Hainan Airlines could introduce flights to Croatia in the near future, the Zagreb-based Chinese Southeast European Business Association (CSEBA) announced following talks with the government of Hainan province and the Croatian Embassy in China. "We discussed the possibility of Hainan Airlines introducing nonstop flights from China to Croatia, most probably to Zagreb. The launch of this service would boost the number of Chinese tourists to Croatia. There is certainly increased interest for Croatia from both the provincial and central governments after the China Road and Bridge Corporation was awarded a contract to build the first phase of Pelješac Bridge", CSEBA said in a statement. "Hainan Airlines is very interested in introducing services to Croatia and the region in general", it previously noted.
The Chinese carrier, which launched flights between Beijing and Belgrade via Prague last year, has said that, in line with China's One Belt, One Road initiative, it plans to continue expanding its presence outside of its home market, especially across countries in Central and Eastern Europe, most of which have already established close ties with China. In July, the CEO of the HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, held talks with Croatia's President, Kolinda Grbar Kitarović, where the two discussed both investment opportunities and potential flights. However, in October of last year, an airline spokesperson said the carrier currently has no plans to expand in the region.
Beijing Capital Airlines, another HNA subsidiary, was to introduce flights between Beijing and Zagreb over the 2017 summer season. The carrier filed for a permit for a two weekly service with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, however, the planned operations were later cancelled. In 2015, Zadar Airport held talks with Hainan Airlines over the potential introduction of flights from Chongqing, in China's south-west, which would have continued on to Rome, but the plans never materialised. A record 160.081 Chinese tourists visited Croatia in 2017, an increase of 56.5% on the year before. 2018 marks the year of China - EU tourism. In March, Dubrovnik will host the 16+1 tourism summit, comprising of sixteen Central and Eastern European nations and China.
Considering they announced their flights to Belgrade 2 months before they started I wouldn't write them off for this summer to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteThis is like the third time this organization has made similar statements. Reality is that there won't be any flights from China to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteThat ship has sailed and Croatia failed to make it on time.
I don't agree with your statement and I'm from Serbia. Croatia is a different market and isn't being served by these flights from Belgrade. As someone who works in the travel industry I can tell you that the tour groups on Hainan's flights to Belgrade do not visit Croatia. So I don't see why they would be unable to have flights of their own. There is certainly potential.
DeleteWhere in my comment do you see me mentioning that these tourists go to Croatia?!
DeleteIf there was actual demand for flights then they would have happened the time when Hainan looked at ZAG the first time. With growing number of flights from BUD and VIE (and soon Maribor) there won't any room for Zagreb.
You seriously expect flights from Maribor to China? LOL for that to happen they need to expand the runway, taxiways, apron. That's not happening anytime soon.
DeleteWell VLM is finally expanding in MBX. China might not happen next year but it might in 2019.
DeleteIt won't happen next year either. I can guarantee you that because they need to get permits to do all the airport work and the Slovenian government does not want to give it to them because of how murky their whole business is. The only potential flights from China to Slovenia will be from Xi'an (Fraport airport) to Ljubljana. But I doubt even that will happen.
DeleteI couldnt have said it better. Amen.
DeleteU are big professional in aviation when u expect flights from China to MBX. Such a shame that anyone can comment here...admin please delete those ridiculous comments
DeleteWhy? It's a free forum and everyone has a right to his opinion. People said the same for many things on here and they became true.
DeleteI think some people in LJU and ZAG are bothered by MBX because it will finally force them to lower their ridiculously high charges.
How about they actually start all these flights from MBX and then start preaching?
DeleteFrishki, you could say the same thing for today's topic really.
DeleteVLM has announced MBX-MUC so things are starting to look up for Slovenia.
Is MBX-MUC same as MBX-some Chinese airport with a widebody?
DeleteAlso, how many passengers they had with last summers' destinations?
Last summer they were still setting up shop. They are starting to expand only now so let's wait and see. Things are slowly starting to move in the right direction.
DeleteAlso, it's a shame you are not missing an opportunity to attack Slovenia yet you have not commented on today's topic and to mention how this obscure organization is making yet another fake announcement.
First of all, where the hell did "I attack Slovenia"? I said, first jump and then say "hop!". Is that an attack? Check the definition of that word.
DeleteSecond, you tend to read and react only to those posts of mine (another fan, maybe?) when I don't pat you on your head and congratulate you over a megalomaniac project that is VLM.
Third, I'm not gonna comment on these articles packed with terms like "eyeing", "considering", "in the future", "maybe", "we'll see" because I have a bit of a sense in me knowing not to jump for joy when I've read them million times so far. Once it happens and IF it happens, I might have a reaction to it.
There are over 1 billion Chinese and 100 million of them travel abroad so there is space for both BEG and ZAG to be served by Chinese airlines.
DeleteWith growing flights to VCE, VIE and BUD the window of opportunity is closing fast.
DeleteI don't get it, is there no other Chinese airline interested in this region? BEG, LJU, ZAG and even SJJ were/are targeting Hainan.
ReplyDeleteBEG is not targeting Hainan. BEG already has those flights and they are extremely succesful.
DeleteThat's why I wrote were or are.
DeleteThey are all targeting Hainan because Hainan has established itself as the official airline of the Belt and Road initiative. In the article they even said so themselves.
Delete"in line with China's One Belt, One Road initiative, it plans to continue expanding its presence outside of its home market, especially across countries in Central and Eastern Europe, most of which have already established close ties with China".
"...BEG already has those flights and they are extremely succesful."
DeleteAny data?
Close to 3.700 people arrived on their flights in November.
DeleteIf Hainan wasn't happy with the flights they would have ended the route and wouldn't have put tickets on sale for the summer as they have.
DeleteAnon 9:40 Wow, that's fantastic. Especially if you consider that the carrier operated total 8 flights in November and served 2256 seats (both PEK-BEG and PRG-BEG combined) to the market. Amazing result!
DeleteHe was obviously reffering to return flights not one way.
DeleteAnon 2:33, he sad they "arrived"...wrong numbers, obviously!
DeleteArrivals, not return passengers. Read more carefully.
DeleteThey were once interested in buying Croatia Airlines. Back in 2012.
ReplyDeleteYeah but then Garuda showed up and they lost interested. That's what I heard at least.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteThe market is not that big and the one that already exists is served by LH, QR and EK. For the time being charters to the coast are a more realistic outcome.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge potential from Chinese market, and it's yet to be discovered.
DeleteChinese tourists do not like beach holidays, they are all about European city break. So Zagreb would definitely be a better option, but as someone said, I am afraid that ship has sailed to neighborhood.
DeleteHainan has done wonders for Serbia. Number of Chinese to the country have exploded and they will be close to 50.000 this year. Their number more than tripled during the winter months.
ReplyDeleteIf Zagreb can pull it off then it will be great for them. However time is running out. They need to figure out something.
And that is:
Delete28.000 new Chinese tourist in Serbia
62.000 new Chinese tourist in Croatia
last year.
So, that booming is not even near to "explode".
They started flights in September!
DeleteWell Hainan obviously believes that Serbia has more potential otherwise they wouldn't have chose BEG despite negotiating flights with both ZAG and ZAD.
DeleteZAG flights would be 3 times and nonstop.
DeleteGood for you. The difference is that there are flights to BEG.
DeleteThe reality is that the market has little potential for direct flights. Chinese feel that the HR market is best served through BUD/VIE.
DeleteIf you build it they will come.... so maybe if you keep announcing it they will eventually come :).
ReplyDeleteFlight to China will eventually happen, just a matter of when but definitely within the next few years.
Also isn’t this airlines parent company having massive liquidity issues?
Regarding tourism in Croatia, apparently Croatia was the faster growing tourists market for Australians.
Deletehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-19/dollar-up,-sharemarket-down/9344878?pfmredir=sm
https://www.croatiaweek.com/the-kohler-report-largest-increase-in-tourists-from-australia-is-croatia/
Yep, some 250 000 Aussie visitors to Croatia in 2017. 300-320 000 expected this year.
DeleteOn an average Australians stay for 3.2 days in Croatia. This year Australians are expected to generate some million nights in Croatia and revenue of €125 million.
Number of Brazilian visitors is also up, by 45%, This year 70 000 Brazilians visited Croatia, generating 170 000 nights.
Number of Indians is also up, 60000 visitors, Argentinians 50 000, New Zealanders - 42000. Considering there are no direct links between Australia or NZ with Croatia, that is impressive figure.
Number of Canadians is also up by 25%, 155 000 in Croatia this year, and 510 000 US Visitors to Croatia. In all Croatia had 18.5 million visitors this year, 16.7 million were foreign.
Tourism generated €11.3 billion in revenue.
We heard this story from CSEBA about Zadar before. I'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that they have the initiative but this kind of news comes up every few months. I hope it happens though.
DeleteThat is 3rd CSEBA announcement. First two was for Zadar flights (2nd was last year) and nothing happened. So, it is not to believe their announcements. It is just popular way of promotion for this funny organization.
DeleteThe article is full of conditionals. This is just another very nice wish. Manje govorancije i vise pravog truda.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! There is definitely potential.
ReplyDeleteWith the massive capacity Emirates is offering to Zagreb and the dumping prices they have been offering I think they easily serve the Chinese market to Croatia.
ReplyDeleteNonstop flights would bring a completely new type of Chinese tourists to Croatia and these people don't catch connecting flights through Middle East airports. They fly nonstop are welcomed at the airport by Chinese tour guides, taken on busses and don't leave their group.
DeleteDobro, hoce meni netko kazati od kud vam te ideje o dumpinskim cijenama?????
DeleteMislim, gledas cijene karata na promo akcijama pa zakljucis kako su jeftini?
EK sells ZAG-PEK for as little as €490 (regular fare). If that's not dumping then I don't know what is. Mind you that's even cheaper than Hainan's direct flight from BEG.
DeleteDirect flights are always priced higher, period. That being said, 490EUR sold by EK/QR here, and sometimes TK/SU and LH are promo actions with limited seats (so, all airlines do it, just thta some are not in the spotlight). Also, while very low, it is nothing spectacular which is not also seen in West Europe, where you can see even lower fares + departures from Asia to Europe. So, I really would not call it dumping. Low yes, but not really dumping.
DeleteActually QR with double daily is not behind EK really that much in summer, and in winter maybe even superior seat wise. Ultimately, quite a lot of seats to Middle East.
Delete€470 is a regular fare, no promo. Emirates has to finance four flights to/from PEK and changing passengers this little is not enough. These are definitely dumping prices, no doubt about that.
DeleteMind you even with dumping they had to reduce flights.
dumping hahahah omg. First it was too much capacity for Zagreb, now they have dumping prices? But of course, u will not use that cheap flights from Zagreb ;) just for info, paid 489 euros with Lufthansa ZAG - FRA - JFK, JFK - MUC - ZAG. Dumping? Not really.
DeleteDa, prodaje za 450 dolara ZAG - PEK.
DeleteNo, koliko takvih karata ima u opticaji i da li ih je netko kupio????
Svaki mjesec sam na liniji DMM-ZAG via DXB, ponekad FRA.
Najjeftinija karta (povratna) je bila 730 €.
Znas li di je DMM a di PEK???
Pa baš činjenica da do DMM platiš 730 a do Pekinga 490 je najbolji primer dampinga.
DeleteAnon 10:01 AM, EK regular fare ZAG-PEK round trip is 701EUR with taxes, based on U class, as all classes below are promo classes. So 490 is promo fare. Check in GDS or on EK website.
DeleteAnon, ne nužno. Cijene u avijaciji nisu povezane toliko sa geografijom već kapacitetom, konkurencijom i tipom putnika. 490 vjerojatno nije baš neka profitabilna cijena do Pekinga i nazad, ali niti je uvijek raspoloživa niti svi putuju po tim cijenama. Recimo to ovako: tko ide u Dammam a da ne mora? Dakle, radi se o korporativnom i srodnim poslovima, konkurencija nije jaka kao na Kini i to je to. Kompanije zarađuju iz mixa tarifa i destinacija, ne prodaju jednu cijenu po destinaciji svaki dan istu.
DeletePlease notice that prices from Europe to China (with Gulf states operators, Finnair) and back are way cheaper and discounts promo more frequent than China _ E urope_ China. Prices exChina to Europe are nearly double on most flights and most of the year. Exexcept during low season.
DeleteSamo jedno pitanje. Kako mozete zakljuciti koliko ima karata po toj "dumping" cijeni i da li je netko kupio tu kartu? Znaci to ide tako: vidim kartu po 450 i onda automatski sve karte su po 450.
DeleteThere are many local deals and groups that sell very low from Far East. Groups and packaging are dominant there, as opposed to traffic originating Europe.
DeleteAnon 10:55. Naravno, tendenciozno i maliciozno zaključivanje u cilju opravdavanja vlastitog početnog mišljenja bez obzira na bilo koje argumente druge strane. Polazna točka je uvijek i završna bez obzira na sve događaje u međuvremenu. Uz politiku i pljačku, primarni razlog zašto su ex Yu zemlje zapele u vremenskom vakuumu i postale WC Europe.
DeletePonekad znam karte kupiti dan prije leta, ponekad i 6 mjeseci unaprijed...
DeleteI odstupanja nisu neka.
DMM-ZAG via DXB/FRA, u prosjeku 800€.
Sve ostale opcije (KLM, Ethiad/AS, Aegan/Gulf Air) su nekonkurnte poradi ukupnog vremena putovanja.
Zar nisu oni u financijske poteskoce zapali?
ReplyDeleteI think something's not correct with this CSEBA. They appear once or twice every year in media with some speculative statements, one day claiming that they are about to sign a huge deal to bring Chinese carriers to Zadar (!), next day spreading gossips about having held "serious" negotiations with Chinese authorities! I really wonder who's behind this organization and what their real purpose is.
ReplyDeleteMlatiti praznu slamu.
DeleteMaybe PEK- BEG - ZAG flights?
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't have said that. Wait for the barrage of insults about to come your way.
DeleteSeveral yeas ago CSEBA suggested for flights to operate with that routing. At the time there were no flights between Belgrade and Zagreb.
DeleteHainan's parent group is in a bit of financial trouble these days, which could affect both its existing routes (e.g. BEG) and the ones that are being planned (e.g. ZAG).
ReplyDeleteStill it would be great if everything works out and both BEG and ZAG get the flights. Perhaps instead of the PRG segment the route could be PEK-BEG-ZAG.
That said, I expect all haters who repeatedly asked "where they could book PEK-BEG flights with Hainan because there were none" to unleash the same barrage of bitterness on PEK-ZAG flights until the very inauguration day.
Parent company HNA had some liquidity issues because they are buying everything in their site. But Hainan is continuing to launch new routes this summer. New route for now are:
DeleteShenzhen – Tianjin – Vancouver
Shenzhen – Madrid
Shenzhen – Brussels
Beijing - Hamburg
They have also submitted a permit for flights to Vienna this year.
DeleteIt would make much more sense to serve DBV instead of ZAG. Middle East carriers already offer a lot from ZAG and therefore will immediately lower the rates.
ReplyDeleteDBV needs long haul routes ASAP
Not really, Dubrovnik does not need Long houl routes. The city is already full during the summer season even without direct long houl flights.
DeleteSo?
DeleteMake it happen.
Also, as stated, Chinese are not as much into beach destinations.
DeleteYeah that's why millions of them go to Thailand beach resorts.
DeleteThey go for shopping too, nigth life (!) and little sightseeing (temples). Resorts are just a niche for them. Chinese tourism in Bangkok is well organised, huge: China is near so vacation can be short, low cost airline flying there, no way beach resorts in Croatia are a priority for mainland Chinese.
DeleteMost Asian visitors to Croatia come in months when it is cold to go and swim. If you go to Plitvice now, you'll see bunch of Korean, Japanese and Chinese tourists.
DeleteI was there the other day, place was packing with Korean and Chinese visitors, with 10-12 buses parked @entrance 2, which is closed over winter months.
Zagreb is also packing now, with most of 55 or so hostels in Zagreb 80-85% full.
Korean hostel is always full.
This year, 250 000 Chinese, 175 000 Japanese and 550 000 S. Korean visitors are expected to visit Croatia.
Zagreb gets most Asians visitors in Croatia, followed by Dubrovnik and Split. Zagreb alone had 54000 Chinese, 42 000 Japanese, 32 000 Taiwanese and 127 000 S. Korean visitors.
Zagreb had 1.1 million foreign visitors in 2017, and 250 000 Croatian visitors.
If Chinese establish any air corridor with Croatia, it'll be with Zagreb first and it'll be direct flights from Beijing of Shanghai.
However, I won't hold my breath until it actually happens.
Most Chinese, Asian visitors use Qatar, Emirates, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM or BA to get to Zagreb and Croatia.
LOT is also bringing number of Asian visitors, which begs the question what is Finnair waiting for, no direct link between Zagreb and Helsinki yet. Last year OU had 2-3 weekly flights to Helsinki, nearly a third of all passengers were Asian.
Yes, but the idea is to also have all year round flights from/to DBV. A good example is VAR and BOJ. The municipalities all got united and created funds to sustain winter flights and/or to extend the summer season from March to October for example.
DeleteI think DBV and SPU can do the same, because it´s not only about the beach but culture, business and why not Erasmus, etc, etc.
Well now we have sort of season lasting from May 1st to October 31st, and during the Christmas Croatia is also packing.
DeleteThere's a Korean hostel in Zagreb?
DeleteYes.
DeleteWhat does that mean? Owned, operated, and used by Koreans?
DeleteOwned by a Croat and Korean, but having only Korean guests, which is to say the least - crazy. Dunno how you can you take guests only from specific country and turn down the rest. Guess they have "a way".
Deletehttps://www.croatiaweek.com/korean-exclusive-hostel-in-downtown-zagreb/
I thought there were 2 South Korean only hostels in Zagreb.
DeleteThanks friški for that info.
DeleteThere are two, but one is not exclusively S. Korean, other has mostly S. Korean visitors.
DeleteSo can we expect Korean and Chinese charters to DBV too?
DeleteWho knows, there are so many tourists from S Korea and China in dubrovnik, even now as we speak.
Delete”LOT is also bringing number of Asian visitors, which begs the question what is Finnair waiting for, no direct link between Zagreb and Helsinki yet. Last year OU had 2-3 weekly flights to Helsinki, nearly a third of all passengers were Asian.”
DeleteYou have any source for that or you just blowing smoke?
Why would there be a significant amount of transfer pax from Asia on Croatia Airlines flights from HEL when OU is not even codesharing with Finnair nor in the same alliance (oneWorld)?
Ex-YU, you should make a poll on which will happen first:
ReplyDeleteZAG-JFK
or
ZAG-PEK
Jatovanje.
ReplyDeleteGreat news, hope it will materialize this time!
ReplyDeleteI think Croatia Airlines should really lead the charge here. They would have a lot to gain if a Chinese airline started flying to Zagreb. They could then fly passengers to Dubrovnik, Split or Zadar and fill up some unprofitable domestic sectors. Ideally it should be Air China which is also star alliance.
ReplyDeletethat is in theory with every airline which fly to Zagreb, for example Emirates, Qatar, Turkish, etc.
DeleteCRBC (China Road and Bridge Corporation) leading a Chinese consortium were successful in getting the tender for the Peljesac Bridge project. Provided the tender is confirmed in a few weeks time (Austrian Strabag lodged an appeal as they lost the tender) I can definitely see direct flights from China to Croatia. The bridge construction will take 3.5 years and will be tbe largest infrastructure project in Croatia over the next few years. After that the growing tourist market from China should be sufficiently mature to keep such a service running.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told people always justified flights to China yet they still didn't happen. I'll believe it when I see it.
DeleteThen you're a hypocrite.
DeleteHopefully Hainan don’t introduce flights to ZAG. The Balkans doesn’t need more flights from a cash strapped Chinese airline.
ReplyDeleteWith such a large number of tourists visiting Croatia and increasing hopefully star alliance carrier Air China pips them to the post.
I agree that Star Air China would a much better fit but purely because of Croatia Airlines and the connections they could jointly offer.
DeleteAir China already flies close by, to Vienna. The routing is Beijing-Vienna-Barcelona.
DeleteThat "cash strapped" airline is considered China's best airline.
DeleteI think VIE and BCN are no longer flown together. Both have become terminator services, same with MUC and ATH.
DeleteThanks, wasn't aware they have de-linked them.
DeleteI think Air China would be a better choice if these flights ever materialize. Honestly don't understand what they're waiting for, with all these Chinese tourists in Croatia.
DeleteWell the group Hainan is part of has been loose in throwing its money about but that doesn't mean that there is anything instrinsically wrong with the airline and it shouldn't impact on airline operations if other parts of a conglomerate rationalise their operations.
ReplyDeleteCSEBovanje
ReplyDeleteZagreb needs Wizzair more than Hainan.
ReplyDeleteI think these flights will happen sooner or later. Croatia is attending a lot of trade fairs in China, the Croatian tourism board is opening offices in Shaghai and there is more and more Chinese investment in Croatia.
ReplyDeleteThese flights to China are starting to remind of Jat's fleet renewal plans.
ReplyDeleteGood news and positive development. Nice to see they that advanced talks are taking place. I really hope something does come of it this time around.
ReplyDeleteHU might even increase BEG flights too, it can easily be increased to 4 weekly.
ReplyDeleteZAG can start with the same, 2 weekly flights via DBV or tie it with SKP for example.
It would be great if they could combine flights from Shanghai to Zagreb as well. 2x week from Beijing and 2x week from Shanghai.
ReplyDeleteWith 400K Koreans visiting HR each year I dont understand that KE or theie LCC part is not operating flights to ZAG yet. 400K is a huge figure for a country outside Europe
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteAgree, and take a look at this article about tourists from India discovering Croatia:
Deletehttp://www.mint.hr/vijesti/dusseldorf-sajam-boot-veliki-interes-nauticara-za-hrvatskom-mumbai-hrvatskoj-nagrada-za-najatraktivniju-novu-destinaciju/11612
Ovako bi ja to.
DeleteSvim GCC drzavljanima i rezidentima, viza on arrival.
Što znači GCC?
DeleteJU520 BEGLAX@ Za to sto veliki deo njih ne dolazi avionom u Hrvatsku. Slecu u Bec, Veneciju,Budimpestu, deo svakako I u Zagreb ali ne svi.
Delete@anon 8:23 PM GCC = Gulf Cooperation Council
DeleteKE is fairly cautious and conservative in opening new routes (not necessarily a bad thing either). With the arrival of new 787-9 Dreamliners for KE in the pipeline (4 more to be delivered in 2018) and their LCC subsidiary, Jin Air, expanding into long haul routes now Zagreb is under active consideration. Croatia is now a well known tourist destination for South Koreans, KE are well aware that Koreans are often using Turkish, Qatar and Emirates to travel from ICN to ZAG and that there is a market that they can tap into there.
Delete11:16.
DeleteNot true.
Vast majority of them lands in Doha, Dubai, Istanbul and comes to HR by air on 2 to 5 day trip as a part of their hollyday which last at least 3 weeks.
Inb4 via BEG.
ReplyDelete