Korean budget carrier T’way Air has said it will commence flights from Seoul to Croatia in late 2021 after signing a letter of intent to lease three Airbus A330-300 aircraft in order to introduce new medium and long-haul routes. The move comes as part of the budget airline’s efforts to prepare for a rebound in air travel demand after the pandemic. T’way currently operates a fleet of 27 Boeing 737-800s on flights to Vietnam, China, Japan and Taiwan. With three A330-300 jets to be leased gradually later this year, the airline will commence services to new destinations. In addition to Croatia, they include Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
T’way has received all necessary permits from the Korean Ministry for Land, Infrastructure and Transport to launch up to four weekly commercial flights between Seoul and Croatia. Last year, Korean Air terminated operations between Seoul and Zagreb due to the coronavirus pandemic and currently has no plans to restore the service this year. However, the Croatian Ambassador to South Korea, Damir Kušen, said Korean Air has kept its permit for up to three weekly flights to Croatia, meaning they can resume their Zagreb service at any time, while T’way will provide an additional boost for the Croatian tourism industry.
Some half a million Korean tourists visit Croatia on an annual basis. Korean Air handled 43.123 passengers on its flights between Seoul and Zagreb in 2019. Although Zagreb is the main point of entry for Korean tourists, Dubrovnik continues to be one of the main drawcards for travellers. Henry Oh, the Chairman of Global Tour, the first private travel agent in Korea, as well as the Industry Council Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, has expressed interest in visiting Croatia together with another ten leading Korean tour operators in order to restart travel with the country once the epidemiological situation is under control.
Given the circumstances I'll believe it when I see it. A LOI is the most basic document and is not legally binding.
ReplyDeleteIf they plan to get the planes at the end of the year, a LOI is the most you need at the moment.
DeleteWhether those flights will materialise or not, the number of South Korean tourists is impressive. Half a million and likely to increase as there might be potentially 2 carriers operating. ZAG was always looking into more sophisticated destinations, which is quite cool. Japan and Singapore next!
ReplyDeleteHuge potential for airlines considering Korean didn't carry many of those 500,000.
DeleteWith half a million Korean could have flown twice per week woth the A380.
Delete400k, not 500k
DeleteCan we please reset ourselves and go back to reality. ZAG first needs to win the battle with BUD and VIE for South Korean flights. LO has already resumed BUD-ICN so competition will be tough. I see many who visit Croatia to start their trip in Budapest especially since Budapest is much easier to sell to tourists than Zagreb is.
DeleteWhy need to "win the battle", what battle? There is enough South Korean travellers that can sustain flights to all, VIE, BUD, ZAG.
DeleteNobody goes in Croatia via BUD, bcz I dont see the point fly around 10 hours and get bus from BUD to Croatia. Even in VIE, there is not alot of tranfer of Koreans to ZAG.
The real battle is between TK, QR, EK/FZ and potential direct flight.
You obviously don't know how Koreans travel. They fly to one place and then ride the bus around a whole area, same with Chinese. So Croatia must fight with BUD and VIE to become entry point for these tourists. Look at the number of nights Koreans spend in Zagreb, it's a stop along the way, not a destination.
DeleteBut if it was just a stop on the way why did Korean Air fly to Zagreb?
DeleteMy point is, that if Koreans travel to whole Croatia, there is enough demand to have direct flights to ZAG. They you can go with the bus to Split, Dubrovnik, Pula... but there is no point to fly to BUD and do that route with bus in Croatia...
DeleteYou can make any magic but without demand you cant have flights, simple as that.
Because market grew so much that there was spillover effect. That won't be the case in the next 4-5 years until the market recovers. Both VIE and BUD are extremely aggressive while I think ZAG doesn't have a strategy, not just with this but in general. After all, they are the only capital city airport in Europe to not have an LCC link with London.
DeleteAs for Koreans, if 400K visited the country then you can see what a small amount flew directly based on the number of seats KE offered.
ZAG doesnt have strategy for long haul because it doesnt have LCC conection to London? 0 logic.
Deletethe fanboys should get real (or read dzs first) :
Deletethose Koreans only stay in the country for an average of 1,2 nights !
No they dont. You hater should get real.
Delete^Check the statistics agency website from 2019 and you will see that they indeed do.
DeleteAnon 11.47
DeleteMaybe think once or twice before posting. ZAG generally doesn't have a strategy as if it did then it wouldn't be ranked so low in terms of LCC presence. Desperately running behind long-haul while you don't have year-round flights to Barcelona or Stockholm makes zero sense. I won't even go into the fact that ZAG doesn't have non-stop flights to Berlin!!!
So, how many night do Koreans spend in CRO?
DeleteAnon 12:12
DeleteBefore you start showing off and thinking how smart you are, and saying to other people to think what they post, you should look at yourself first. I said long haul stratety , not anything what you said.
Anon 13.25
DeleteI was referring to the other Anon 11.47
fanboys arent even capable of looking at drzavni zavod za statistiku for facts
Delete2019: 403 613 korean tourists spent 511 378 nights. only 1,26 nights per tourist
arrive, sleep and off we go to another country
I'm hoping Korean comes back in 2022
ReplyDeleteSeems plausible according to the ambassador.
DeleteSeems reasonable to start flights at the end of the year. Things should start getting back normal then.
ReplyDeleteWe need all the airiness we can get
ReplyDeleteHope it works out. Good luck
ReplyDeleteWill they fly to Zagreb? Or Dubrovnik?
ReplyDeleteIt could be either buy my guess is Zagreb.
Delete*but
DeleteChange the livery for the A330 please!
ReplyDeleteZagreb Airport should engage with them to make sure these flights happen. After loosing Korean and Emirates it would be important to secure an alternative for such a huge market such as Korea.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that SU already downgraded ZAG even before covid, it was supposed to be 4 weekly on the SSJ. Aeroflot is one of the biggest transfer airlines to Seoul especially since they are in the same alliance with KE.
DeleteJust shows that people weren't using SU to transfer to other destinations. With Emirates around at the time, they weren't competative.
DeleteZagreb should do everything they can now to get t'way to start flights
DeleteIt also shows that market was limited in ZAG. After all SU flies three times per day to both BUD and VIE despite there being non-stop flights to South Korea.
DeleteYou might want to check how many Russoans live and travel to Budapest and Vienna to get a picture why there are 3 daily flights. Has little to do with Koreans.
DeleteIt has to do with the market size and demand.
DeleteCroatian market seems to do just fine. After all it's the busiest market in ex-Yu.
DeleteParts of the market do just fine and that's mostly the coast if we exclude RJK and BWK. ZAG and OSI are not doing that well.
DeleteI would prefer Jin Air to start flights, rather than this airline.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteIt's the low cost long haul.subsiduary of Korean Air.
DeleteMakes little difference
DeleteAny new airline is welcome!
DeleteIsn't it under ZAG prestige level to have LCC's?
DeleteWere people using Korean Air from Zagreb to connect onto other cities in Asia or even Australia? Or was it purely for tourists.
ReplyDelete98% were Korean tourists.
DeleteTourism won't recover in 2021. Vaccine supply is still a big problem, many people stayed without a job and for some like the Brits Brexit will be a huge problem. US Dollar is in free fall so I doubt they will be able to afford trips abroad.
ReplyDeleteThis year might be marginally better but it will be still bad. Countries such as Turkey and Egypt are extremely aggressive. TK already announced a range of new Europe-coast flights (MAN to Dalaman just yesterday) while Egypt is not charging airlines airport fees.
It would be smarter if Croatia Airlines finally used the opportunity of this major reset on the market that has happened because of Covid and leased a widebody so it can fly to key tourism markets. It would be much needed for Croatia's tourism industry and there would no longer be reliance on foreign carriers.
ReplyDeleteAgree. This would be good for Croatian tourism
DeleteYou know that if OU lease a widebody it should lease it for 12 months? And make profitabile long haul operations during whole year is impossible. Small carrier as OU should not enter in this game full of risks and not so much profit for small carriers. JU has flights to JFK and it loses money on it.
DeleteAt times when demand is the lowest it has been in years and OU is in the worst state you suggest leasing a widebody? The things you read here
DeleteLong haul isnt so profitabile, and many larger legacies are failing with it, like JU and UIA. Its just national pride, not really need of the market.
DeleteRight, that's why almost all airlines are rushing to launch long-haul, because of pride and not because of money they make. Since you are pathetically obsessed with JU, they make money in JFK from May to November.
DeleteOU out of all ex-YU airlines, in my opinion, has a much better market for long haul ops.
DeleteRegarding JU's long haul ops, overall it will never be fully profitable with a 1 aircraft 1 route operation, however it does seem to be profitable for a decent portion of the year.
OU, with 3-4 A330's, could have destinations in the US, Canada, Korea, Japan, China and Singapore.
After all, they do have decent regional ops which, with 1-2 more Q400's could be greatly improved to add BEG, SOF, PRN, OTP, TIA, INI, especially to help feed North American destinations.
Anon 14:01
DeleteI said its national pride when we hear plans for national carrier with long haul in countries like Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan... not when we are talking about big airlines like KE, LH, OY, SU, TK. And no, im not opsessed with small airlines like JU, OU or UIA at all. As you said, JU makes money only half of the year which is not so good. Im not saying that JU should not have it if serbian taxpayers want it, im just using comparasion how profitabile long hau
is for smaller airlines like JU and UIA. And as Croatian, i dont want to see OU eating more loses just for national pride.
JATBEGMEL
Problem is not "can" we have it, we can even have 10 A380s if we want and if we have money. Point is that it is not going to be profitabile on such a small market. Seasonality exist, so long haul operations are only going to be somehow profitabile for only 6 months. National carrier should bring money and investments in Croatia, and i think there are many other ways to do that more profitabile than with long haul operations. And i dont know what are we going to do usefull for Croatia with making better conections between the Balkans and NA. OU would that be like Austrian or Air Serbia, with low or non existen profit. I always sugest OU should do system like Aeagean, not like Austrian, Air Serbia, Malev, Balkan Bulgarian, UIA...
OU cant make ARN work year-round but you expect them to operate long haul in winter? Also they don't have decent regional ops. Thry mostly rely on their coast which is a tiny fraction of the Balkan market.
DeleteThey never tried, so you cannot say that they cant make it. And they have decent regional ops. If that is not decent i dont know what is it. It is not maybe great but its decent.
DeleteOU is is closer to bankruptcy than long haul flights.
DeleteOU doesn't fly to Sofia, Thessaloniki, Athens (non-stop), Podgorica, Belgrade, Tirana... so how exactly is their regional network decent? They can't even get their act together and de-link the coast from Rome flights.
DeleteIt is decent, it is not great and it is not bad. How then you should decribe it? OU has many weakly flights usually to Sarajevo and Skopje. And it flies to ATH non-stop from DBV and SPU and it flies to Belgrade to Split.
DeleteWe are talking about their regional network from ZAG which is supposed to fill these long-haul flights. It's weak and not strong enough to get them the volume they need.
DeleteThat's what JU has been working on for years now. For example tonight A319 is full to TIA and back.
It has a domestic network. In summer, only to Split and Dubrovnik it has over 65 flights per week
DeleteIm not taking about filling long haul flights. Im saying that OU has decent regional network. And from when is Thessaloniki included as part of a region?
DeleteSarajevo, Skopje and Mostar is decent regional network?
DeleteWhat do you mean since when is Thessaloniki included as part of a region? It's in the Balkans where ex-YU is a region. If you want to be somewhat relevant in aviation you have to expand beyond our little, poor region.
DeleteAnon 15.44
So what? Aegean has a much larger domestic network yet they still focus on other cities in the region outside Greece.
What's your problem? Seriously... why are you so triggered?
DeleteThe guy reacts as the posts from anon 15:49, 15:32 are so far from reality. Calling few airports in the region "decent network" is true comedy.
DeleteFirst Anon 16:22
DeleteWe talk about OU while i dont know about which airline are you talking about.
Second anon 16:22
But Ex-yu is "our" region. If you are talking about the Balkans as peninsula you should then exclude airport in Belgrade and city of Zagreb. If you are talking about what we politicly call the Balkans, then you should exclude Greece. And your second sentence is... i do not understand a point. Literally 0 regional legacy airlines flew only to ex-yu coutries.
Anon 17:56
DeleteGive us a definition of "few". And please if you know better word to describe OUs network give it to us.
Belgrade the city is in the Balkans and so is BEG (south of Danube) so it should not be excluded. I am happy JU at least realized there is a world beyond ex YU.
Delete@JATBEGMEL
DeleteYou are absolutely right about the potential of Croatian market and potential of OU. Failed potentials unfortunately because of mismanagement, influence of politics, corruption, nepotism, and lack of any kind of strategy. Posters later are right when saying with such undeveloped regional and euromediterranean network, especially to the east, and seasonality, those flights wouldn't be profitable if introduced without any changes within OU. That's why I am permanently writing about the need of OU to become at least twice or three times bigger, and to include long haul into its operations. Unfortunately people here refuse to accept your or my claims, because of being "uhljebs", or being "haters", or because lacking knowledge of facts, or because their World ends in Graz, or something else
anon 18:00
DeleteExcluding domestic CRO destinations that are anyhow all covered by PSO even in the middle of the summer "few" in the region of ex-yu means OMO (subsidised), BEG (seasonal) and SKP.
In it actually not only a few but pathetic as well that is actually far better description.
And Sarajevo?
DeleteOU flies where there is biggest P2P demand from Croatia. It does not fly routes where there is no P2P, just to get transfer passengers.
DeleteSimply put, OU has a different model and people may view advantages of these different business models differently. For me flying poor students from Paris or Rome to Cairo or Athens is not a solution. So it is good that OU is looking after its world here and not outside ex Yu.
Therefore they won't ever fly wide body
Deleteanon 20:48
DeleteBut OU flies poor students many times daily to FRA for peanuts in order mutti LH could get connecting passengers.
Anon 19:41
DeleteIm sorry, but these destinations are part of OUs regional network. You cannot just exclude them because you want to see only few destinations in OUs network.
Anon 18:41
Isnt border of balkans Sava and Dunav rivers, so as BEG being northern of Sava is not on the Balkans?
And here comes again a guy which hates OUs managment as everyone should, but in reality he would drive OU in banckrupcy with replacinh 3 daily flights to FRA with 3 daily to TGD and start flying to Kansas City, Vancover and Bangkok daily based info from Routeshop.com.
Delete*on info
DeleteAnon 22:48 We were talking about regional destinations that actually have potential to feed long-haul flights, not Croatian towns that function 4-5 months a year. You deviated from the main topic to try proving your stupid point of OU having a ''decent regional'' network and now you want to prove that Belgrade is not in Balkans?
DeleteAnon 23:19 Im talking how OU has not great, not bad but a decent regional network. And i think it has because of defintion of the word decent. And exuse me, but did you say "regional destinations that actually have potential to feed long-haul flights, not Croatian towns that function 4-5 months a year"? Literally these are destination with far more demand for long haul to NA then any other else destination in the region. American didnt open flights to your Tirana, Prishitina or Podgorica but to Dubrovnik. And plese stop bash SPU and DBV. These airports are open whole year and these two airports together in 2019. carried as much passangers as BEG. And season starts usually on 31st of March and ends on 31st of October. So its not "4-5 months".
DeleteAnd please how would you define OUs regional network, how would you define JUs one, and what would be considered "the best".
DeleteAnd im not trying to exclude Belgrade from the Balkans. Im just trying to ask you question so i can understand your definition of th Balkans. Political one excludes Greece, but as you considered it as part of it, i thought you are using georgaphical one which exclude Novi Beograd, Zemun and Belgrade Airport from it.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteoptimisT'WAY too much!
Delete