Croatia Airlines will make several minor modifications to its operations this coming winter season, which begins on Sunday, October 28. The Croatian carrier will continue to maintain its two weekly flights from Zagreb to Mostar launched this summer season and will add an extra weekly service from Split to Munich, making the route operational on a daily basis. Furthermore, Croatia Airlines will upgrade its seasonal summer flights between Rijeka and Munich to year-round operations. The Croatian carrier will maintain two weekly flights between the two cities past October 28, each Thursday and Sunday, with its Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. It marks the first time Croatia Airlines will be operating out of Rijeka throughout the entire year.
The Croatian carrier has no plans to reduce frequencies on any of its routes at this point when compared to last year. However, its flights to Mostar are likely to be rescheduled. Mostar Airport's General Manager, Marin Raspudić, said recently, "Loads are poor on Croatia Airlines' flights to Zagreb. We expected much better results. People complain about the scheduling so we will try and negotiate better times with the carrier for the winter season so people can travel to and return from Zagreb in a single day". The Federal government of Bosnia and Herzegovina is providing half a million euros in funding to subsidise the route on a year-round basis over the next three years.
Apart from the operations listed below, Croatia Airlines will continue to maintain six weekly flights between Pula and Zadar. The number of frequencies on the route remains unchanged compared to last year. The 2018/19 winter season runs until March 31, 2019. Please note that the changes listed below are preliminary and based on current availability in the Global Distribution System (GDS). Furthermore, the table below displays the peak weekly frequency on each route during the course of the winter season. EX-YU Aviation News will bring you Adria Airways' and Montenegro Airlines' winter season modifications over the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can also review changes made by Air Serbia.
Departing Zagreb
| Destination | Frequency W17/18 | Frequency W18/19 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Brussels | 11 | 11 | - | - |
| Barcelona | 2 | 2 | - | seasonal ends JAN13 |
| Copenhagen | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Dubrovnik | 22 | 22 | - | - |
| Frankfurt | 21 | 21 | - | - |
| London-Heathrow | 4 | 4 | - | - |
| Lisbon | 2 | 2 | - | seasonal ends JAN14 |
| Mostar | 0 | 2 | ▲ 2 | - |
| Munich | 14 | 14 | - | - |
| Paris | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Pula | 6 | 6 | - | - |
| Rome | 7 | 7 | - | via Split |
| Sarajevo | 13 | 13 | - | - |
| Skopje | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Split | 22 | 22 | - | - |
| Vienna | 14 | 14 | - | - |
| Zadar | 6 | 6 | - | - |
| Zurich | 14 | 14 | - | - |
Departing Split
| Destination | Frequency W17/18 | Frequency W18/19 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Munich | 6 | 7 | ▲ 1 | - |
| Rome | 7 | 7 | - | - |
| Zagreb | 22 | 22 | - | - |
Departing Dubrovnik
| Destination | Frequency W17/18 | Frequency W18/19 | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt | 3 | 3 | - | - |
| Zagreb | 22 | 22 | - | - |
It's a shame they didn't extend Dublin to winter. I assume there is more than just tourists on this route. Anyone know how it performed during summer?
ReplyDeleteThey should keep Oslo and Helsinki too.
DeleteThey could have also kept Stockholm during winter now that Norwegian is out.
DeleteThey could even operate it with the Q400.
DeleteI think they should have kept a few seasonal routes from Zagreb including Athens, Prague and possibly Milan.
DeleteAthens is now served by Aegean.
DeleteYes but they can take on Aegean. They don't fly for half of winter and OU could carry transfer passengers.
DeleteAegean won't be flying for only 5-6 weeks to Zagreb.
DeleteAnd flies to every destination OU could possibly transfer them.
Codesharing is a much more realistic option
Aegean will not fly just from 21.1. to 24.2.
DeleteWhat an uninspiring winter at ZAG. Couldn't they extend at least ONE seasonal route?
ReplyDeleteThey could be doing more out of DBV. Good to see Split-Munich going daily.
ReplyDeleteI'm certain OU had a bigger network from Dubrovnik before during winter. Didn't they fly to Paris and Zurich as well plus Rome?
DeleteYeah, years ago. But that was before restructuring process.
Deletenot sure why they are not doing dbv muc daily, considering how many on their dbv zag flights connect to fra/muc anyway...
DeleteNice to see them finally recognize the potential at SPU.
DeleteWhy didn't the extend LIS and BCN for the entire winter. Why Just until early January?
ReplyDeleteBecause January and February are the lowest of the low seasons.
DeleteNice to see Rijeka finally served year round!
ReplyDeleteDo any other airlines fly to Rijeka during the winter?
DeleteEurowings does year round.
DeleteAnd Trade Air to Osijek Split and Dubrovnik
DeleteIt's surprising that Croatia Airlines doesn't add more departures between mid December and mid January like for example JU. That's the busiest part of the winter season.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Bucharest in the winter schedule?
DeleteIt's a seasonal summer route.
DeleteMe too, especially since they have sufficient aircraft for it.
DeleteHow many planes does Croatia Airlines use during the winter? Do they park some of their planes?
ReplyDeleteOne or two Airbuses are parked.
Deleteoh really?
DeleteYes. They tried leasing them out over winter several times but no luck.
Deletehm they are being too cautious imho (looking from outside)
Delete@anon 9:19: they did not do it, but it had nothing to do with luck; the reasons are the same why JU are talking about it some times but never do it
DeleteAny charters this winter? If I remember correctly, last year they operated some charters from Pristina or Tirana.
ReplyDeletelol is the Mostar guy wanting double daily? "so people can travel to and return from Zagreb in a single day"
ReplyDeleteNo. An additional (third) weekly rotation (Monday/Tuesday) would allow travel to and return from ZAG in a single day (on Mondays).
Deletei see
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteNo decreases. That's important.
ReplyDeleteI baffled that OU doesn't try ZAG-FCO nonstop. I'm certain there is enough demand.
ReplyDeletethere is not even competition from Alitalia
DeleteFlights from ZAG to Rome still going via Split is completely nonsensical. If Alitalia wasn't a mess they would be flying this route already.
DeleteBut is there really demand? Etihad Regional planned to fly FCO-ZAG with Saabs but cancelled the flights after few weeks of sales, meaning they were probably poor. Also the fact that Alitalia does not fly to ZAG is indicative. There obviously is no need for a nonstop flight at the moment.
DeleteIf there was a market AZ would have launched it like they did SKP and TGD.
DeleteWith Qatar running Air Italy and them saying how it will become Italy's true national airline maybe they do start Zagreb.
DeleteAir Italy has quite a lot of other markets to cover before they consider Zagreb. Plus, they are based in Milan not Rome.
DeleteAnd their smallest aircraft is the 737 which might be too big.
DeleteThey've been planning to fly out of Rome too, but right now they postponed their decision.
DeleteI wonder how many people board the plane in Split for Rome.
DeleteJudging by how many weekly flights there are from Split to Rome and vv in summer I would assume that most people fly between Split and Rome generally over the year, not Zagreb and Rome. This is also supported by the fact that there are no other airlines operating between Zagreb and Rome at all.
DeleteNever realised that OU's year round network from ZAG consists of only 17 destinations. To my eyes it looks tiny!!!
ReplyDeleteAdria now has more destinations out of Ljubljana, then Croatia Airlines out of Zagreb.
DeleteYes. It is really poor. Great management.
Deleteshame they cannot go more then 7 weekly to SKP in winter due to lack of aircrafts. they had a +40% increase of pax in summer schedule thx to that spanish wet lease
ReplyDeleteNot surprised about the poor loads to Mostar. The two-weekly frequency and the departure times are absurd for P2P passengers, and connectivity onto other OU flights is very poor. 10.5 hour layover for flights to London, no connectivity onto Dublin. Return journeys even worse.
ReplyDeleteZAG is too expensive as an airport for OU to offer cheap tickets to OMO. When I say cheap I mean to compete with cars and buses.
Deleteconnectivity is one of OU's biggest problem. they have no classical waves
DeleteSo what do their regional flights connect to?
Deleterandomly between 1 hour and 10. they should optimize their east and west connections
Delete@anon 9:32: they actually did have a small wave with their regional wave (spu, sjj, dbv, skp) . those dashs always departed at same times, just in time after their airbuses arrived from the west/north
DeleteShameful!
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly?
DeleteThat OU isn't growing!
DeleteAny forcast for growth this winter?
DeleteWell they added 1 weekly flight from Split to Munich, 2 weekly from Rijeka to Munich and 2 weekly from Zagreb to Mostar. At the same time they didn't decrease other routes. So I would say they are growing. Cautiously and slowly, but still growing.
DeleteYes last anonymus, you're right. In a decade they will maybe fly to Stockholm year round.
DeleteAt least they are not shrinking like JU.
DeleteHaha I knew someone is going to mention JU.
DeleteIt's obvious the biggest carrier in ex yu cannot be left alone no matter it has nothing to do with today's topic
And you jumped with joy when someone mentioned it as you could start trolling.
DeleteThe issue with OU and winter is their fleet. They urgently need 100 seaters. The Airbuses are completely unsuitable for their winter ops. Too large for 98% of the routes.
ReplyDeleteIt makes you wonder what are they going to do with the neos then in the winter when they arrive. Especially since they have more seats that the A319/320 ceos.
Delete+1 to both
DeleteA320neos don’t have more seats than A320ceos, unless OU decides to reduce pitch and cram more seats in.
DeleteNothing east of Skopje in winter.
ReplyDeleteThat is ok ... they can't cover an entire globe. Focus is on the most important markets.
DeleteThis is the maximum that OU can provide at the moment. Other companies will fill the gaps.
ReplyDeleteNot great but not a disaster either. Keeping the status quo. But seriously I think Croatia as a country has much more flight potential over winter then the network Croatia Airlines puts out.
ReplyDeleteThey could do more like extending seasonal flights, leasing aircraft if they have excess during the winter and starting some charters. Every airline in the region seems to have realised the benefits of charters except for OU.
DeleteWhat about Osijek?
ReplyDeleteOU flies to Osijek only during the summer. And even that barely.
DeleteOU flies to Osijek 2 pw in summer time table (SPU and DBV), but has code-share on Trade air who wins PSO for Osijek flights. On those PSO Trade Air flies all year
Delete- 6 pw to Zagreb
- 2 pw to Pula-Split
- 2 pw to Rijeka-Split-Dubrovnik
An all those 10 flights per week Croatia has code-share all year and connection to their flights.
Same old same old from Croatia Airlines.
ReplyDeleteGood to seem them being stable in their ops with no cuts.
DeleteDepressive.
ReplyDeleteI agree considering the whole potential of the Croatian market.
DeleteVery conservative network.
ReplyDeleteDidn't former CEO Kucko say all Croatia Airlines routes are unprofitable during the winter. That might be the reason why they are "conservative".
DeleteIs that possible? Every route unprofitable?
DeleteRisk takinf hasn't paid off very much for either Adria or Air Serbia.
Delete*taking
DeleteAnd we see that OU is very good example of successful company with its business strategy
DeleteYou say it.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they don't go on strike during the winter.
ReplyDeleteThey can't. Court banned them.
DeleteThat was for summer. But they probably wouldn't have a problem with winter since traffic is much lighter and impact is much lower.
DeleteIt's interesting how strong OU is in AMS. They are killing KL which will have six weekly E90 flights this winter.
ReplyDeleteOU seems to have done quite alright against the competition. They managed to drive out Brussels Airlines and Swiss to fly only seasonal.
DeleteThey seem to be fighting off OK quite well.
DeleteYes but they don't operate Prague during the winter, just during the summer, as OK has now started as well.
DeleteIs this regional leading hub ambition still valid? Will ZAG achieve it by 2042?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2018/02/zagreb-airport-with-regional-hub.html
Mr Feron noted that transforming Zagreb into a hub is a long-term strategy, with Group Aerport de Paris' concession to run until 2042
They should have upgraded Barcelona and Lisbon to year round, especially now with Iberia starting year round flights, they will be able to take some passengers off these routes.
ReplyDeleteThere is not enough demand for TIA? Connections maybe?
ReplyDeleteI find it surprising that OU does not fly to Tirana. JP and JU seem to be doing well there with connecting passengers.
DeleteNot bad for winter. Croatia is a very seasonal market.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know when JP plans to publish their winter schedule? I still dont get their statement abt GVA and its cancelation
ReplyDeleteIt's cancelled. It's a seasonal route now.
DeleteThey should do more out of Dubrovnik. If more and more airlines can make it work from there on a year round basis then I don't see why OU can't.
ReplyDeleteMore, and more?
DeleteLike Iberia (2 pw), Turkish (4 pw), Trade Air (2 pw PSO), Vueling (4 pw just part of winter), British (2 pw just part of winter). Even Travel Service cancelled planed flights. So that is 12 flights pw + 2 PSO.
Croatia has 22 flights to Zagreb pw and 3 to Frankfurt pw, what is 25 flights. So?
Connections out of/into DBV in winter are terrible. It takes all day to get there from anywhere other than Zagreb. Instead of flying to FRA three times a week, a daily CRJ flight to/from MUC operated by LH in the morning would be great (and another by OU with Q400 in the afternoon would be a good choice too)...but of course Dubrovnik bura in winter is another problem (cancellations galore).
ReplyDelete