Low cost carrier Ryanair, which is in the process of launching fifteen routes from Zagreb and establishing a base in the city, has said it plans to station up to ten aircraft in the Croatian capital. “As many as ten Boeing 737-800s could eventually be based at Zagreb. We started with two aircraft. Zagreb is the capital city … and remember, when we arrive in certain cities, they become [passenger] destinations”, the airline’s CEO, David O’Brien, told “Routes Digest”. The carrier plans to station its first jet in Zagreb at the end of August, a second in early September, while a third could join at the start of the 2020/2021 winter season in late October.
Mr O’Brien noted that Croatia Airlines’ weakness has played no role in its decision to open a base in Zagreb, “Croatia Airlines is irrelevant for our decision making. It is not a factor”, the CEO said. Last month the airline told the Croatian national carrier it should “do its homework” rather than complain over the agreement reached between Ryanair and Zagreb Airport. “The fact of the matter is that Croatia Airlines has not achieved growth and profit in the past four years. Ryanair will bring dozens of new routes to Zagreb this year, and Croatia Airlines has brought three in the past four years. We think Croatia Airlines must do its homework again”.
Ryanair has said it eventually plans to maintain between thirty and forty routes out of Zagreb and handle two to three million passengers per year. “We will grow exponentially in the years to come. The key for Zagreb is going to be the number of airports we have on offer in Europe. We made a bold decision to launch a base straight away. This shows our confidence in Zagreb. This will transform the city and we will become the largest airline in Zagreb and Croatia within a very short period of time”, the budget carrier said. The General Manager of Zagreb Airport, Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, previously noted that becoming a Ryanair base was a strategic decision in order to elevate the airport into a regional hub and speed up its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Great news for ZAG
ReplyDeleteSo ZAG will reach 8 Million pax with 10 FR aircraft.
DeleteYes, let's start grandomania immediately. They said they plan to have 2-3 millions passengers per year. Where would the other 7 come form, OU?
DeleteEventually, ZG may have 8 million in the future, but that's not to happen over night, but rather in next 10 years.
*other 5, I meant.
DeleteCroatia Airlines is toast
ReplyDeleteMaybe the competition has a positive affect on OU and they decide to make some bold decisions. We will see.
DeleteWhat "bold decisions" can they make?
DeleteAll ships have sailed for them.
Deleteanon@9.05 .... you sound like the guy who was on the Titanic as it was sinking, when he leaned across to the guy next to him and said, "don't worry, all will be fine" .....
DeleteWow... What they said about OU not even being a factor speaks a lot about the state of Croatia Airlines
ReplyDeleteBye bye OU
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteBravo you!
DeleteThat's a lot of new routes. Which routes could we see?
ReplyDeleteI think Dublin is a must
DeleteIt's already served by Croatia Airlines.
DeleteI feel like we might see some new routes in Spain
DeleteMadrid and Barcelona would be nice
DeleteMy money is on Athens
DeleteBerlin would be nice
DeleteFrankfurt is a must
DeleteThey won't do Frankfurt. They don't fly to Hahn anymore and in order to qualify for Zagreb Airport incentives they must fly to an airport that has been unnerved for at least 2 years.
DeleteThey can fly to Frankfurt without incentives ...
DeleteGood for Zagreb! Not so much for Croatian Airlines.
ReplyDeleteJust felt people need to read this again:
ReplyDelete“The fact of the matter is that Croatia Airlines has not achieved growth and profit in the past four years. Ryanair will bring dozens of new routes to Zagreb this year, and Croatia Airlines has brought three in the past four years. We think Croatia Airlines must do its homework again”.
And it's 100% true unfortunately.
DeleteFree PR. CRL has around 50-60 passengers so it's not performing they well.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have the passenger numbers lol.
DeleteYes, i know people at MZLZ
DeleteEven the inaugural flight had like 67 pax
Well considering they launched sales 6 weeks ago in pandemic times not too bad. Other routes do not look much better across the network.
DeleteHe says "it's PR" on every ZAG post regarding Ryanair.
DeleteSimilar articles published here frequently for another carrier and everyone cheers for it, but when it comes to this one, "it is PR!"
Delete2026 will be quite a different year than 2025, get ready for it.
Let's first wait and see how the ones they announced go before planning a ten plane base. After all you should have learned from other experience to be cautious with such megalomania.
DeleteI'm guessing they can see better than you how their advanced bookings are performing and what can give them optimism to make such plans.
DeleteThe commercial terms they have with ZAG allows them to expand quickly risk free.
DeleteGame over OU.
ReplyDeletethis is the final end for OU
ReplyDeleteDon't take them out of the equation too early. The government won't let anything happen to them.
DeleteIt is disappointing to see some people still believe government won't let anything happen to Croatia Airlines. Ryanair will sue them if they try to give money to save the airline. It is cheaper and easier to have Ryanair as a main airline instead of trying to illegally support OU. Ryanair will fly both international and domestic airlines and hire many domestic employees that will lose jobs at OU. There is no need for Croatia Airlines any more. Government is already aware there is no way out for OU but some people refuse to accept it.
DeleteBringing Ryanair was a clever move by ZAG.
ReplyDeleteIncredible
ReplyDeleteGo ZAG!
ReplyDeleteThey are expanding so quickly from ZAG. Last week they added Sofia to their Zagreb network.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it's all just to demand or do they really want to kill off Croatia Airlines ASAP.
DeleteI don't think they need to kill OU. It doesn't represent a big issue for them.
DeleteI love that all of these Ryanair routes are year round
DeleteTrue. This is something Croatia Airlines has not done in years. All of their new routes in past 5 years were seasonal.
DeleteExactly
DeleteCroatia Airlines doesn't need anyone else to pull the plug, it is already heading into that direction. And still, one has to be completely stupid not to see that ZAG has given one last chance to Croatia Airlines to pull itself together, otherwise destinations in Croatia Airlines' network wouldn't be exempted from the incentives.
Delete@9.33
DeleteLCCs are ruthless when it comes to competition. They wouldn't miss an opportunity to burry them no matter how strong or weak they are.
Alot of routes are 2pw, and it is very good for start. They will see where is enough demand, and time by time they will increase freq.
DeleteAnonymus 9:31, don't forget that they CREATE demand.
DeleteYes but there is only so much demand they can create. It's not like every market they went to turned into a success story.
DeleteWhat does this even mean? "And remember, when we arrive in certain cities, they become [passenger] destinations”?
ReplyDeleteIt means they create demand where it did not exist before.
DeleteIt is obvious that Zagreb cannot be the next Prague or Budapest, but it certainly can be another Krakow, in case Ryanair realizes its plans.
ReplyDeleteWizz, where are you?
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting to see what Wizz does
DeleteI am pretty sure, the number of planned aircrafts is a message for wizz. In these circumstances, wizz either does the same (plenty of new routes + base) or keeps away from ZAG.
DeleteDo you really think that Wizz will fight against Ryanair now?
DeleteI do not think so.
They did in SOF.
DeleteGreat, this will generate a new type of passengers and will definitely mean a lot of passenger growth for ZAG.
ReplyDeletethis is impressive
ReplyDeleteFantastic news, congrats, ZAG!
ReplyDeleteLCCs are ruthless
ReplyDeleteBecause they want to base more aircraft in ZAG?
DeleteIs FR competing directly against OU on any route?
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't mean alternative airports, I mean head to head
DeleteNo because in that case they would not be eligible for incentives. It must be a route not operated from ZAG in the last two weeks.
Delete*two years I mean
DeleteCan someone just please build a high speed rail from Maribor and Ljubljana to Zagreb and ZAG airport?.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey are bilding new rail to Koper for 25 years, so you can expect high speed rail to zagreb around 2070. Hope you are young enough 😀
Delete@Anonymous10:26 Croatian Railways are improving Zagreb - Zabok line and soon to extend to Krapina, with 9km Lepoglava Rail Tunnel connection planned, entire line will be electrified and modernized, improved for speeds up to 140kmph. Only issue will be Varazdin - Ormoz - Ptuj - Maribor line which if it also is modernized, electrified could allow for trains for speeds up to 140kmh as it is a single track line. You could in 10 years time if these railway projects are realized, you could travel from Maribor to Zagreb with in 90min by train. Croatia is entering Schengen zone at the end of this year or early next year, so alternative is drive down to Zagreb via motorway, you could be in Zagreb in less than 90- min.
DeleteZagreb is going to be dominated by a LCC
ReplyDeleteMost ex-Yu capitals are dominated by an LCC. They either the biggest or second biggest airlines.
DeleteExcept for Ljubljana which isn't dominated by anyone more or less.
DeleteThis is ideal for recovery from covid.
DeleteAnon 11:06 LJU is dominated by the birds these days.
DeleteThat is a huge amount of routes! They will cover whole of Europe.
ReplyDeleteFantastic news for Zagreb
ReplyDeleteGood luck to ZAG and FR!
ReplyDeleteHow many planes does Ryanair have based in Bucharest and how many in Sofia?
ReplyDelete3 in SOF for sure and OTP was 5 I think.
DeleteWhat happened to prestigious airport?
ReplyDeleteTimes have changed. It wasn't a sustainable strategy.
DeleteIt's true that this is a bit of PR fluff for FR (like the riduculous claim that they're "investing 200 million" in Croatia because they're basing two Boeings, lol), but ZAG is clearly a top priority for them. Interesting times are coming for sure.
ReplyDeleteThey are hyperbole...Zagreb is the capital city...
ReplyDeletebut hey TAP also said they fly to Zagreb because its an EU-capital.
As if that would be somehow important.
I wonder which of their current or planned Zagreb routes is performing best. Anyone know or any guesses?
ReplyDeleteProbably those that have the most frequencies.
DeleteI'm still suprised at OU's passive response. As if nothing is happening.
ReplyDeleteAnd what can they do?
DeleteOn what planet you live? I would be surprised if uhljebs did something, anything...
DeleteWonder how BCG is working out for OU? Seems like they should have done a mix of them and some industry experts to really rethink how the airline could operate.
ReplyDeleteThey should have hired BCG years ago. I just hope it's not too late now.
DeleteBCG is scam. Just another way to steal more public money.
DeleteAlmost as big as Croatia Airlines' fleet.
ReplyDeleteOU fleet has 1524 seats, while 10 320's would mean 1800, or 10 737's mean 1890 seat. So, by far bigger than Croatia Airlines, in terms of seat capacity.
DeleteThis could be a blessing in disguise for the Croatian government. In a year or so there will be talk of letting OU go because they can no longer pump money into the airline. They can also say that Zagreb is now well connected by RyanAir (and other LCCs) and that ZAG traffic is growing, and that OU is no longer needed.
ReplyDeleteThe government could turn this into a face saving move. Maybe keep one A319 for charter traffic and specialty flights.
+1
DeleteTime for the Govt to go long haul ... develop a 'go-it-alone' Nth America strategy instead of just being a feeder to the LH Group. Support it with a number of key regional feeder flights and you start to re-shape an airline that has a future against Ryannair.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the key initiatives that Aer Lingus implemented in finding a way of how to ensure survival in the Ryannair onslought it had to deal with ....
Something like JU? Having feeder flights to Athens, Thesaloniki, Larnaka, Tirana and Skopje for its JFK flights showed how important it is to have good feeders for TATL.
DeleteAnd about OU, Ryanair smelled blood. And it will be fast and ruthless death walk for OU from now on. Only thing that will keep OU alive for few more months is bad timing for Ryanair starting of base. If Ryan came in March with flights commencing from May, OU could close its shop window by September. By starting most of routes from Autumn, we will be viewing slower death until next spring.
I give OU max 12 more months. And then they will just stop one day. Like Adria.
Ps. I hope JU is already having a plan to hit croatian market hard the moment OU dies.
Air Serbia can't hit hard Croatian market. Only year-long route is ZAG so there could be some JU increase to ZAG the way JU reacted in LJU when Adria closed shop. Nothing else.
DeleteWhat Air Serbia needs to do is start more long haul flights like Aer Lingus instead of playing endless shell game of opening/reopening/changing frequency of regional flights.
How dare you suggesting something like that @An.22.57? You will be very soon spit at. No explanation, no elaboration. Just "cannot sustain long haul". Period. No numbers, no analysis. And you even dare giving Lingus example. Knowing very well it is not comparable. LOL. But then maybe spitting at is only my privilege. I dare saying what he is - uhljeb.
DeleteOU has far greater prospects for Nth America success than does JU - assuming that it picks the right points in Nth America and has the right regional feeder flights. While both carriers have a large proportion of VFR traffic, Croatia has significantly more genuine tourist and leisure traffic than does Serbia. In addition to this, one other critical factor in its favour is that it is a STAR alliance member which gives it feed opportunity beyond any US gateways . JU and Serbia is short on both, so they have a natural advantage in their favour to make this work.
DeleteSo don't wait .... GO FOR IT !!!!
I love the way you shorten North. Two more little letters and you would have spelled it correctly. hahahahaa ... Cheers mate!
DeleteToo late for OU to start long haul. That takes a lot of investment and at least 3-4 years to start making some profit. OU can't afford it now when Ryanair is in attack mode. On top of that, competition is/was already flying to Croatia - Korean, Air Canada and Air Transat to ZAG, now Delta and United to DBV. OU can't afford to compete with them and compete with Ryanair at the same time. They should have done it 7-8 years ago, now is not reasonable.
DeleteI can't wait to see first winter irregularities or mayor delay....all of you will cry for OU
ReplyDeleteI flew over thirty times with Ryanair. Serious delay, three hours, happened ONE time out of those thirty. Most of the times flights arrived earlier than scheduled. We can say a lot about FR, their pushing to sale, rules one needs to obey, luggage policy, but definitely not about punctuality, as they have best on time record in Europe. Which cannot be said for Croatia Airlines. So, no one will cry for for nothing, and that's exactly what they deserved.
DeleteI am sure you didn't flew on FR from Zag on a foggy morning or during snow storm...or I am wrong?
DeleteI flew with OU from ZAG probably more than fifty times and of course they had delays. This is normal in aviation. But each and every time they took good care of their passengers. That means food and beverage in case of long delays and financial compensation if delayed more than 3 hours or full refund. Or transfer on other carriers (OS,LH,AF, etc) if this is an option.
What is not normal is not careing for your customer in case of irregularities which is common practice of all LCC or aggressive sale by flight attendants on FR flight for example.
ZAG has category enabling all weather operations. Entire Ryanair fleet is equipped with instruments enabling all weather operations, and flight crews trained for such operations, which is not the case with Croatia Airlines, and that's why there are situations when OU is late and some others, Ryanair for example, are not late. Btw I have over THOUSAND take offs and landings with OU from ZAG, all seasons. I worked there for 7 years, and that's why I know what I talk about. Also delay compensation is set by EU and equal in both OU and FR. And what seem to me you care the most about - on my flight from Pula to Dublin on FR with 3 hours delay, again the one and only, all passengers were given vouchers for snack and drink. But yes, of course, OU is the best and FR sucks. The first one carries hundreds of millions of passengers and makes fat profit, the other one collects peanuts and breadcrumbs on the expense of taxpayers. Oh, wait, it's the other way around....
Deleteround
DeleteLol, what a burn by Ryan...OU isn't even a factor in our decision making when it comes to Zagreb!
ReplyDeleteOh and they should stop whining and do their homework instead, haha!