Kosovo Airways | Airbus A220-300 | Z6-NEW | 2018-present

Following its declaration of independence in early 2008, the disputed nation of Kosovo was looking to solidify its position as a sovereign state. The country's government decided to establish a national airline, appropriately to be named Kosovo Airways, in July 2008. However, launch was delayed to 2010, as the initial plan to launch flights with A320s was altered (due to the size of the Airbus being considered too large for the airline's needs) to a final Embraer fleet. Kosovo Airways was formally launched on November 25th, 2010, with 2 E190s in its fleet.

Following launch, Kosovo Airways appeared to be performing surpsisingly well, and broke even within 2 years. Its fleet had increased to 4 second-hand E190s by early 2014, but the airline was already looking for a next-generation aircraft to replace them. Although the airline originally planned to operate the Sukhoi Superjet 100, going as far as to place an order for 5 of the advanced Russian jet in early 2015, these plans fell through and the order was cancelled just prior to the delivery of the first jet in mid-2016. At the Farnborough Airshow in 2016, the airline, facing increasing demand, placed an order for 6 Bombardier CS300s, to be delivered from 2018. At the same time it announced the ackquisition of two used E195s to cater for increasing demand.

The first CS300 was delivered to Kosovo Airways on February 17th, 2018, on the 10th anniversary of Kosovo's independence. The aircraft was painted in a special livery to celebrate the event. Announced during the delivery ceremony was the firming up of 3 options to the order the airline held, of the smaller CS100 aircraft. At the same time, the airline announced a change in its brand image, to coincide with the delivery of the new aircraft, while also adopting a more professional livery that would match the quality the small airline strived to offer. Indeed, despite its small size, Kosovo Airways has managed to build a name for itself, centered around its high-quality service, excellent in-flight products and generous baggage policy.

Kosovo Airways has been expanding at a significant rate. The airline has now completed the retirement of its E190 fleet, upsizing to the A220 and ordering an additional couple of A220-100s, while it recently launched its first services outside the continent of Europe, to Dubai, in September 2019. The former CSeries, now named A220, has allowed the airline to offer relatively economical prices while maintaining a high service quality and still turning a profit. This is helped by the fact that low-cost carriers have yet to make a significant entry into the Kosovo market.

Kosovo Airways' A220-300s are configured with 8 Business Class recliner seats at a 40'' pitch in a 2-2 configuration (a rarity in Europe), and 123 Economy Class seats in a generous 32'' pitch in the standard 2-3 configuration. The A220s are named after major capitals of the world, in this case, London. Z6-NEW was the second A220 delivered to the airline (and the last to be delivered under the CSeries branding), in June 2018. The aircraft was used to inaugurate flights to Geneva in 2019.

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