Korean Air touches down in Zagreb

Korean Air inaugurated scheduled flights between Seoul and Zagreb this morning with its 218-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, featuring six seats in first class, 24 in business and 188 seats in economy class. The jet arrived in the Croatian capital at approximately 15.30 local time. The airline, which has operated a handful of charters to Zagreb each year since 2010, will maintain the scheduled service three times per week on a year-round basis. During the 2018/19 winter season, which begins on October 28, the airline will run a three weekly triangle service with the routing Seoul - Zagreb - Zurich - Seoul, although it has not secured rights to sell tickets on the intra-European sector. The winter operation will be maintained with a Boeing 777-200ER jet from late October until early January and the 269-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner thereafter, until the start of the summer season in March.

Zagreb Airport and Korean Air representatives at Zagreb Airport

Zagreb Airport marked the occasion with a press event. Korean Air is the third major airline to launch flights to the Croatian capital this year following Aegean Airlines and Air Canada Rouge. The national carrier of South Korea is said to have recorded solid bookings on the route so far with numbers peaking for the upcoming Chuseok holiday in late September, when the average cabin load factor on flights to Zagreb is already said to be 99%. "Ticket sales and advanced booking numbers are in line with our expectations for this route and we are satisfied with its performance", Korean Air said. In order to promote the new route, the airline has begun screening ads entitled "A walk in Croatia" with actress Ye Sul Park (featured below).

Korean tour operator KAL Tours and Hanjin Travel have contributed a large share of passengers to the new service. A spokesman for Korea’s top travel agency, Hana Tour, said that Croatia is emerging as one of the most promising travel destinations for South Koreans who visit Europe. Last year, 448.636 Korean holidaymakers visited Croatia, which has become increasingly popular in the country after several reality shows were filmed in places such as Dubrovnik. The Croatian Minister for Tourism, Gari Cappelli, recently said the country was looking to secure flights from four far away markets in the coming period. These include Japan, China, South Korea and the United States. "One of our main goals is to improve Croatia's air connectivity. The establishment of new flights is crucial to increasing the number of arrivals, especially from far away markets. We are particularly focusing on Japan, with which we recently signed a bilateral Air Service Agreement, but also China, South Korea and the United States, which all account for a growing number of tourists", Mr Cappelli said.

Korean Air A330 upon landing in Zagreb