Croatia's state-owned flag carrier, Croatia Airlines, said on Monday they signed a contract with the American company Air Lease Corporation, for a long-term lease of six new Airbus A220 aircraft.

According to Air Lease Corporation, the deal includes four A220-300s and two A220-100s, and the aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Croatia Airlines will be their first operator.

Croatia Airlines said this agreement is part of their new post-pandemic development strategy, which will see a total of 12 aircraft leased. The state-owned company announced plans to replace its entire existing fleet until 2026, in a bid to switch to a single-type system. Croatia Airlines currently operates five Airbus A319-100, two Airbus A320-200, and six smaller De Havilland Canada Dash 8-Q400 turboprops.

Through its main hub at Zagreb Airport, Croatia Airlines serves dozens of major cities around Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, London, Paris, and Zurich.