Croatia eyes more long haul flights


Croatia plans to secure additional long haul services after American Airlines announced plans to launch seasonal operations from the United States to Dubrovnik next summer, which will mark the resumption of flights between the two countries after 28 years. The Croatian Minister for Tourism, Gari Capelli said, "This year, a total of seventy new routes were launched to Croatia. This is the result of our project aimed at positioning the country as an airline destination, for which the Ministry and the Croatian National Tourist Board have allocated four million euros. This has allowed us to extend our reach beyond traditional foreign markets to far-away markets such as China, South Korea and the United States". Next week, Korean Air will commence scheduled services between Seoul and Zagreb, while earlier this summer Air Canada Rouge launched seasonal operations from Toronto to the Croatian capital.

Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron, said recently, "Next year we hope for flights between Montreal and Zagreb to be launched. We also anticipate to finalise talks for the arrival of a Chinese carrier because Croatia is becoming of growing interest to Chinese tourists". The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, added, "We are attempting to reach an agreement over nonstop flights between Zagreb, Beijing and Shanghai". Furthermore, the Croatian government has authorised the Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure to commence talks with his Japanese counterpart over the establishment of scheduled flights between Zagreb and Tokyo. All Nippon Airways (ANA) has maintained summer charters from Japan to Dubrovnik for several years.

The Minister for Tourism noted that, "Flights are crucial for boosting visitor numbers, especially from far-away markets. Several years ago, a very small number of holidaymakers arrived to Croatia by plane. Today, that figure is constantly growing. According to our estimates, it will amount to some 20% in 2018". The budget for the project entitled "Positioning Croatia as an airline destination" will be doubled next year. "The project aims to attract carriers from far-away markets. The Ministry's strategic goal is to develop Croatia as a destination which is accessible to various airlines, particularly before and after the height of the summer season", Mr Cappelli said.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    US flights to ZAG next up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      They have been delaying flights from Zagreb to US each year. Hope it finally happens in 2019!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:20

      Some things simply take time.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:23

      Next year will be the 10 year anniversary since they announced that they started talks for these flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:31

      There are already flights to the US from Zagreb via MUC, VIE, BEG, IST...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:32

      There aren't any nonstop flights, which is what we are discussing.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:34

      There isn't a big market to the US from Zagreb outside the peak season and that is very well covered via aforementioned hubs. Besides, the market in ZAG being extremely low-yielding that is why AA went for Dubrovnik where most Americans fly.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:43

      Yes but that's what most have been writing on here for ages but we were always called 'ljubomorne komsije' even when Croats wrote it. Matter of fact is that in the future the coast will dominate over ZAG.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:45

      The only way for this to happen is for OU to launch these flights themselves pretty much just like JU did. There isn't any American airline that's gonna fly year-round to Zagreb while in the summer coast makes more sense. The only thing that could happen is some AC Rouge or some other shadowy/low-cost airline flying to ZAG during three busy months to take the cream.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:09

      Delta is interested with flights to ZAG, but they are still being careful (seasonality is the main issue). Possible destinations are JFK or ATL.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:14

      Only seasonal.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:42

      It is for good reason flights are being started as seasonal. because demand is seasonal. So if OU would open year round long haul services, they would pretty much face the same dilemma and figures JU is during the slow months.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous10:46

      I do not get the frantic discussions with SEASONALITY- If damand is seasonal, you serve it seasonally- maybe supermarkets could also consider selling Christmas bread in the summer months- then we could claim how inferior the product is, because people want it only in a certain season....

      Delete
    13. Anonymous17:58

      OU should launch those flights and that's it. There is no point waiting for others to do it when you can do it yourself. Either that or there is really no market, period.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous22:53

      US Carriers fly year round only to major Hubs in the EU, London, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam. Copenhagen and one or two more.

      Seasonal US flights to Zagreb are very likely, how soon, we'll see, I said before it won't happen before 2020, but I could be wrong. 475000 US visitors to Croatia last year, 240 000 US Visitors to Zagreb, yes Zagreb is most popular destination for US Visitors who spent 320 000 nights in Zagreb last year.

      Some guy on other forum has some contacts with Zagreb airport and he is saying there's a major surprise in place for Zagreb, should be announced soon, either this month or sometimes next.

      Chinese Carrier is coming to Zagreb next year, which one we'll see, there's speculation it would be china southern, however Hainan is also likely. ANA is also looking to start Zagreb service, however we won't know before few months they actually start the service.

      Also, there's talk of South Eastern Asian airline coming to Zagreb soon, which one, we don't know yet, speculations are rife on forums, and this blog said something about Air AsiaX.

      However, potentially, once ANA, China Eastern/Hainan, have initiated their operations to Zagreb, further down the line, i see potential for more carriers to come to Zagreb from the region. Cathy Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways or some other carrier.

      With Emirates, Air Canada and now Korean in Zagreb, i won't discount possibility of other carriers coming in. US Carrier that could come to Zagreb are either Delta or American, sadly United doesn't fly outside major EU hubs, they fly yo 8-10 major hubs in the EU and that is it. American and Delta run only seasonal service, if they do come to Zagreb it'll be a seasonal service from early May to late October.

      Last year, Cratia was visited according to e-visitor,

      By:

      475 000 US visitors
      142 000 Canadian visitors
      444 000 Korean visitors
      160 000 Chinese Visitors
      126 000 Taiwanese visitors
      37 000 HK Visitors
      142 000 Japanese visitors
      32 000 Singaporean visitors
      57 000 Indian visitors
      210 000 Australian visitors
      64 000 Brazilian visitors
      35 000 NZ visitors
      30 000 Thai visitors
      42 000 Argentine visitors
      60 000 visitors from South america
      170 000 from far east Asia

      The potential for business and travel in future, is boundless.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous23:03

      Nice figures! Do you if the airport management studied the possibility of flights to Singapore? I mean it's more than obvious that Zagreb wants to attract more legacy carriers.
      I am asking you because 32 thousand from Singapore is just crazy.
      Scoot and then Singapore Airlines upgrade? What do you think?

      Delete
    16. Anonymous00:17

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 23:03

      30 000 Thai visitors is more impressive, cause Thailand has population of 70 million, imagine this number grows in to 200-300 000 down the line. Singapore is exciting, and would be cool to have direct links with the city state, but i don't expect more than 50 000 visitors from Singapore to Croatia any time soon. Same goes with Hong Kong, we could hope to see double figures from HK and Singapore in short-to medium term, now that Croatia is so well recognized, World Cup and all, things could go well for Croatia in coming years, really well.

      Would love to see Singapore airlines or Thai airlines in Zagreb, however it won't happen soon, numbers need to go up for both for this to happen, but there's speculations, and they say where's smoke...

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    'The budget for the project entitled "Positioning Croatia as an airline destination" will be doubled next year. "The project aims to attract carriers from far-away markets.'

    So what do they do with this budget? ;)

    Flights to Dubrovnik make a lot of sense as seats will be filled by tourist agencies so it's a relatievly safe business adventure. Flying to ZAG would be more tricky as they would have to compete with other airlines and hubs for the traffic.

    Also interesting that this massive AA expansion has come at the expense of major cuts elsewhere. Let's see what sticks and what doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:28

      What MASSIVE expansion? For next summer they added in Europe Bologna, Berlin and Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:33

      Four new destinations in Europe (you forgot Edinburgh) is a big expansion for a US airline.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:40

      They are also adding Phoenix-London which will be daily in addition to ORD-ATH and PHL-MUC.

      They did cut a lot of flights like JFK-DUB, ORD-China, PHL-FRA...

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:01

      Of all the new AA routes, Dubrovnik has the lowest frequency. Most other flights are daily, Bologna and Berlin are 4x a week and DBV only 3x. Season is also shortest for DBV together with TXL and BLQ, as other new routes like ATH, LHR, MUC and EDI have longer seasonal operations.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:10

      An 15:01
      Does it hurt you that your airport is not receiving AA at all? Or is it just pure JEALOUSY?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:12

      Crapload of AA at my airport, I don't live in ex yu. Just pointing out the fact DBV is the weakest addition. Any fact to counter that?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:43

      DBV is the weakest and, also, the smallest addition. 3 pw is a nice (careful) start by AA. Good luck!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:06

      An. 15.01
      We can put it this way, too :
      Bologna, city of almost milion, in a country of 70 milion, 4 per week
      Berlin, city of almost 3 milion, capital of country of 90 milion, 4 per week
      Dubrovnik, village of 40000 in Balkans country of 4 milion, 3 per week.
      How does it sound now ?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous22:14

      lol dubrovnik is not a village.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous23:03

      City size does not matter. Dhaka is a city of 18 million without nonstop flight to the USA. Monte Carlo is smaller than Dubrovnik but has more visitors from the USA. Good for Dubrovnik to get that service, but the fact remains: it is the weakest addition in this series. If you look at well known airliners web site, most people are surprised with AA selecting DBV and people think it has to do with some kind of financial support:
      "My guess is that both DBV and BLQ have some sort of subsidy deal or bulk seat purchase (cruise ships for DBV) supporting the flights". Another comment: bold move, "or Croatia's paying through the a$$ for it."

      Delete
    11. Anonymous23:19

      IBZ has a population of barely 150 000 but still airport has 8 million pax which is BEG + SPU together (2017 figures).
      With this logic we can add KEF, PMI, RIX and so on with millions and millions of traffic. Not a good example.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:08

    https://www.thedubrovniktimes.com/news/dubrovnik/item/5044-video-star-wars-plane-lands-at-dubrovnik-airport

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    It's good that they have the initiative

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:10

    Croatia is doing a really good job here!

    I almost 2 years EK, AC, AA (DBV) and KE flights are secured. There is TS to YYZ, possibly YUL in next year.

    I am sure, China and US flights to ZAG are very close.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:51

      True. Nice growth in international carriers.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:10

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:12

    Next one is supposed to be Chengdu in China to ZAG (Sichuan Airlines) with A350.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      Chengdu would be good actually. A mammoth new second airport is being constructed outside Chengdu and it is slated to become one of the major intercontinental airports for China. I flew Sichuan Airlines last year on a Chinese domestic flight and they exceeded my expectations!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    Great news. I think there is a lot of potential from these markets, especially China and I do not understand why more hasn't been done to secure them until now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:14

      Agree. Politicians have been talking about China-Croatia flights since 2014 and nothing has happened yet. It's time for some concrete action.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:19

    What about environment and protecting nature? As I know Croatia did't realise many envitonmental projects and it was warned by Brussels. Such boom and massive tourism means destruction of coast and islands. Look, what happened in Thailand. As Purger says, "ova svadba bo koštala."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      Totally agree, but this is obviously a problem not only related to any particular country.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      Crazy capitalism has no regards to environment. Probabbly some destruction of Croatian coast is expected in close future. I hope not in such manner as in Thailand.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:19

    The best addition for ZAG in the United States would be United to EWR. Being a Star Alliance carrier, Croatia Airlines could help them connecting passengers from ZAG to SPU and DBV and to other ex-Yu destinations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      United doesn't fly beyond major hubs, ever!!!

      Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Dublin, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Zürich, Edinburgh, London and Manchester. they have Seasonal to Porto and Geneva.

      Thy have stopped flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen in 2017. These are two massive airports, with nearly 30 million pax each.

      United flies to Geneva and Brussels for obvious reasons, same goes for Manchester and Edinburgh.

      All other airports are massive hubs in Europe.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:20

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:22

    I wonder who will be affected the most here. Probably Iberia and LH Group.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      I would say LH group first and foremost.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:49

      Affected? You DO realize that Croatia will have 20 million arrivals this year, while 10 years ago it was 5 million? Now you can figure out who will be affected or if the Market will simply further grow.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:54

      Well we will have to wait and see. We have been hearing many speculation and prediction coming from posters on here but not many have materialized. I am still waiting on that promotional EK A380 to ZAG or for QR to start sending its Dreamliner.

      Just because you want something to happen doesn't mean it will.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:06

      Does it matter? ZAG has QR twice daily year round and EK/FZ. You really take these comments of aircraft types seriously? If demand grows the airlines will respond, if not - then not. It took EK 20 years to change to A380 in Hamburg. So you should not take your every comment or wish of aviation enthusiast here as set. Use your brain and enjoy aviation :)

      I wish to see an A380 in ZAD- so you may now comment ;)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:14

      There was no A380 20 years ago.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:14

      It's a matter of how unrealistic some people are on here, like the guys saying DL is considering ATL ZAG flights.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:16

      Yes- it is a legitimate wish - like I wish some Chinese carriers flying from BEG to PVG. Until it happens, it remains a wish. Same with ZAG flight to anywhere.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:18

      "It's a matter of how unrealistic some people are on here, like the guys saying DL is considering ATL ZAG flights."

      Sorry, why do you think DL flying to ZAG is unrealistic?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:19

      How do you know it is unrealistic? You know that it is a wish, but claiming it is UNREALISTIC, is the same as claiming the ARE CONSIDERING:

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:22

      Dude he wrote DL would fly to ZAG from ATL. Now if that's not unrealistic then I don't know what is.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous10:38

      It is not unrealistic at all- it is more unlikely to happen in the near future.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous22:18

      First, I'm not saying ATL - ZAG by DL will happen - sooner, later or at all.
      But : ZAG is missing link to the US and working to get it
      ATL is the biggest airport in the US and the HUB for one of the USB4 - DL
      DL is flying from ATL to airports like Stuttgart and Venice
      So , everyone can do his or her maths whether is it absolutely impossible, highly unlikely or highly likely to happen

      Delete
    13. Anonymous22:38

      DL is SkyTeam and ZAG is LH Germany and Star Alliance airport. Lufti will never allow DL to approach ZAG. Also LOT are considering buying OU so things are getting pretty interesting.
      No wonder why OK ditched ZAG, because it was SkyTeam - it's all about aviation star wars.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous23:05

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 22:38

      Stop that nonsense, Zagreb is a destination not an airline. Wtih your logic, Korean Air wouldn't fly to Zagreb , Emirates, KLM, Air France, Iberia, ... I mean are you for real...

      Delete
    15. Anonymous23:10

      You know what I mean about DL.
      If DL launches flights from ATL then it means it wants to conquer US market. As you know OU is basically part of LH especially on MUC and FRA routes, not to mention the coast...they will put pressure on airport not to allow SkyTeam expansion with AF and KL.
      Trust me, it's all studied and LH are not stupid...

      Delete
    16. Anonymous00:32

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 23:10

      Airport is owned by the state, and manged by the French, who have close links to Air France, you see where this is going.... State itself wants NA flights. Trust me on this, OU has little say what Zagreb airport does, and which airlines land at it.

      If you said Croatian state is putting pressure on the management, yes that would hold some water, but no, the government wants US carriers in Zagreb, problem was and still is, lack of interest from US carriers. Dubrovnik got the doors open, now things can go smoother, if AA does well in Dubrovnik next year and year after that, they might add Zagreb in 2021 or 2022.

      However, Delta is more likely to come before that, Delta has interest in Zagreb, they took over Pan Am and knew Zagreb was really good destination. They might look at figures now that AA has started flying to Dubrovnik and decide on it. 570 000 US visitors to Croatia this year, is quite a big incentive to come, 250 000 US Visitors to Zagreb, 320 000 nights generated by US visitors last year, these are all nice numbers, and Zagreb is also home to one of the NATOs main security agencies specializing in strategy and war planning.

      Building stronger trade/commercial links is also important, Croatian-US economic interest balance is around $5.5 billion, normally when that figures is around $10 billion, US carriers tend to have direct links, so halfway there.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:24

    Well done. It seems the Croatian government is really trying to attract as many new customers as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:25

    When will AA start selling tickets to DBV?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      In one week

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      Great, thanks

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:50

      I'm quite interested to see what the fares will be like.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:26

    There are already flights to the US from Zagreb via MUC, VIE, BEG, IST...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:08

      Copenhagen, Stockholm, London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Oslo, Helsinki, Dubai, soon via Seoul and even Beijing/Shanghai.

      I know you're trolling, but you need to be trolled back.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      Beijing / Shanghai - that was funny

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:28

    Will OU codeshare on these flights to Philadelphia by selling ZAG-DBV-PHI?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23:10

      Unlikely, as OU has code share agreement with the United. London - Zagreb route is very popular with US visitors to Croatia who use United/OU code-share to visit the country.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:30

    This is not very good news for LH because of the ZAG-MUC and ZAG-FRA feeder flights and also will hurt the BEG-JFK route, where transit traffic will be reduced too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      BEG receives transit from TIA, TIV, TGD, SPU, ZAG, LJU, SJJ...to name a few. How a three weekly to DBV (which is in summer mostly filled with higher yielding O&D pax with A320s full) will seriously hurt BEG-JFK route?

      The most interesting is that those who're saying JFK-BEG will be affected by some sparrow peeing on Bane Jelacica square are the same ones that says that nobody from Croatia connects via BEG to New York.

      So make your choice.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:40

      +1
      VIE-ZAG will be affected also.
      The biggest losers will be LH, OS and JU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:41

      Of course, nothing can happen without somehow affecting JU. Newsflash, JU's DBV flights don't really connect onto JFK.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:20

      Yes, they do.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:25

      And how did you come to that conclusion exactly?

      Flights from Dubrovnik to Belgrade arrive at 16.15. Departure from Belgrade to New York is at 07.20 and 13.15.

      So what was the point of your lie?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:30

      Thr price..JU has the lowest price and it's worth the stopover...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous18:05

      JU isn't after DBV passengers to New York so don't see what you are going on about.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous23:16

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 09:30

      Lufthansa group won't be affected by few American airlines flights to Dubrovnik, considering 570 000 US visitors are projected to visit Croatia, based on first 6 months data. At most AA is offering 12 000 seats over 5 month period to Croatia, Lufthansa alone had over 500 000 passengers to Croatia last year.

      Transfers via Belgrade are minimal from Croatia, 2-3 years ago, you had some traffic, these days, all melted away. Also, there are no flights to Dubrovnik from Belgrade, so to get to Belgrade person in Dubrovnik needs to fly to Zagreb with OU and than take a flight to Belgrade and again another flight to JFK, however OU had direct flights out of Dubrovnik to Frankfurt and Munich, Paris and Amsterdam, do you see where this is going...

      Delete
    9. Anonymous09:24

      Can you please explain your statement that there are no flights from DBV to BEG?
      JU flies to ZAG (year round), DBV, SPU and PUY (all in season) in Croatia

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:39

    I think Croatia Airlines will eventually launch long haul flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Yes but before that they need to do a few things:

      1. get enough mechanics to service their planes.
      2. create a normal relationship with its employees.
      3. get the capital to fund this adventure by selling the remainder LHR slots and its engines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:49

      Did LOT start the talks with the Government about taking over OU?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:36

      It's an expensive adventure anon 9.39

      Delete
    4. Anonymous23:24

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 09:39

      Possibly only if OU can afford A321 NEO LR, these are now certified for transatlantic flights, A321 NEO LR configured with 192 seats has range of 4350 NM or 8000km. From Zagreb to NYC is 6900km, so direct flights are a possibility, potentially flights via Dublin would also be possible, pick up business travelers there and and back. However, for that OU needs to sort its finances and new management.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:50

    4 mil eur is a lot. If each long haul destination received one million it would help airlines greatly. For example if AA received 1 million to start Dubrovnik that would be over 100 eur per each incoming passenger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      Croatia does not give airlines money to fly there. Market is major and can attract many premium passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:05

      Did you read the text? It says ministry used 4 mil eur for attracting the airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      So in the end they are subsidizing airlines?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:19

      Yes, with 4 million euros, hahahahaha! Are you serious, Anon 10:16?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:21

      It's not me you should be attacking but your minister.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:29

      No, I mean, do you really think 4 million euros is enough for attracting all the carriers? Like, you give AA 1 million to come to DBV and they will come?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:43

      It's damn sure a decent incentive.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:47

      Uhljebi su skrckali 4 milijuna jura. AA je dosao sam u DBV u pokusaju da napravi profit, jer gube novac na puno linija. Rezu te i otvaraju nove pa gde prodje prodje.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:53

      "...Rezu te i otvaraju nove pa gde prodje prodje. "

      I baš su se odlučili za DBV? Vjerojatno lutrijom.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:24

      Is PHL-DBV subsidised??? o_O

      Delete
    11. Anonymous12:05

      @10:53 Verovatno ne znas nista o AA i koliko imaju letova iz svojih mnogobrojnih habova za Evropu. Pokrili su sve do Helsinkija za sezonski let za DBV imaju rezona. Sezonski ce leteti za Veneciju sa dva svoja aerodroma, ali ne lete tamo zimi.

      Delete
    12. I think they use that money to finance advertising the route. Maybe other things are included too ?

      Delete
    13. Anonymous14:26

      Text says next year they will double the budget. With 8 million EUR you can get any airline in the world.

      Delete
    14. Anonymous18:07

      EK also said they got 'support' from the government so I guess same with AA. Luckily DBV is more realistic so they are only keeping summer season flights.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous23:43

      @Q40022 August 2018 at 12:19

      Yes money is used exclusively to promote Croatia, no airline can be given preference or money or financial incentive. it is against EU law. All Croatia is doing is promoting Croatia at major airline and travel events, there's name for one where airline decide on new routes, forgot the name of the event, but this is one way or promoting Croatia as a destination.
      Last year 2.25 million visitors outside Europe have visited Croatia, nearly 700 000 from Americas last year. This year 2.5 million visitors non-European visitors are expected to visit Croatia, in 2020, that number could exceed 3 million, easily.

      I expect in 2020 800 000 US visitors and 250 000 Canadian visitors will visit Croatia, for any major US airline, well there are only 4 legacy carriers there, and only 2 fly seasonally, is a massive potential. I am sure this is sufficient incentive for most airlines to look in to establishing direct links to Croatia. Croatia will be in to 10 European destination for US visitors in 2020, ahead of Greece.

      Top 10 in 2017 are. https://travel.trade.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2012_US_Travel_Abroad.pdf

      UK - 3.2 million
      France - 2.85 million
      Italy - 2.55 million
      Germany - 2.25 million
      Spain - 2.1 million
      Ireland - 1.6 million
      Netherlands - 1.2 million
      Switzerland - 1.0 million
      Austria - 820 000
      Greece - 490 000 (down from 740 000 in 2015)
      Croatia - 475 000
      Poland - 392 000
      Russia - 366 000
      Czech R - 320 000
      Belgium - 310 000
      Sweden - 250 000
      Denmark - 210 000
      Hungary 186 000 ....

      Delete
    16. Anonymous00:36

      Again with the statistics/predictions number carpet bombing of this blog? Jeez, hope this blog gets advertising revenue from you.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous09:30

      "...there's name for one where airline decide on new routes, forgot the name of the event, but this is one way or promoting Croatia as a destination. "

      Say no more

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:38

    Dubrovnik should next try to attract Korean Air seasonally.

    As for Zagreb I think China flights are on the horizon.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:06

    Any chance Split will see long hauls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      Not with its current infrastructure.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:15

      Nope. They're seeking none. They have whole different strategy compared to ZAG and DBV. Focus is on LCCs but without subsidies.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:49

      Split Airport CEO said they are not interested in long hauls.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:56

      That is a smart move. Focus on the basics and build number of pax up. Split area focuses on European travellers anyhow so why bother with the long haul. Those from outside Europe arrive with LCCs anyway as they're hopping throughout Europe.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:17

    KE is most likely sending A380 to ZAG around Easter 2019 :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48

      Sure. Only problem is ZAG is not A380 accredited. In fact if you check on Airbuses website Zagreb doesn't have even accreditation to be an alternative airport for A380 in case of emergency. There you will also find a list of infrastructure requirements made by Airbus for airports to be accredited to serve the A380 and I'm sorry to say that ZAG does not meet most of them. No airport in ex-Yu does.

      So please stop with the fairytales.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:40

      https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=150399899#post150399899

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:12

      Yes it can, ZAG can handle the A380 after it was constructed by the Frenchies.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:14

      No it can not. That's the problem. It's not about the terminal. It's about the runway, the taxiways, the lighting, the equipment used to serve airplanes.... Please if you are an aviation enthusiast do a bit more research. You can simply go to the Airbus website to see if the airport is accredited to handle an A380. Unfortunately, you won't find it among the 250 airports that are.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:23

      The runway is one of the largest in the Balkans. Is it about having 2 airbridges at once? How come PRG can and ZAG cannot? Come on...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:28

      You think you only need a long enough runway to handle an A380? Apart from not having wide enough taxiways it doesen't have the required equipment to serve an A380 for loading/offloading cargo, passengers, not enough staff to handle the plane while servicing other aircraft. ZAG also has no catering facilities for airlines although this is the smallest problem.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:31

      Is it expensive to upgrade it then?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:33

      I don't know. They said they will build an A380 gate so I assume they do plan to be A380 accessible in the future.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:37

      Thanks. Would be really cool to see them arriving.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous15:05

      Check this small elaboration linked above (@12:40), it's not all abt rwy and gates.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous18:03

      List A380 compatibility airports

      https://www.airbus.com/aircraft/passenger-aircraft/a380-family/airlines-destinations/airport-compatibility.html

      Delete
    12. Anonymous21:35

      KTW, RIX, MSQ and no OTP??? Whoa!
      Balkan is always poor :(

      Delete
    13. Anonymous00:00

      @Anonymous22 August 2018 at 13:14

      Zagreb can handle A380, problem is leaving the terminal, the aircraft can't leave along the taxiway as old taxiway is too narrow, i men the access road is, however these will be expanded this winter, plans are afoot, to take off, A380 had to do same thing B777 does, halfway along the taxiway it moves to the main runway and does 180 turn at the bottom of the runway for take off. Airport is expand all taxiways and adding extra platforms this winter, so B777 and A380 can land and use taxiway all the way.

      BTW 777 300 is almost as big as A380, http://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/7/1/3/1491317.jpg?v=v40
      https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ab/6b/49/ab6b49f0a0241fbb68033a68d6c46ac8.png
      https://i.4pcdn.org/pol/1491235658951.jpg

      So if Zagreb can handle B777 300ER, on a daily basis, it can handle A380,

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:49

    Flights from US to ZAG would make most sense.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous13:16

    If Zagreb is able to sustain 2 Canadian airlines from Toronto seasonally, then I expect they could sustain two US carriers during the summer - one to Dubrovnik, the other to Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:00

      Are you sure about that?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:05

      Yes, 570 000 US visitors in Croatia this year, expected, you think 12-20 000 seats will be very hard to fill with such numbers ????

      Delete
  25. Anonymous14:18

    Most likely we will see DY launching ZAG-JFK or ZAG-OAK.
    Other potential candidates are
    SQ ZAG-SIN.
    LA ZAG-BUE - many Croatians in Argentina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:42

      The airline that's gonna luanch EZE-ZAG is not LA but LMAO.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:16

      There is a city in Chile called Iquique where there are many Croations. You can even see the Croation flag in the downtown. I have been there a couple of years ago. And LMAO but there are 250,000 Croats in Argentina:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Argentines

      If not LA, at least AR can try because OU doesn't have a wide body.

      Delete
    3. Mislis na Punta Arenas

      Delete
    4. Latam00:47

      Do you guys suffer from some kind of delusions? Flights to Zagreb because there are people whose great grandfathers escaped hunger in dalmatia, or the ones that came after 45 (wink, wink). 99% of them don’t know a word of croatian, and maybe travel 1-2 times in a lifetime to Europe. Aerolíneas is extremely expensive airline to fly with. Btw Norwegian did apply for a bunch of routes, none of them were in exYu. I remember seeing WAW, KBP, MOW..

      So please, hold your horses, and illusions of grandeur.

      Kiss from Latin America.

      Delete
  26. great news, but i don't quite like them since streets in Dubronik will get even more crowded :/

    anyhow, i highly recommend anyone to visit restaurant "azur" while in dubrovnik. killer food. chef brothers who lived in southeast asia are making european meals with asian twist. (not paid advertisement, but i plan to squeeze a free beer when i show this post to the waiter)

    cheers to all!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous18:08

    AA will operate these flights with Boing 767 which have a horrendous on time performance, a lot of maintenance issues and 80s interior,no PTVs...only thing going for passengers is that it is a non stop to DBV

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:13

      Do you think they might send the Dreamliner instead?

      Delete
    2. Poanta vica je stici na destinaciju.
      Zivo me zacese koliko dugo treba za zamjenu gume

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:25

      No AA 787 are based in PHL right now which might change in 2020 since AA has around 48 Dreamliners on order and the 767 are being replaced by 787 anyway...if the route performs well and sticks around it will probably get extended and see the Dreamliner in a few years

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:41

      Ah, I didn't know that...thanks. If there is high interest can the flights be extended in winter as well even 1 weekly?
      I think Anon 18:08 is right...the AA 767 really looks shabby compared to the rest of nice, new planes.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous11:34

    BTW, related to possible US routes and LH reaction - anybody knows what situation with hard & soft product on US major carriers comparing to LH?
    I remember that when I was frequently traveling to US using Star Alliance couple of years ago, we were trying to avoid United and go with LH because of better product.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous15:05

    There is potential for seasonal flights from US to Zagreb, winter operations are not realistic I believe, different situation if Croatia Airlines would be able to feed from region and then via zag to US.
    .....

    ReplyDelete
  30. Montenegro should aim for long haul flights

    ReplyDelete

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