Croatia Airlines is studying the potential resumption of flights from Zagreb to several markets it discontinued as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, which are yet to be restored. The carrier is primarily looking at destinations in the region for the coming summer season. Croatia Airlines suspended services to Barcelona, Bucharest, Helsinki, Lisbon, Milan, Mostar, Oslo, Prague, St Petersburg, Stockholm and Tel Aviv, and shelved plans to launch operations to Sofia and Podgorica. So far, the Croatian carrier has only announced its return to Barcelona. Initially the airline was to resume flights in late March but has now pushed back its return to Spain’s second largest city to June.
Several foreign carriers have used Croatia Airlines’ absence to launch flights to Zagreb, which were previously operated by the flag carrier. TAP Air Portugal introduced seasonal services from Lisbon last summer, which will resume at the end of next month with an extra weekly rotation for a total of four weekly flights. Finnair will launch seasonal operations between Helsinki and the Croatian capital from May 1, with up to three weekly services to run through to September. Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya Airlines now operate between St Petersburg and Zagreb, while Ryanair has taken over Croatia Airlines’ planned services to Podgorica and Sofia.
Croatia Airlines’ CEO, Jasmin Bajić, recently said the carrier will adapt its summer network based on demand, with the company to remain flexible with its schedule. “Traffic will continue to be contingent on external factors, beyond the company’s control, such as restrictions, bans and other measures, which directly impact on people’s ability to travel both domestically and internationally. Accordingly, we will focus on flexible planning of our network. Our goal is to achieve optimal load factors with average fares in existing conditions of reduced capacity. Therefore, in 2022 our focus will be on greater rationalisation of costs and the implementation of the company’s defined post-Covid strategy”, Mr Bajić said.
It would be smart to resume flights to Scandinavian markets which have all now ended any sort of Covid restrictions.
ReplyDeleteWhy resume Stockholm, Helsinki and Oslo when you can fly 100 times a day to Frankfurt.
DeleteYes no testing required anymore to enter Sweden and Finland. I believe Norway too is introducing the same rule.
DeleteThe only company that can respond to opening of Scandinavia is JU. OU? Forget! You do not "consider returning to former markets". You "resume flights".
DeleteWhich OU does not do anymore (or it did not do it at all ever!).
It is sad. Really sad. Such a great potential wasted on feeding mutti.
The only route I see them potentially resuming is Bucharest and that is about it.
ReplyDeleteWhy Bucharest?
DeleteIt is close, cheap and carries the least risk.
DeleteI'm surprised TAROM has not considered ZAG.
DeleteAirlines are slowly taking over all their routes.
ReplyDeleteWell if you don't want to do anything the market takes care of itself.
DeleteLike in Slovenia...
DeleteI really do hope they introduce something new or at least resume some routes. Having 19 routes from ZAG in summer half of which are domestic would be embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I would not be surprised if instead they drop Dublin. Ryanair is really going hard against them on this route, which is not cheap to operate considering its duration.
DeleteAnd apparently there are rumors OU will end Brac because it didn't apply for it in the PSO tender.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprised. But at least they should look into a new route to deploy that plane elsewhere.
Deletetheir plane will arrive at the island of brac airport brac empty, and from it they will operate several charter flights, for now they have agreed linz, graz, bratislava and kosice, and there is a possibility of Swiss Bern in September ...
Deletetotally stupid that they gave up the safe money they were getting for PSO flights to the island of Brac
DeleteThey have the planes, I don't understand why they are not resuming more routes.
ReplyDeleteIt all starts with the management.
DeleteAgree with last comments. The airline needs a radical change in management. If something isn't working - fix it.
DeleteI bet for Mostar, due to being a political route without any commercial sense.
ReplyDeleteOnly if they get subsidies. And it seems OMO is going to give subsidies to other airlines this year.
DeleteMostar city didn't mention them in their plans so I don't see them coming back. They might operate some charters from Mostar though.
DeleteOU is best in considering...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteEven better in cancelling, withdrawing and shrinking
DeleteIt would have been more logical if this airline had done anything to repel Ryanair. Instead only now are they considering whether to resume a couple of routes they suspended 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteAnd they most likely won't resume anything...
DeleteWe probably won't see expansion until new aircraft start arriving.
ReplyDeleteAnd when will that happen?
DeleteThere isn't any money for new Aircraft.
Delete@An.09.08
DeleteYou are obviously one of the very few believing in their BS PR. New planes are not solution of the problem. New planes, more precisely the cost of the new planes, is quite opposite, another new problem. New planes have absolutely nothing to do with their network, as half of their fleet is mostly on the ground. Their problems are lack of development strategy, devotion on feeding LH at any cost, political influence, crime, corruption, nepotism, incompetence, incapability and lack of any interest to change anything. It will all remain the same even with new planes, if they arrive at all.
The thing they should be working most on is their network. They should have been quick if they wanted to open new routes to prevent Ryanair from further expanding. With them launching Bratislava soon, they will be attacking Vienna route as well. At the end of the day, OU will only be left with transfer passengers which they can not survive on alone.
ReplyDeleteAgree. They should have gone harder and earlier - like so many other airlines did.
DeleteThey have basically given up without putting up a fight.
DeleteTrue. In their first season of competing against FR in Zagreb they did more of the same as they have done the past decade
DeleteAnd what happened with the Osijek adventure? Flights last a month to Munich and that is it?!?
ReplyDeleteNothing, as with most OU ventures.
DeleteAn example of brilliant network planning.. What was the point of that whole thing and how much money did they lose because of it?
DeleteI think they got some funds for those flights. They were planning to sign a 3 year contract if they worked out. Seems like they haven't.
DeleteIsn't it a bit late with the route planning? It's almost mid February.
ReplyDeleteNot for OU standard. Even before covid they would announce new routes for summer at the end of February because they usually don't begin until June. But I highly doubt we will see anything new from them this year.
DeleteBetter late than never. But it seems we are heading to never.
DeleteIs that Dubrovnik or Split airport in the photo?
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik
DeleteThanks. I really like the refreshment Croatia Airlines did with the livery. Looks nice in the sun.
DeleteIt's far too early to react!
ReplyDeleteForever and always.
DeleteNot surprising Ryanair launched Podgorica and Sofia. They just wanted to prevent Croatia Airlines from doing it.
ReplyDeleteAnd then they claim their objective isn't to destroy Croatia Airlines ;)
DeleteCroatia Airlines is destroying itself at galloping pace so Ryanair need not do much in that regard.
DeleteOu could have started Thessaloniki as well, but Ryanair came along.
DeleteWhy did they delay Barcelona? They are just giving Vueling a better head start.
ReplyDeleteI would understand them being passive in Zagreb if they were increasing the coast but I don't see any major changes to their coastal network either.
ReplyDeleteThe only change is that they are terminating Split-Prague after just one season and replacing it with Split-Athens after that was suspended because of Covid.
DeleteThey should focus as much as possible on charter flights. That's where the money is.
ReplyDeleteIn the last few years they have been increasing their charter operations.
DeleteFar too poor for the national airline of a big tourism magnet like Croatia.
DeleteDoes Aegean Airlines operate a lot of charters?
DeleteYou really dare comparing Adeze Airlines to Aegean?
DeleteAegean operates a lot of scheduled flights.
DeleteIt seems OU combined Aegean and Trade Air business models: no charters and no scheduled flights.
Hahaha, you just made my day ☺
DeleteThey should have launched flights to Moscow and profited from the current vaccination tourism. They should also look into some markets they previously served and I don't mean the ones just before Covid. I mean routes from the early 2000s like Istanbul and Tirana.
ReplyDeleteOU tries to avoid competing against anyone because it is highly likely they won't succeed. So Moscow and Istanbul are out of the question. As for Tirana, they have been thinking about launching it for years. But like someone said, all OU does is think and does nothing about it. Eventually, someone like Ryanair will start flights.
DeleteEastern Europe is not on OU's radar.
DeleteMore of the same from OU.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is thank god Zagreb Airport turned to Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteI find it crazy that Ryanair's network will be double the size of Croatia Airlines
ReplyDeleteRestoring just 1 route from those suspended 2 years ago... terrible.
ReplyDeleteBlah, blah, blah... With them it's always considering, analysing, evaluating, estimating, BCG, outstanding government approval, not yet the right time... etc.
ReplyDeleteWonder if they are seeing an impact on the routes they are (indirectly) competing against FR. Did ticket prices go down?
ReplyDeleteI really don't see who would choose to fly to Rome on a prop via Split instead of nonstop on a B737.
Delete+1 last anon
DeleteI would rather fly on a prop then a 737 Max anyday!
DeleteDoesn't Ryanair use the A320 to Rome?
DeleteThey will face fierce competition with FR on several routes, especially since Ryanair is increasing frequencies on most competing flights.
ReplyDeleteSeems like they really got value out of the BCG engagement.
ReplyDeleteBCG was not there to get any value. It was there to take percentage of the paid money
DeleteThey are not competitive to capture the post covid market.
ReplyDeleteThis strategy will lead them nowhere.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteLOL!!!
DeleteEmphasis on "considers" :)
ReplyDeleteJust recently they were talking about how they will launch new markets and basically nothing. They won't have a single new route from Zagreb for 2 years.
ReplyDeleteJust PR on their side.
DeleteDidn't they plan to expand in southeast europe and offer connections via Zagreb so they can compete against Ryanair?
DeleteThey did. In the end their only two routes in SEE outside of Croatia are Skopje and Sarajevo.
DeleteThis airline makes me so angry. They could be doing so much more. Instead they do nothing.
ReplyDeleteMany missed opportunities. Even in 2020 and 2021.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is unfortunate. I am sure some opportunities presented themselves as a result of Covid. Some unserved route became more popular. But OU is in deep sleep.
DeleteI was hoping this situation with Ryanair would wake up the management and that they would seize some opportunities as they have left many slip but nothing came of it of course.
DeleteThey should explore new market opportunities.
ReplyDeleteEasier said than done
DeleteWhy not some new destination in Russia?
ReplyDeleteBecause they have plenty of destinations on the west side
DeletePlenty? 15? Are you for real?
DeleteIs there any bilateral, or Croatia, being EU member, has some other protocol for establishing flights to Russia, or Turkey?
DeleteIt is not easy to compete with TK or SU either, but those markets are so huge there must be some space for OU.
EU has agreements with both Russia and Turkey that apply to all member states. Croatia Airlines can start flights without any issue if it wanted to.
DeleteThey need to consider waking up
ReplyDeleteOverpriced, and very limited airline. Zagreb-Split (40 min flight) costs the same as Zagreb-Istanbul? There is a need for low cost airline in Croatia, to service domestic flights, as well as the popular destinations in EU. Make it easier for people to travel..due to the monopoly situation, this will be difficult to happen and remains a political decision on government level. Very sad!
ReplyDelete