American Airlines touches down in Dubrovnik

American Airlines has inaugurated its seasonal service between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik, marking the resumption of flights between the United States and Croatia after 28 years, as well as the return of scheduled long haul flights to the Adriatic city. Flight AA148 took off from Philadelphia just after 18.30 local time (00.30 CEST), with 209 passengers on board the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, while the return service has 169 travellers. On Wednesday evening, a ceremony was held at the National Constitution Center Museum in Philadelphia to celebrate the new three weekly service (increasing to four in September). Prior to its departure, a media gate party was held at Philadelphia Airport, attended by American's Vice President for Hub Operations, Jim Moses. He said, "Dubrovnik has been a place of interest for several years. It has grown in popularity among US travellers, but remained unserved by US airlines. American Airlines saw an opportunity to fill that gap. We are very pleased with sales on this route".

Gate party for flight AA148

The large Croatian delegation on the inaugural flight included, among others, the Croatian Ambassador to the United States, Pjer Šimunović, and the State Secretary at the Croatian Ministry of Tourism, Frano Matušić. Mr Matušić noted, "We are honoured that American Airlines has chosen Dubrovnik to launch this historic service connecting our two great countries. We believe this will deepen the bilateral alliance and the bonds of friendship between two World Heritage cities and between the United States and Croatia".

Commenting on the historic service, the General Manager of Dubrovnik Airport, Frano Luetić, said, "American Airlines chose Dubrovnik for several reasons. They have recognised us as a quality destination and our airport worked very hard during the negotiating process in order to secure these flights. Initially, this will be a seasonal service". He added, "There are a lot of Croats in the US. These are second, third or even fourth generation who are happy to come and visit their homeland. Air travel is much more affordable these days and we expect excellent sales. Philadelphia was chosen to be linked with Dubrovnik because it is an East Coast hub for the airline and has excellent links with the West Coast, Canada, as well the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Therefore, we expect a lot of transfer passengers as well. Furthermore, Philadelphia is close to New York, which is too congested".

The head of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Romana Vlašić, said, "After 28 years we finally have direct flights from the US again. This pilot project from American Airlines will grow over the coming years to include more American cities as well as new airlines". She added, "We have been working intensively on the US market for years and it seems that this work is starting to bear fruit. There have been a whole series of promotional events that we have carried out in the US, from the New York Times Travel Show to specialised travel fairs in Las Vegas. Secondly, we are working with a luxury tour operator in the US who has proved to be very professional and has brought us many guests to Dubrovnik over the past few years".

Water cannon salute at Dubrovnik Airport for AA148

American Airlines crew upon landing in Dubrovnik

The Croatian National Tourist Office's Director for North America, Ina Rodin, said, "We are thrilled that there is now a nonstop flight from the US to Dubrovnik, as Croatia continues to capture the imagination and gain attention from travellers. The Croatian National Tourist Board and our tourism colleagues from Dubrovnik are excited to continue to show the world that Croatia and its magnificent Pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik, the most visited destination in Croatia for Americans, followed by Split and Zagreb, respectively, are all exciting destinations worth exploring, especially among visitors from the US market”. From January to May, Croatia has experienced a significant increase in travellers from the US market compared to the same period last year. In the first five months of 2019, American arrivals to Croatia stood at 143.647, an increase of 14.5%, while overnights totalled 363.663, or an increase of 14.6%. Americans were the second largest group to visit Dubrovnik thus far in 2019 and in this same period, American arrivals to Dubrovnik amounted to 35.725, up 19% on last year.

Prior to the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik Airport was well connected to the United States. JAT Yugoslav Airlines maintained a one weekly seasonal nonstop service from Dubrovnik to New York JFK, as well as a one weekly service to Chicago with its wide-body DC-10 aircraft. Meanwhile, Pan Am offered daily connections to New York via its Frankfurt hub, using a Boeing 727 on the inter-European sector. Almost three decades later. American will not only maintain its seasonal service, but continue to offer year-round travel options via its codeshare partners Iberia through Madrid and British Airways via London. Flight AA148 itself is codeshared by fellow Oneworld alliance members, Iberia, British Airways and Finnair.