Croatia Airlines eyes year-round Bucharest service

Croatia Airlines plans to operate year-round flights between Zagreb and Bucharest starting from the 2018 summer season, following strong demand and bookings for the newly launched seasonal service. The carrier's CEO, Krešimir Kučko, expects for the airline to handle some 10.000 passengers between the two cities from May until mid-October of this year on board its Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop. "This is a new destination for Croatia Airlines which we have not served in the past. Initially, we will connect the Romanian and Croatian capitals until mid-October, three times per week. We are seeing a number of transfer passengers on these flights, keeping in mind that Romania is the second largest market in Southeast Europe", Mr Kučko said. He added, "As a result, the Romanian market has potential. All of this contributed to Bucharest becoming our 37th destination and a very important point in our regional network. In 2018 we plan to operate this service year-round".

The new flights between Zagreb and Bucharest, which launched last weekend with 73 passengers on board the inaugural service, is seeing demand both on the inbound and outbound sectors, according to the airline. The carrier noted that Romanians are taking advantage of transferring through Zagreb to the Croatian coast, but added that Croatian travellers are also exploring Romania in greater numbers. "All of the indicators show that over the past two years the number of Romanian tourists visiting Croatia has grown in the double digits. At the same time, I believe many Croatian citizens will discover the natural, cultural and historical beauties of Bucharest and Romania in general", Mr Kučko said.

Bucharest had been identified as an unserved destination with great potential from Zagreb since 2007 when over 8.000 people travelled between the two cities. In 2009, the Romanian national carrier TAROM made plans to launch three weekly flights between the two cities using its ATR72 aircraft, however, the service never materialised. Furthermore, Croatia Airlines intended on introducing operations to Bucharest in 2011, but the onset of its restructuring program put an eastbound expansion on hold. Valentin Iordache, the Communication Director at Bucharest Airports Company, noted, "The slots chosen by Croatia Airlines are very favourable for both Romanian tourists and Croats. The service is initially starting off with three weekly flights during the summer but we expect this to be extended next year".