. Why not start with some A346s, plenty sitting around and the fuel-burn difference could be balanced by direct routing.

The 46 would also be a bit large for this operation. The A343 would make more sense. But if this somehow becomes viable in the long term, it might not be worth the investment to acquire 4 holers that would only be needed for a few years. That would be an important cost-benefit analysis: does the cost of operating non-ETOPS with twins for a few years outweigh the cost of getting quads? This would also create a mixed fleet situation if they have A340s while working towards ETOPS certification on A330s or A350s.

Looking at their route map, I can see PRG-JFK conflicting with AA's PRG-PHL service if and when that resumes again, not to mention that they'll have to find JFK slots.

As of right now they plan to serve EWR not JFK.

Polot wrote:

airbazar wrote:

The news is extremely vague. They may be based in Prague or Dubrovnik in the same way that HiFly is based in Malta but that doesn't necessarily mean that they would be flying any passenger routes in and out of those cities. Could there be some demand for higher end passenger charter service? Possibly.

It’s not vague at all. They have a website with a proposed route map: https://www.pragusa.one/

Which might be completely misleading. Pretty much all it says on that website is: "Tailored travel products and airline for the globetrotters!"
If that's not vague I don't know what is.

airbazar wrote:

Polot wrote:

airbazar wrote:

The news is extremely vague. They may be based in Prague or Dubrovnik in the same way that HiFly is based in Malta but that doesn't necessarily mean that they would be flying any passenger routes in and out of those cities. Could there be some demand for higher end passenger charter service? Possibly.

It’s not vague at all. They have a website with a proposed route map: https://www.pragusa.one/

Which might be completely misleading. Pretty much all it says on that website is: "Tailored travel products and airline for the globetrotters!"
If that's not vague I don't know what is.

Not sure what would be the point of issuing a misleading route map. It’s not like they even have planes at the moment to attract charter clientele.

ScottB wrote:

superjeff wrote:

PE has demand on long haul flights these days, and is usually sold out on the majors (I think, partially because most airlines only have 24-30 seats in PE.

And... there you have the key problem with this business plan. Yes, there is demand for premium economy transatlantic (at least, in non-pandemic times) but not ~200 seats' worth daily to PRG or DBV. You might be able to get that amount of demand to LHR/CDG/FRA/AMS but on a single flight that really only works from NYC.

Outside of peak season you're going to struggle to even fill a daily transatlantic A330 with regular economy to/from PRG or DBV. The demand just isn't there because it gets cold and dreary for several months of the year.

Another problem (and it's not a short list) is that people paying for PE (Americans, anyway) will want schedule flexibility. 1x a week isn't going to work. I don't see how they could conceivably fill all-PE to PRG or DBV from any American city other than NYC, and not even that 3x weekly outside of a ~15 week season.

N965UW wrote:

Sokes wrote:

Why not A380s? They are cheap at the moment.

They may be cheap to acquire, but not to operate. Considering that major airlines aren't even finding them profitable, a startup leisure/charter operator would strain to make them work. You may point to Hi Fly as a counterexample, but they get enough external business to sustain it (at least pre-COVID, since their A380 is now gone).

I should have put a smiley.
I thought A350 from Dubrovnik is quite ambitious. Therefore the joke.

crosscheckyyz wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Where on earth to they plan on flying to? JFK seems the only somewhat logical starting route from DBV. JFK/YYZ/IAD/BOS could probably work from PRG to start. I just don't see there being many more options for all-PE A350s from PRG/DBV outside of those places. Maybe MIA/YUL/ORD/LAX but those may be a stretch.

You gotta realize too that the market to PRG and DBV are very seasonal esp when its VFR and tourist traffic to YYZ/YUL, unsure about the US destinations but I'd believe it'd be the same. What are the planes gonna do the rest of the year? Maybe charters to places like Thailand or Vietnam for the local market?

Hajj charters.

crosscheckyyz wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Where on earth to they plan on flying to? JFK seems the only somewhat logical starting route from DBV. JFK/YYZ/IAD/BOS could probably work from PRG to start. I just don't see there being many more options for all-PE A350s from PRG/DBV outside of those places. Maybe MIA/YUL/ORD/LAX but those may be a stretch.

You gotta realize too that the market to PRG and DBV are very seasonal esp when its VFR and tourist traffic to YYZ/YUL, unsure about the US destinations but I'd believe it'd be the same. What are the planes gonna do the rest of the year? Maybe charters to places like Thailand or Vietnam for the local market?

TUI/Neos used to operate non-stop 787 service to the Island of Phú Quốc (PQC). As the Vietnamese government is encouraging direct connection between the island and EU to make it a worthy opponent to Phuket, I think that this would be a potential destination for Pragusa1

It looks like 1x weekly service for each of the destinations, so could work if they get groups booked for a good part of the cabin, and fill the rest with O/D or in partnership with a local airline (OK/SmartWings from PRG?).

The livery looks ugly, to be honest, but that's the smallest problem they face right now.

ScottB wrote:

And... there you have the key problem with this business plan. Yes, there is demand for premium economy transatlantic (at least, in non-pandemic times) but not ~200 seats' worth daily to PRG or DBV. You might be able to get that amount of demand to LHR/CDG/FRA/AMS but on a single flight that really only works from NYC.

Outside of peak season you're going to struggle to even fill a daily transatlantic A330 with regular economy to/from PRG or DBV. The demand just isn't there because it gets cold and dreary for several months of the year.

To the first part, no, pre covid any airport in the US with widebody service can push 200+ pax a day in W on a single flight to LHR/CDG etc


Second part, totally agree, though, Prague was starting to get on the radar over here, we were actually supposed to go last year.

Still sounds rather suspicious but the founder suggests bookings could start in late-April with flights commencing after travel restrictions are eased. Interview with Budinski: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1612903/8226162

I do not know how to feel - while it would be fantastic to have better long-haul service to and from PRG especially, I am worried this will fail without codeshare agreements and/or larger airline backing. Yet, Prague is an exciting place to visit and Czech could be casually heard in the national parks of California and cities of Asia before the pandemic.