There will also be a significant bolstering of service on the domestic routes to Brno and Ostrava.  During the Winter Flight Schedule, i.e., from 26 October 2008 to 28 March 2009, Czech Airlines will offer scheduled service to 129 destinations in 44 countries.  In charter carriage, Czech Airlines will offer entirely new destinations such as Cancún in Mexico, Bangkok in Thailand, and the Punta Cana resort in the Dominican Republic.

Extension of the Network in Western Europe

In Western Europe, the Czech Airlines route network will be especially enhanced in Germany.  The added service is intended to improve services for the German business clientele, both within the German domestic route network and primarily to the eastern Czech Airlines network.  The number of services to the German cities of Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Hanover will be increased significantly.  More passengers will also be able to use the service to Frankfurt, on which Czech Airlines will deploy larger aircraft.

Czech Airlines will also offer more frequent service on flights to Scandinavia, namely to Norway’s capital, Oslo; Sweden’s Stockholm, and Denmark’s Copenhagen.  In the South European region, service will be intensified to Milan and Venice in Italy, and Madrid in Spain.

More Flights to the South-East

In the Balkan region, the Czech Airlines flight schedule will add one daily service to the Turkish business centre of Istanbul and one weekly service to Skopje, Macedonia.  These routes have been strengthened primarily on the basis of increased interest among business passengers.  Also service to Sofia, Bulgaria, and Athens, Greece, will be strengthened, as well as to Belgrade in Serbia, where our own flights will be expanded from three weekly to daily operation.  Also, passengers on the routes to Tel Aviv in Israel and Larnaca in Cyprus will have a choice of more flights.

Richer Offering of Domestic Flights

There will be significant changes on the Brno and Ostrava routes.  Whereas up to now, Czech Airlines has operated three daily flights to Brno, with the Winter Flight Schedule, another flight will be added.  Overall, it will offer 25 flights per week to Brno.  Even more significant is the increase in the number of flights on the Ostrava route, from the original four daily flights to six, which makes a total of 37 flights per week.  The increased operation on these routes will intensify the domestic network, significantly improving the services offered.  Czech Airlines’ presence in the Moravian region will increase significantly, with passengers being able to make better use of connecting international flights from Prague.

As of the end of October, the coach service between Prague and Brno will be fully replaced by air carriage.

New Destinations in 2008

Czech Airlines continues to operate flights to the new destinations to which they initiated scheduled service this summer.  One new flight will be added on the new route to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia.  All of the other routes introduced this spring will continue without a change – Strasbourg, Tbilisi, Damascus, and Almaty.  An exception is the service to Heraklion in Greece, which is operated as a seasonal service.

Extended Code Share Cooperation

In code-share cooperation with its partner organisations, Czech Airlines offers connections to 77 destinations.  Code-share flights afford passengers easier booking through a single contact centre, especially with several connecting flights with transfers.  The nature of code-share cooperation lies in the sharing of codes on flights operated by one contractual partner.  The practical advantage of this type of cooperation is the possibility of purchasing one ticket on a flight with several carriers.  Czech Airlines passengers can also obtain miles for their OK Plus Frequent Flyer Programme for code-share flights.

Of great significance for Czech Airlines is especially the code-share cooperation on long-haul flights that bring passengers to Prague, a great majority of whom use connecting Czech Airlines flights to get to other points in Europe.  These include, for example, the Prague – Atlanta route, in association with Delta Air Lines; the Prague – Seoul service with Korean Air; or the Prague – Paris – Mexico City service, in cooperation with Aero México.  Czech Airlines offers flights to the Taiwanese destination of Taipei, via Frankfurt, in code-share cooperation with China Airlines.  Newly, Czech Airlines shares the Prague – Amsterdam route in cooperation with the largest Chinese airline, China Southern.

Significantly Reinforced Weekly Czech Airlines Service During the 2008/2009 Winter Flight Schedule

(as compared to the 2007/2008 Winter Flight Schedule)[1] 

Brno – from 13 to 25

Ostrava – from 26 to 37

Hamburg – from 12 to 18

Stuttgart – from 13 to 19

Venice – from 7 to 12

Milan – from 7 to 11

Oslo – from 11 to 15 

Larnaca – from 4 to 8

Žilina – from 7 to 11

Istanbul – from 4 to 7

Belgrade – from 3 to 7

Copenhagen – from 13 to 16

Stockholm – from 12 to 14

Tel Aviv – from 7 to 9

Sofia – from 12 to 14

Skopje – from 5 to 6

Rostov-on-Don – from 1 to 2

Hanover – from 12 to 13

Athens – from 6 to 7

Madrid – from 19 to 20

Frankfurt – increased aircraft capacity

Reduction of Weekly Service on Czech Airlines Flights

Tallinn – from 14 to 7

Manchester – from 12 to 7

Zagreb – from 11 to 7

Riga – from 14 to 12

New York – from 7 to 5

Ljubljana – from 12 to 11

Zurich – from 13 to 12

Košice – from 26 to 25

Irregular Carriage

On charter flights, Czech Airlines will newly offer flights to Bangkok, Thailand; Cancún, Mexico; and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  Czech Airlines will continue to fly to traditional winter destinations such as Varadero in Cuba, or La Isla Margarita in Venezuela.  In Egypt, Czech Airlines charter flights will land at Hurgada, Sharm El Sheik, and Taba.  Traditionally, Czech Airlines also offers charter flights to the Canary Islands, to Las Palmas and Tenerife, and since last winter season also to El Salvador in the Pacific.

Czech Airlines offers tour operators flights to a number of exotic destinations without a touchdown.  The first winter charter flights to exotic destinations will take off in November.

Czech Airlines’ Services

During the Winter Flight Schedule, a complimentary wifi Internet connection will be available for passengers in both Czech Airlines Crystal Lounges at Prague Airport.  There will also be changes in in-flight catering, namely a change of the Business Class menu.

During the Winter Flight Schedule, Business Premium Class passengers can take advantage of complimentary taxi service to and from Prague Airport.  The vast majority of cars operating this service are high-quality Volkswagen Passats or Škoda Octavias.  Free carriage to the airport within the Prague cadastral district has been available to passengers since mid-September.

Furthermore, passengers can also choose from amongst other services, including one week of free parking at the Brno Airport, free wrapping of baggage in safety foil at Prague Ruzyně Airport, or faster check-in via the Internet.