Ryanair has announced the launch its first new routes from Zagreb for the upcoming summer season just days after basing its third aircraft in the city and introducing eight new destinations. The budget carrier plans to commence operations from the Croatian capital to Bratislava in Slovakia and Corfu in Greece. Services to Bratislava will begin on March 27 and run twice per week on a year-round basis, while operations to the island of Corfu will start on June 4 and will be maintained seasonally until September 24. The new flights mark the first time Zagreb has boasted a nonstop air service to Slovakia, as well as well as scheduled flights to the Greek islands.
The new additions will bring Ryanair’s total number of destinations out of Zagreb to 26, well ahead of the national carrier Croatia Airlines, although the latter maintains more flights out of the city. The CEO of the Ryanair group, Michael O’Leary, has criticised Croatia Airlines’ slow development out of Zagreb. While he conceded that the national carrier provides good connections out of the capital, he noted these were insufficient to satisfy existing demand. The airline group’s chief noted, “Ryanair has added 24 routes out of Zagreb, while Croatia Airlines has introduced three in the past three years and been the beneficiary of twelve million euros in state aid. We, on the other hand, receive no subsidies from the government. Croatia Airlines is a distinguished carrier, but it has lost touch with the development of air travel in Croatia, particularly from Zagreb. We do not see them as a competitor because even on the routes we both operate on, we fly to different airports. Ryanair will change travel habits in Zagreb and encourage locals to travel more by air”.
Apart from Zagreb, Ryanair is continuing to develop its seasonal base in Zadar. The airline has scheduled its tenth and eleventh new route from the coastal city for next summer, with Sofia and Helsinki to be added to its destination network. The airline will maintain two weekly flights between to Sofia starting March 27, and to the Finnish capital on June 3. Ryanair has previously scheduled new flights from Zadar to Rome Fiumicino, Newcastle, Stockholm, Turin, Nuremberg, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Bordeaux and Pisa.
Further details on the new flights from Zagreb to Bratislava can be found here, while additional information for the Corfu summer service can be viewed here. In addition, details for the upcoming Zadar - Sofia flights can be found here and for Zadar - Helsinki here.
Wow I love the devirsity of routes Ryanair is bringing to Zagreb.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWell done Zagreb
ReplyDeleteGreat to see. I'm sure this is just the start of their summer expansion. Can't wait to see the other routes they've got planned.
ReplyDeleteWell they plan to base another 2 planes in ZAG next year so there will be many more new routes to come.
DeleteInterestingly the Bratislava flight is being operated by a Bratislava based plane.
ReplyDeleteI guess BTS is in lieu of Vienna.
ReplyDeleteI guess they are trying to compete with buses, cars and minibuses and not so much with OU and OS which mostly rely on transfers. Flying out of BTS offers lower costs which they need. That said, will be interesting to see if any O&D demand shifts from VIE to BTS. From what I remember, flying from ZAG to VIE is not particularly cheap.
DeleteSurely, they also get lower charges at ZAG for launching a new route to BTS than entering an existing route to VIE.
DeleteHow many planes are they going to have based in Zadar with so many new destinations?
ReplyDelete3-4
DeleteNice to see Ryanair stimulating locals to travel with routes like Corfu, Malaga, Malta, Paphos.
ReplyDeleteNext year will be huge for Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteWow ZAG will really steal all passengers from LJU in next few years.
ReplyDeleteIt will certainly have an impact on LJU. Although they said they were unfazed by Ryanair's presence in Zagreb.
DeleteHahaha you really believe them?
DeleteNo it wont, but the offer from ZAG is really getting better. The real question is, if FR is still be willing to fly, once these subventions run out. We have seen already many cases, where FR dominated at one airport, and then ran away. Happened also in Klagenfurt, Linz and Graz.
DeleteThere are no subventions to Ryan and Zagreb is not Linz, Graz or Klagenfurt. Its a larger airport in one of the EU capitals. Ryan never ran away from larger markets, only from smaller ones like Osijek.
DeleteWhy should FR leave ZAG? Makes no sense. Down the road OU will go bankrupt and they will become the new sheriff in town. With such a dominant position they will impose their commercial terms which suits them perfectly.
DeleteWhat can ZAG do but to give in to their demands. If FR leaves what options is ZAG left with? Wizz Air which is no better? Eurowings which is clueless? easyJet which is mostly ignoring the region and refusing to commit to it? They made a pact with the Devil and now they have to live with it.
The fact FR keeps on expanding in ZAG only goes to show that their plan is developing as planned.
@ Anonymous 10:31
DeleteThere are subsidies provided by the airport. And considering the amount of times O'Leary has thanked the tourism board of Zagreb, I assume they have come to some agreement as well.
Udruzeno oglasavanje is run by the tourism board.
DeleteThere are no subsidies by the airport. But, There are lower taxes for LCCs. These are totally diferent things
DeleteYes and money for marketing comes from the tourist board, same like with EK. Airport doesn't give but but others do.
DeleteThere are subsidies by the airport. It has been acknowledged by the airport and Ryanair.
Deletehttps://www.zagreb-airport.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/Addendum%20to%20the%20Incentive%20Program.pdf
The link I gave above is the subsidy program Ryanair is using. Of course it was open to other airlines too but nobody used it. Iit is open to interpretation if Zagreb Airport drafted this policy after already negotiating everything with Ryanair and that the subsidy program is tailored towards them.
DeleteThese are not subsidies but a program for LCC carriers. They are offering lower taxes to them, not cash.
DeleteThat is why tourism board is giving them money for ads. That's where the money for the tv ads came from.
Delete@11.51 no it is not a program for LCCs. It is open to all airlines, including Croatia Airlines.
DeleteSo HTZ paid Ryan so they can promote flights to Malaga in Croatia? Your logic is 0
DeleteStill, there are no airport subvetions for Ryanairs flights.
Yes, HTZ does that for numerous routes. Although they didn't get funds from HTZ here but from the Zagreb board. And yes, there are subventions for Ryanair according to Ryanair and Zagreb Airport.
Delete"Croatia Airlines indicated that if it had access to the same terms as granted to Ryanair as a new entrant to the airport, it would have reduced its fees paid to MZLZ in 2019 by HRK135.4 million kunas (USD21.4 million), an amount significantly exceeding the airline's net loss for that year."
https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/102647-croatia-airlines-demands-equal-treatment-with-ryanair
HTZ does not promotes international destinations in Croatia. Its a lie what you said.
DeleteThat is not a subvention for the gods sake its a support in terms of lower fees for new routes.
Support and subvention is the same thing.
DeleteO'Leary is completely right in regards to Croatia Airlines.
ReplyDeleteThe only sad thing is that this should have been OU adding all these routes over the past few years.
ReplyDeleteOne really has to wonder what will be left for Croatia Airlines to launch. They said how they will introduce new routes under new post covid strategy but so far they have announced 0 new routes while FR has 26 and counting.
DeleteYou snooze you loose. They had 30 years to be inventive and launch new routes while being financed by the government.
DeleteIt's not just that, with FR expanding left and right, they will put pressure on OU's finances which will no doubt worsen this year ... I think it has already happened and was even reported on here. They have complained about liquidity so FR's strategy seems to be working (for them).
DeleteThere isn't much OU can do because they lack the capital to reinvent themselves and to aggressively pursue a hub and spoke system. This reminds me of a desert rat being bitten by a rattlesnake. Poison is in the system and it's only a matter of time before they are dead.
OU had all the time and pretty much all the money in the world and they still blew it.
DeleteNo rAgrets
Amazing FR growth from Croatia next year. And unlike a certain other airline they are actually delivering on their promised new routes.
ReplyDeleteSeems like ZAG found itself a good partner.
DeleteI can't believe it has taken this long to get flights to the Greek islands. Perfect for summer holidays or those that will be doing some hopping around Europe next summer.
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that will save OU is bringing back catering on board combined with reasonable prices. That's my opinion! Good morning to everybody!
ReplyDelete*free catering
DeleteAnd in fact they went the other way. They now offer the former economy class snack boxes to business class passengers while economy can only purchase food.
DeleteGreat news
ReplyDeleteHope there will be sufficient demand for Corfu.
ReplyDeleteDo Croatians in general holiday in Greece?
DeleteNot really but Slovenes do so you know who they are after.
DeleteNow there is a cheap option to travel there so people will use this cheap opportunity to visit Greece.
DeleteAnonymous 11:05, yes, they travel to Greece, it is not like the whole country goes to Dalmatia and Istria in summer, and neither all the Slovenes travel to Greece. In fact their first summer destination is...Croatia. Numbers.
DeleteReality is not cemented. More and more Croatians will now have the opportunity to choose other destinations. Just wait and see.
It's great FR flying all these routes to ZAD, many starting at the end of March, but Dalmatians in the tourist industry still seem to be on there winter break until June, having stopped working the previous September. Countries like Italy, Spain and Portugal have a much richer touristic offering in the shoulder seasons.
ReplyDeletesteta sto Tuzla ne napravi dil sa Ryanom, postalo bi zanimljivo i na BiH trzistu
ReplyDeleteI realize there is much talk why CTN never expanded rapidly. I am just interested if there were ever talks with Trade Air so that both airlines could have operated flights on these routes. I know TDR is in the business of leasing aircraft, but I feel that CTN and TDR should have set a co operation together.
ReplyDeleteCurious why FRA is pushing ZAD so much. Total of almost 50 routes,wtf?
ReplyDeleteZAD is a great alternative to Split which is expensive and almost slot restricted on weekends.
ReplyDeleteSplit should try expanding somehow. Maybe make new taxiways or expand the apron. If not its going to get surpassed by Dubrovnik and maybe even Zadar eventually.
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