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| Croatia Airlines eyes €30 million investment by strategic partner |
The CEO of Croatia Airlines, Krešimir Kučko, has said the carrier is in need of a partner in order to expand its operations and believes a thirty million euro investment would be appropriate for the airline. The comments were made days after it was confirmed that an external consultant, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), would source out potential partners for the carrier by the end of October. “The arrival of a strategic partner won’t generate much money for the state but will allow Croatia Airlines to develop at a quicker pace”, Mr. Kučko said at a press conference. He noted that over the past four years the airline has been obliged to cut capacity and limit its network as a result of its restructuring process, but has still managed to return to profitability. Despite this, the CEO says a strategic partner would be “absolutely welcome”.
According to the head of Croatia Airlines, a strategic partner does not necessarily have to be another carrier, but rather an investment fund which would inject fresh capital into the company. “We have now secured a clean start. We are not producing losses nor do we have any significant debt. We are operating with a profit”, Mr. Kučko said, noting that the airline competes against forty scheduled, as well as fifty charter and low cost airlines on its home market during the high season. The IFC, which finances and provides advice for private sector ventures and projects and is a member of the World Bank Group, has guaranteed it will find Croatia Airlines a partner within a year. The Corporation has a strong presence in the Middle East and China, where the government hopes to find a strategic partner for the carrier. The IFC is already active in Croatia and has invested nineteen million euros in Zagreb Airport’s new passenger terminal. Furthermore, the Finance Corporation has an 18% stake in the holding firm Zagreb Airport International Company (ZAIC), which runs Croatia’s busiest airport. It has also provided a loan of 35 million euros for the construction of the new terminal.
The CEO of Croatia Airlines has previously said the carrier will develop regardless of the outcome of its privatisation process. In 2016, the airline plans to lease two Embraer E190 aircraft and is considering opening bases outside of its home country, with Sarajevo being considered as a likely option. Furthermore, the carrier will put a greater emphasis on the Eastern European market next year. “At first, Eastern European countries within the European Union are our priority. At a later stage we intend to fly East outside of EU boundaries”, Mr. Kučko said. According to its CEO, the airline’s ultimate goal is to expand across the Atlantic. “We should not forget the significant demand for flights between North America and Croatia and we are keeping an eye on this market as well. But to achieve this goal we will first have to significantly develop our regional network”, Mr. Kučko noted. Croatia Airlines’ restructuring process, which has limited its opportunities for network growth over the past four years, will be completed at the end of 2015.
Gosh, this guy sure has changed his tune ... a few months ago, after Air Serbia arrived in Croatia, he said the eastbound markets were of no interest to Croatia Airlines - instead, preferring to concentrate on western europe ...
ReplyDeleteSo what happened ??? Why the change ??? Does he know what he is doing ??
+1. He was also saying how Croatia Airlines didn't need a partner, now this.
DeleteMa ovaj Kucko mlati praznu slamu ....
DeleteBas me zanima gde tacno bi ulozio te pare u leasing novih aviona ili gde ?
ReplyDeleteI mislim da od toga nema nista posto niko ne zeli da ulaze pare negde gde ima tako jaku konkurenciju u drzavi a i regionu .
A 2016 ce biti tesko izvodljiva za CTN da napravI neku ekspanziju u Juznoj Evropi posto ne znaju sta se sprema od strane konkurencije.
INN-NS
Vjerojatno misliš na ekspanziju JU koju stalno najavljuješ. Ali, imaj na umu da OU ima osjetno jaču mrežu u EU od JU te ima mogućnost feeda istočnih tržišta (ako ih otvori) od tamo, i to jaču od JU. U svakom slučaju svatko ima neke svoje strategije i mogućnosti. Samo molim te nemoj opet potezati USA....
DeleteDa ima po 20 letova dnevno za FRA,MUC i VIE .
DeleteJU ima sigurno bolji LF za TXL,DUS,AMS,LHR i CDG tako da su sto se toga tice verovatno priblizno iste . Ne mislim samo na USA nego i region.
USA ce se desiti kad je rekao G Mali samo procitajte ponovo taj novinski clanak .
INN-NS
INN-NS, ako JU ima veći LF za te linije (mislim, odakle ti informacija koliki ima OU) tj za zapadnu Europu, a manji kapacitet...pa reci, koliko im presotaje mjesta za eskpanziju sa tih tržišta kada im fali sjedala za to? Ali, opet, kako izlijećeš sa takvim komentarima o LF, a ne znaš kakvi su od OU. Vjerojatno ni kakvi su od JU. A LF je ionako samo jedan po pokazatelja poslovanja.
DeleteNema 20 dnevno INN-NS, zašto otvaraš bezobrazno normalnu diskusiju? Ima veći kapacitet i frekvecnije od JU, to je točno. Nadalje, odakle ti usporedba LF JU i OU? Odakle ti informacije da to znaš? Ali točno nam reci, odakle? I objavi ih. Ili prestani obajvljivati neko vrijeme i odmori malo....
DeletePo 20 linija ima sigurno za FRA, MUC i VIE , na svim tim linijama je LF JU preko 86 % pa mislim da na tim linijama stoji bolje od OU posto ima bolju saradnju sa AF-KL .
DeleteOvo nije provokacija u opste ali nazalost cesto ljudi ovde odvuku normalnu raspravu u provokacije.
INN-NS
JU ne leti za MUC
DeleteZnam to se odnosilo na OU , a ovaj LF se odnosio na TXL,DUS,AMS,LHR i CDG i LHR ali vi ne mozete bez svadje i prepirki.
DeleteINN-NS
INN-NS, dakle, već po običaju, opet se izmotavaš da se nešto odnosi na ovo, nešto na ono...još uvijek mi nisi rekao kako uspiješ uspoređivati LF kompanija ako nemaš informaciju koliki su. Hahahah
DeleteZa ASL imam i napisao sam ga a ko ima za CTN neka napise ja misolim da je na linijama za TXL,DUS,AMS,LHR i CDG bolji lf nego kod CTN , ali ovde je izgleda samo cilj nekoga ismejavati i spustati na nizak nivo i to se vidi da zivite u inostranstvu .
DeleteINN-NS
Pa ti si sam uspoređivao LF i rekao da je od JU bolji.Pa kako znaš da je bolji ako dakle nemaš od OU i kako onda stavljaš u odnos i donosiš zaključak da je JU bolji? Samog sebe spuštaš na nivo i ismijavaš se. Tko ti je za to kriv?
DeleteIn 2015 JU recorded LF : to FRA 65%, to DUS 63% and to TXL 59%. During summer it 'll be better.
DeleteINN-NS why are you making up numbers all the time? The only time when there is AVERAGE monthly LF of around 90% is during summer to flights such as CDG,LHR, and SVO. Yes I am sure there was a few flights in winter which where 100% full, but looking at the AVERAGE LF it will be way less than 90%. You need to recheck what average means.
DeleteNe pumpam brojeve niti sam igde napisao da je preko 90 % pun nego od 80 - 86 % za celu godinu
DeleteINN-NS
I doubt that OU extension to the east will work. Specially if they are considering to became some kind hub or to collect transit people via Zagreb.
DeleteLet said they start to fly to Bucharest and Sofia and lets make comparation with OS and ASL.
OS:
Positive: Larger number of passenger which travel to Vienna than to Zagreb and Belgrade. Larger network to the west with higher number of frequeinces than those other two airliners. They could easily use narrow body planes.
Negative:
For some cities like BEG,LJU,BUD,ZAG via Vienna direction is not "natturally" and probably it will cost much more and you will spend more time.
ASL:
Positive . BEG is closer to this cities so you can easily use turbo props planes which is cost less and comfort is no so big problem on shorter lines. If you travel to LJU,BUD,ZAG it is "naturally " as you are gone in right direction.
Negative.
Worst network than OS and lower number of P2P passengers.
OU:
Possitive.
Only if you are travel to ZAG.
Negative.
Much more distance from this cities than from Belgrade and use of turboprop will be less comfortable and I doubt they have enough passenger for narrow. They need to cost less than OS for western distance so you will not earn lot of money.
BIG MARKET. Especially Romania. Year by year more and more RO and BG tourists to HR. Which mean transit through ZAG to coastal destinations, plus SJJ, plus whole Slovenia (1-2 h by car, highway) which misses links to BG/RO. Then, year by year more BG/RO citizens who WORK in HR, (consequence of EU). Then, HR/SLO tourists for Black Sea in summer and BG winter resorts in winter, then, intensifiied economic co-operation (again consequence of EU), then certain number of pasengers due to NATO flow, then possible transits for USA flights (not before 2017 and new terminal), and finally E-JET which arrives next year to served the routes, not turboprop as you say. Not to mention that labour force costs in OU are (slightly) smaller than in OS. My point is that HR to BG/RO services could easily function primarily as P2P routes, with significantly less transit passengers, which is not the case of JU which heavily depends on transits on these routes
Delete...and what about competing with ASL? Besides, trust me, if the number is that big RO will start flying to the Cro-coast on its own, same as the Thomson&Co. are doing for ages.
DeleteI agree with your last sentence.
DeleteYou probably better know situation in Croatia.I doubt that someone from HR will go on see to BlackSea when they have most beatiful cost in their country, also i doubt that someone will go to ski to Bulgaria when Austria/Slovenia is much closer.
If your data are ok in that case it could work and primarily as P2P routes. But again OU year by year reduce their flights to Pristina and Skopje .
"Ne pumpam brojeve niti sam igde napisao da je preko 90 % pun nego od 80 - 86 % za celu godinu
DeleteINN-NS"
ASL LF for all routes last year was 63-65%! This was posted on this website and admin can confirm this! Actually anybody can confirm this by scrolling down and finding that article. I do not want to argue, this is plain fact
@6:21 PM Da li si ti decko normalan Rumuni da dolaze u Hrvatsku u velikom broju koja ima tri puta vecu stopu nezaposlenosti.
Deletenow you will claim that this year it will be 20% higher LF.
DeleteG Vaske
DeleteJel ja sam napisao za ove destinacije a ne za celu mrezu linija TXL,DUS,AMS,LHR i CDG tako da ne znam sto odma tako reagujete.
INN-NS
CDG and LHR yes I agree since those are two big markets where there is no competition other than Wizz. As for TXL, DUS, and AMS no the average LF is not 80-86%. There might be improvements but those 3 routes are not that great. Generally the worst thing in regards to ASL is LF even now. Does anybody know how i BRU doing?
DeleteJel vi iz Kanade znate koji je prosek otprilike za TXL,DUS i AMS:
DeleteAMS je dobar zbog fenomenalne saradnje sa KL .
BRU je preko 70 % zbog takodje dobre saradnje sa 9W za YYZ.
INN-NS
Брисел уопште нема добру попуњеност тако да не знам одакле ти тај податак.
DeleteА што се тиче Тарома, зар они не лете сезонски за Дубровник са Атр-72?
BRU jeste preko 70 % ukupno nisu lose letovi popunjeni .
DeleteINN-NS
"Брисел уопште нема добру попуњеност тако да не знам одакле ти тај податак."
DeleteNemjee number wise how are the loads?
As I said 4 days ago on this blog I bought a ticket with 9W from YYZ to BEG via BRU so at beginning of August I will report the loads on both flights and will do a mini trip report for sure. How are the rest of you Canadians on here getting home (all ex yu)? I noticed that Jet gives for bought ZAG and BEG dirt cheap ticket compared to competition and that is the main reason I am going with them.
ИНН
DeleteПретпостављам да опет причаш за месец мај а не просечно за 2015. годину. Ако већ хоћеш да тврдиш нешто онда кажи на шта се односе твоје информације.
YYZ
I am still surprised that JU and 9W don't codeshare between Belgrade and Abu Dhabi. But have a safe trip nonetheless.
Jeste za maj cesto zaboravim da napisem koji mesec mislim.
DeleteINN-NS
berbeer
DeleteIn 2014 none of ASL routes had CLF higher than 80%. Average CLF for all flights in 2014 was 67%. I think even the airline published this figure.
DeleteMonth by month, in 2015 Air Serbia's CLF was 57% in both January and February, 61% in March and 68% in April. These results for all four months are better than the ones achieved in the same months 2014.
DeleteThe figures quoted above are reliable ones.
DeleteDuhoviti ste sa tim brojevima i ponovo ne mozete podneti uspeh ASL.
DeleteINN-NS
@7:25
DeleteKao prvo, Hrvatska nema 3 PUTA nego 3 POSTO vecu stopu nezaposlenosti od Rumunije.
Kao drugo, prosek plata u Hrvatskoj je DUPLO veci nego u Rumuniji, a za neka zanimanja to ide i do 3 puta. Trece, znam da je ljudima izvan EU malo teze shvatiti kako funkcionise slobodno trziste rada, cetvrto, konkretno, u znacajnom broju (za sada) iz Rumunije u HR dolaze dokori, zubari i visokokvalifikovani radnici u brodogradnji, a ponesto i u turizmu i industriji nafte, i peto ako ne verujes, potrazi verodostojniju informaciju od moje a nemoj samo da pljujes bez iznosenja ikakvih cinjenica i na temelju izmisljenih i laznih podataka o npr. 3 puta vecoj nezaposlenosti
Evo ga dezurni kroejsha 'branitelj' za ovoga je inn super lik...
DeleteLess talk - more action
ReplyDeleteI am first to spit on Kucko, but am more in favor of sustainable and planned (hopefully) healthy expansion then overnight actions. Let's see what happens in a year or two.
DeleteCroatia should rather actually close their national airline and instead focus on charters. Currently Croatia loses huge amount of money from tourism income just because most flights to their coast are operated by foreign carriers. And of course, it should need to be a SERIOUS charter company with a support and assistance from the government, to make it all clear its not a scam like Air Croatia or similar "airlines".
ReplyDeleteI supposta LH had previously been interested in OU but with demise of "Lufthansa Italia" experiment they probably gave up on that kind of expansion.
It is good to see that they seem to be finally realising that they cannot continue to lose market share without some type of fight.
ReplyDeleteWe have had restructuring and now they need to expand and and focus on making Zagreb an alternative means to access Western Europe form the east. OU will limit it's expansion by concentrating on point to point only and therefore need to have a time table which will allow easy transit through Zagreb. To do this, more western destination need to introduced to mainly in Italy, Southern France and Spain as well as the UK. The closer to Croatia the destination the better to allow them full flexibility of the fleet which is limited.
If they use there position well as a Star member, OU could become a thorn in the side for the Etihad groups plans in the region especially if 'mother Lufthansa' recognises this to be a better alternative then allowing Etihad to consolidate a foothold in Europe. A fresh new terminal and a good marketing campaign could give OU a fighting chance here.
As always the idiot forget to mention that they recieve 10 million euro per month from croatian taxpayers so the can fly with empty planes all year.
ReplyDeleteAs sooner they go bankrupt its better so we can have a private airline company without state subventions that can take over
Kakve gluposti ti mlatis. Ta prica sa subvencijama je bila aktualna prije 2010. Sad EU brani bilo kakve subvencije. A i LF se digao, avioni nisu prazni. Umjetna profitabilnost, zbog prodaje i lease-back motora, je druga prica.
DeleteWe are not talking about ASL.
DeleteA kako se zove kada grad Dubrovnik plaća CTN-u 250 kuna po putniku za svakog putnika za ZAG?
DeleteHaha ne plaća ništa grad Dubrovnik CTN-u nego svojim građanima koji podnesu zahtjev. To može raditi i grad Beograd za svoje građane. Npr. davati 100 € svakom građaninu koji leti na određenoj liniji. Naravno to mogu samo bogati gradovi kao Dubrovnik koji ima ogroman budžet. To su subvencije građanima, ne nacionalnom prijevozniku i vrijede samo za građane sa prebivalištem u Gradu Dubrovniku.
DeleteIli Banja Luka? Pre bih rekao gradovi gde trenutni trzisni interes nije dovoljan da pokrene avio transport u meri koja bi zadovoljila lokalne apetite..
Delete@3:28 aaa, znači kada se novac izdvaja iz ZAJEDNIČKE kase i subvencioniše JEDNA LINIJA i JEDNA KOMPANIJA to se ne zove subvencija. Eto, naučih nešto, hvala.
DeleteSuper, znaci grad dubrovnik financira ou sa navedenih 10 mil eura mjesecno. Mora da onda flota ou cini 50 a321 koji lete za dubrovnik iz zagreba svaki dan. Znaci sljedecih x godina se povecava flota sa jednim ganz novim a321neo koji taman kosta oko 120 mil eura na racun dubrovnika
Delete@5:04 ne subvencionira se linija, kako ne razumiješ, Croatia Airlines ima svoje cijene na toj liniji po kojima prodava karte, a Grad Dubrovnik s obzirom na suficit u gradskom budžetu (kasi) građanima koji to traže odobri 125 kn za jednosmjerni let u vidu neke pomoći budući da se sve važnije institucije (bolnice npr) nalaze u Zagrebu koji je cestovno udaljen od Dubrovnika. Croatia Airlines od toga nema ni kune, samo je građanima Dubrovnika financijski olakšano putovanje u Zagreb. To je najbolji primjer subvencionirana unutar EU. Kamo sreće da svi gradovi to mogu uvesti. Građani novce dobivaju na svoje tekuće račune u roku 30 dana od dana podnošenja zahtjeva.
Delete@5:04
DeleteNe subvencionise se jedna linija i jedna kompanija. 100% privatna kompanija Trade Air koja je na javnom konkursu dobila koncesiju za drzavne subvencionisan linije Osijek-Zagreb, Osijek-Rijeka i Rijeka-Dubrovnik takodje dobiva subvencije, i to za vise linija. I to su drzavne pare za medjusobno povezivanje delova HR za koje nema pokazatelja dovoljne ekonomske/trzisne isplativosti. Sa linijom Dubrovnik-Zagreb je prica potpuno druga. Ta linija je komercijalno isplativa i postojala je, postoji, i postojace bez obzira da li ce na njoj ostati da leti samo Croatia Airlines, ili ce sutra poceti da na njoj leti Libertas Air (projekat u pripremi) ili neka treca kompanija. Lokalna samouprava nema veze sa drzavom, izvori njenog finansiranja su lokalni porez/prirez, turisticke takse, takse od najma nepokretnosti itd., i to kako ce grad te svoje prihode rasporediti, dakle da li ce svojim gradjanima vratiti deo cene aviokarte za neku liniju, nema apsolutno nikakve veze sa centralnom drzavom niti je subvencija drzave. Dakle, tvoja konstatacija da si nesto naucio, posto je bila sarkasticna, ocito nije tacna, a nije ni bas nesto smesna
Podize load factor OU na toj liniji jer jedan broj ljudi ce odluciti da ide avionom umesto busom ili kolima samo zbog ove subvencije. Za mene kao ekonomistu ove je svakako subvencija. Indirektna ali subvencija za OU.
DeleteTi bi kao ekonomista prvo trebao znati postotak gradjana Dubrovnika koji su putnici na toj liniji. Ako je cca 50 posto tranzitnih putnika-stranaca, i ako je cca 40 posto gradjana Zagreba (milion ljudi, prema 100.000 Dubrovcana), Slovenije, kontinentalne Hrvatske, i ako je DESET POSTO putnika koji putuju na toj liniji iz Dubrovnika, kojima Grad samo delimicno, i to u iznosu manjem od 50% cene karte sufinansira prevoz, kako to moze biti subvencija za OU?
DeleteNaravno da je subvencija i sigurno je skutori najvise rabe da obidju svoje u ZG. Ako je vama to fino neka vam.
DeleteEto neka tih jadnih 16 € po smjeru i nazovemo subvencijom, ali ono što je ovdje izvrsno i po meni najbolje jest činjenica da građani Dubrovnika koji redovito uplaćuju kroz prirez u budžet Grada sada dobivaju dio tog novca natrag kroz te "subvencije". Morate se složiti da je model savršen.
Delete@ 6:01 nažalost broj građana koji putuju u Zg je ostao približno jednak kao i prije uvođenja "zračnog mosta" tako da se LF nije povećao. Razlog tome je što dio građana koristi subvencije za cestarine na autocesti Ploče-Zagreb koje Grad plaća u iznosu od 50% ukupne cijene.
Te pare dolaze od para koje placaju gosti koji su dosli mociti svoje gatje u moru pokraj Dubrovnika. Sve u svemu to je beznacajno za CA koja i tako polako propada.
DeleteVintage photo on top left.... great livery the 733 had, best of all. They should hve all aircrafts painted with it
ReplyDeletealso nice cabin for that time with the brown seats... loved it
NO ONE is going to give even one Euro to a company that is run by you and your colleagues Mr. Kučko.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing ANY investor would do is to get reed of OU's current management.
OT: On some days during the July and August Air Serbia will deploy Airbus 320 on flights to Split. All other flights will be operated by A319 due to high demand. (Last year many flights have been operated by ATR72) Looks like Croatia is lucrative market for Air Serbia.
ReplyDeleteLatest BEG airport review, wonder where that guy was flying to if he was transiting through Belgrade on his way from Australia.
ReplyDelete11 May 2015 by Adrian Grigoriu (UK)
"Since the Etihad/Air Serbia flight from Abu Dhabi was late contrary to assurances, we arrived in Belgrade ten minutes before our connection flight was to take off. The security staff at the x-ray checkpoint took their time though while the Air Serbia personnel at the flight gate in plain view were calling us to hurry as if the delays were our fault. They started by checking our duty free allowance and receipts, then the hand luggage to check our watches and jewellery (we were moving back to Europe with all our belongings) and then had to wait another few minutes to have my shoes x-rayed. When we finally departed the clerk was still working our still screens. We flew from Sydney for 24 hours then. We have been re-checked in Abu Dhabi. We have just descended from the previous flight and we have been escorted to the checkpoint. What was there to check so thoroughly again? Since when were watches and jewellery a security point concern? Or was there an over zealous clerk on duty? Aren't there any clear instructions of what they are to check? If not we may be subjected, at the discretion of a clerk, to unnecessary and diminishing check-ups. In any case, we decided not to use this route again."
And UK after his name tells you nothing, when you say you wonder where he was flying to? Maybe it would be difficult to guess the destination if JU were flying to 5 or 8 UK destinations, but it's only one. So, if he was moving back to Europe from Australia, what is clearly stated in the text, and he is from the UK, clearly stated with his name, and JU flies to London only in the UK, what's there to wonder about?
DeleteActually, by looking at his name he seems to be Romanian. Secondly, no flight from AUH arrives with such a short time-span to a departure to London xoxo
DeleteI guess you may hurt yourself sometimes trying to be too smart at times. Kisses.
Actually, his surname could also be Greek.
Delete@6:54
DeleteMaybe I'm stupid and trying to be smart, but maybe it goes for u 2, because, number one, there wouldn't be a problem at all if the flight was on time but it was LATE, so you can't talk about scheduled transit times, and, second, I know some people believe that only Serbs live in Serbia, only Croats in Croatia and so on, but believe me, it is possible that a person with romanian name lives in the UK, despite it's difficult for you to understand this. Cheers!
OT: Skupština akcionara Aerodroma "Nikola Tesla" 23. juna - Na dnevnom redu raspodela dobiti
ReplyDeleteThat's your top priority? That's #1 for BEG at this point? Continuing to waste time and effort on Terminal 1?
If if change at the airport happens today, so much time has been wasted already that it will make it almost impossible to catch up. Any further delay makes Belgrade airport a biggest threat to Air Serbia future.
It's interesting how people here are aware of BEG airport being possible threat to JU future, but everyone spits on OU and Kucko, without a single person or single remark about ZAG airport having been for the last decade, and continuing to be so for another year or two, (one of) limiting factor(s) of OU growth
Delete"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been"
DeleteWayne Gretzky, ice hockey legend
It does not matter much where BEG or ZAG have been, or where they are now, or even where are they going to be in a year. Where are they going to be in 3, 5 or 10 years? Lack of strategic planning and vision, and lack of urgency to execute priority tasks in lockstep with ASL needs by BEG airport management means only one thing.
Paying dividends are real business for public ccompany. Somehow here is not appreciated.
Delete+100 AirCeo!
Deletehttp://www.airliners.net/photo/KLM-Cityhopper/Embraer-190STD-(ERJ-190-100STD)/2645692/&sid=8c39aa73306fa2c8ce2573527bd7e6b3
ReplyDeleteTaking shape!