Czech Airlines orders A220 and A321XLR aircraft, making New York–Prague flights possible
Czech Airlines, a member of SkyTeam along with Delta Air Lines, plans to modernize its fleet and potentially expand its route network. On Wednesday, the carrier announced that it had ordered four Airbus A220-300 aircraft and upsized its previous order of three A320neos to the bigger, longer-range A321XLRs.
The aircraft will join Czech's existing fleet of six A319s and one A330-300. Czech will feature 149 seats on the A220 in an all-economy configuration. The A321XLR, which will fly longer routes, will be outfitted in a two-cabin configuration with a total of 195 seats.
"The A220 and A321XLR fit well with our long-term business strategy in terms of network expansion", said Chairman of the Board Petr Kudela.
Czech will take delivery of the A321XLRs in 2023. With a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles, it could possibly bring back the carrier's Prague to New York nonstop. Czech previously operated the transatlantic route with one of its Airbus A310s before suspending the route in 2009. The PRG-JFK nonstop is 3,547 nautical miles, making the option well within the new jet's reach. Additionally, the XLR puts other U.S. cities and destinations in Africa and Asia within reach. (The airline's lone Airbus A330 would also have the range to serve the U.S., but is used to cover flights to Seoul, South Korea, plus occasional charters.)
We have reached out to Czech to see if the airline intends to relaunch its New York to Prague nonstop, though we did not receive a response by time of publication.
If the carrier does decide to relaunch the route, it would fit one of the latest trends in commercial aviation, as more airlines are turning to narrow-body aircraft for medium- to long-haul routes. It remains to be seen exactly which seats the carrier will opt for in the A321XLRs, but if it chooses a lie-flat configuration like JetBlue Mint, it could prove to be a very comfortable passenger experience. Delta's SkyMiles can be collected and spent on Czech, making a possible New York flight very interesting for Delta flyers.
Renderings courtesy of Airbus
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month