Croatia Airlines expects to recover from the downturn caused by coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic by 2022 and is looking to better position itself on new markets. Speaking to “AirInsight”, the carrier’s CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said, “Being a small airline may be an advantage to surviving the global turmoil - we can be more flexible during this time and more daring in seizing any new opportunity on the market. There is a downside as well - there are fewer means for investment compared to the bigger carriers. We are considering a few scenarios for the post-pandemic Croatia Airlines and each of them has the goal of positioning the company onto new markets and strengthening its position in existing markets”.
Mr Bajić noted that while the aviation industry is slowly seeing signs of recovery, he expects Croatia Airlines to be posting similar figures to those registered in 2019 by the end of next year or in 2022. “The pre-recovery has started but our industry will need two or three years to truly get back on its feet. We are gradually adding more flights into the distribution systems and we are seeing a positive market response. I would say that the main question is not when the recovery will start but how long it will take to recover. Me and my management team are confident that we can reach our 2019 figures by 2022. Personally, I would not be surprised to see Croatia Airlines’ figures reaching 2019 levels by the end of 2021, but we all agree that the recovery will be a long-lasting process during which we may again be exposed to another wave of the virus spread. Having said that, I also want to emphasise that, besides “U” shape and “V” shape scenarios, we need to be prepared for other scenarios too. This applies to many airlines around us as well. Many carriers will have to downsize for an unspecified time”.
In the coming period, Croatia Airlines plans to stick to its fundamentals. “Croatia Airlines is a regional carrier with the prime purpose of connecting Croats with Europe and the rest of the world through major European hubs with connections to the networks of our Star Alliance partners”, Mr Bajić said. He added, “We will continue to connect major European hubs as this is our strategy and it will remain unchanged. However, we will also provide connections for Croatian people to fly within the country and we will continue to provide direct links to Croatian holiday destinations from around Europe. We believe that the hub and spoke system will survive. Croatia Airlines is a strong regional operator with a clear goal. It is also well connected with many other airline partners through its interline and codeshare agreements and part of the best alliance in the world - Star Alliance”.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteBruh
DeleteWill they be around in 2022? How will they survive the coming winter season?
ReplyDeleteSame way they survived the rest of them.
DeleteOf course they will. Just like every ExYu airline.
DeleteJust like ANY other European airline who will receive state funds.
Financial performance has little importance when you are owned by the state.
This has been proven true for ever, it will definitely be proven now with the Covid crisis.
Yes and how fast did they burn through the €100 million they got some years ago? Not to mention that they did it during economic renaissance in Europe. JU ans YM survive because they are not limited by EU regulation, OU is. Especially now when the EU will restrict aid to airlines that have suffered before Coronavirus.
DeleteAnon 09:07
DeleteActually now the EU will NOT restrict aid to ANY airline. Sorry if you find this upsetting.
Anonymous 09:11
Delete+1
I don't know how some people can create a completely twisted reality with no relation to what is actually happening just to fill fulfill their fantasies and satisfy their hate.
What he is referring to is what Purger wrote on here some days ago. So I guess he has fantasies as well?
DeleteAnon 09:25 you are the same poster as in 09:07!!!!
DeleteLOL dude!
I am not the same guy, I am just someone who is reminding you that OU is not immune to what's going on and that OU's bankruptcy is not unimaginable. After all, that's the same thing people said about JP.
DeleteLOL!
DeleteYou can blame evil EU now for allowing massive government subsidies to by given to EU airlines!
That must have really messed things up for you, right?
The EU is not allowing "massive government subsidies". They are allowing massive loans, and even then only under certain conditions. You guys are in for a rude awakening in the coming months...
DeleteLet them dream of scenarios that will never happen.
DeleteI have a few questions regarding OU.
ReplyDelete- Is privatization still planned?
- What will happen with the Airbus neo order?
- Will they get aid?
The government said they will restart the privatization process in the 4th quarter. Of course they will get aid. It has already been announced by the government.
DeleteI hope the neos do come. They need them more now to replace the older Airbus jets than ever before.
DeleteI wish OU all the best but I don't understand who the government expects to find in Q4 to buy OU.
DeleteIf OU is debt free and the government gives it for 1€ and makes sure that subventions will be paid to it for a period of time I am sure someone will be interested.
DeleteSame as every other airline, exyu or not.
I wonder how will they fill Neos on (regional) routes they used Dashes before
DeleteUmm they will still have Dashes.
Delete@9.15 don't think that's what they are planning.
DeleteHow will they pay A320NEO's?
DeleteSame way every exyu airline is paying for its aircraft. Government subsidies.
DeleteGood luck
ReplyDeleteThe good thing for Croatia Airlines is that they will have a lot less competition on certain routes.
ReplyDeleteFor a reason. There will be no passengers so therefore there will be no competition.
DeleteAnd no passengers for OU means flying empty
LOL, they charge 300 EUR for return flights to Frankfurt and Amsterdam. Nobody will fly with them, competition or not.
DeleteThat's an optimistic forecast for them to be at prepandemic levels by the end of next year. Hope it happens. It would be great news.
ReplyDeleteCancelled my flight to Rome with OU and received the vouchers the following day. Great customer service, indeed! Pity you cannot use them online.
ReplyDeleteThat's good. But what do you mean about not being able to use them online? You have to go to their office or call?
DeleteIndeed!
DeleteThat's a bit inconvenient.
DeleteIs it possible to get money back? Or just vouchers?
DeleteI believe just vouchers right now.
DeleteThat's crazy in my opinion. They should offer the option of money back.
DeleteMany airlines would go bankrupt if they had to give money back. In Canada they have made it legal for airlines not to give money back but to just issue vouchers.
DeleteOU has been horrible with cancellations and forcing everyone to take vouchers which can only be used via call center.
DeleteFun fact: prices are higher via call center than online, because they charge a higher "Ticket service charge" to the tune of ~15EUR (if I recall the amount correctly).
Many airlines are offering a 10-15% bonus with the vouchers, but not OU.
Finally, vouchers can be transferred to someone else *only* by paying 40EUR.
“Being a small airline may be an advantage to surviving the global turmoil - we can be more flexible during this time..."
ReplyDeleteActually, there are hardly any advantages of being a small airline, on the contrary.
But, he could have been honest and said the advantage he thinks about is that he expects to be bailed out every time OU gets in trouble.
Exactly the same was said by JU.
DeleteI really hoped that one day we will get a wide body aircraft, and offer routes to East Asia and the US, but we probably won't even get the Neos, at least not at time😩
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's part of OU's strategy to fly long haul
Delete“We will continue to connect major European hubs as this is our strategy and it will remain unchanged."
Hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteThey talk about new markets. Any guesses which it could be?
ReplyDeleteIt's all PR
DeleteIn my opinion it would be wise to base 1 Dash in LJU and launch several key routes.
Delete+1 last anon!
Deletethat would make sense
Deleteto base 1 airplane in LJU...
DeleteWhy just now and not before (autumn 2019)?
a missed opportunity.
DeleteNice
ReplyDeleteOU has a very good network and good fleet. Things will improve once the A320 neos arrive and there are still 2 years until then.
ReplyDeleteHow exactly is their newtork good? They butchered London and don't fly to places like Moscow, Istanbul... or Stockholm on a year-round basis?
DeleteWell let's see what will happen regarding OU. Elections are in 2 months. If opposition wins then the management will change and a different strategy will probably be implemented.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that there will be a change in government?
DeleteGood luck OU.
ReplyDeleteIf nothing let's hope this wakes up the management and they really seize some opportunities as they have left many slip.
ReplyDeleteFor years now OU's modus operandi was to rely on LH Group hubs and to feed their growing networks. Now that those same airlines are struggling OU must decide what it wants to do. Use this opportunity to become more independent and self-sufficient or to accumulate losses while they want for Lufthansa and its children to start growing once again.
ReplyDeletePersonally I am not optimistic about OU's future especially now when tourist demand has collapsed all around. On top of that, it is being reported that from our region, Croatia will have the highest GDP fall. This will also impact their demand from ZAG. All in all, OU will need much more than €100 million to survive until demand picks up again. They are lucky Turkish operators in ZAG are protecting them from LCCs.
I'm sure you are very concerned...
DeleteAnon 11:00, wow, how concerned you are....hahaha
DeleteCroatia Airlines will get all the money it needs to survive now that EU restrictions are lifted, and will never go bankrupt.
Why did you write a similar comment twice? Do you feel better now? Also I never said I was concerned so I don't see where that's coming from. Wake up and smell the coffee, OU has no future because it tied itself to a sinking ship - in other words it relies heavily on LH which is milking it. After all they burned €133 million so far!
DeleteIts ALL good, Croatia Airlines will be around for a LONG time!!!
ReplyDeleteYou all know that the Croatian Government (irrespective who's in power) will NEVER allow for its demise, even if it hemorrhages money, its just a Croatian thing ;-)
BTW, Covid-19 made things MUCH easier for Croatian Government, no more EU restrictions on funding, so they can fill money into OU at will for many years to come, just like the GoS is doing with JU.
I hope things improve. I'm still stunned by the information in this news that they lost 244,000 euros on the ZAG-FRA route in a month and a half
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/05/croatia-airlines-pilots-test-covid.html
OU is well connected with airline partners as part of the best alliance in the world - Star Alliance. Look back at how that helped Adria survive.
ReplyDelete