Low cost carrier Ryanair has cancelled almost 200 flights from its Zagreb base this June, affecting fifteen routes. According to the “Croatia Aviation” portal, in addition to the temporary suspension of services to Basel, Brindisi, Sofia and Corfu, the airline will operate just a single weekly flight to Malaga, Sandefjord and Paphos. Further frequency cuts have also been made on services to Baden Baden, Bergamo, Charleroi, Gothenburg, Harhn, Malmo, Malta, Memmingen and Weeze. It follows on from wide-ranging network cuts in May, with reductions for July also expected to be made in the coming weeks. As a result of the cancellations, Ryanair has reduced its Zagreb capacity by 35.000 seats this June.
The airline has provided no explanation for its decision. Staffing issues at its Croatia bases in Zagreb and Zadar are believed to be part of the problem. A recent recruitment drive in the country generated below average interest, with a notable number of candidates walking out after they were provided with the terms and conditions of their potential contracts. The airline is looking to hire 35 new crew members in Croatia this summer, with job opportunities still available for its Zagreb base. “In the coming years, the Ryanair Group and Lauda Europe will bring new opportunities in Croatia, which will result in more traffic, jobs and career opportunities”, the Director of Operations of Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe, Tadej Notersberg, said recently.
This is the third time since the start of the year that Ryanair has either temporarily suspended or reduced its number of flights out of Zagreb. In January and February, sixteen of Ryanair’s routes from the Croatian capital were temporarily suspended, due to reduced demand resulting from a resurgence in the corona virus pandemic. A number of routes have also been impacted in May. In Zadar, the resumption or launch of 22 routes has been pushed back. Affected passengers have been offered refunds or an alternative date for travel.
So what they did is kill OU and then pretty much left?
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought Lju is f****d
The exact same reason they don’t fly to LJU. There is no airline to kill there😂
DeleteAt least every airline out of LJU flies with full planes.
DeleteAnn 9:25 I agree morning flight with Turkish was done on a330-300 today
DeleteReal success to fulfill those 3 planes...per week :D
DeleteSadly, the LF is not necesarilly high. I was on a flight to DXB past Monday - 35, 40 PAX max.
DeleteThey are increasing DXB to daily.
DeleteProbably because of cargo.
DeleteSo they will be flying daily just because of cargo? And passenger cabin is completely empty for you? Why would they send daily b737max if they have cargo b777s if cargo is so big according to you?
DeleteIngvarsson i think the official numbers on average are 70% which isn't bad, especially as cargo is booming
DeleteWhat does any of this have to do with Zagreb and Ryanair?
DeleteRyanair doesn't carry cargo on any of its flights.
DeleteSeems most of the non gasto routes are affected.
ReplyDeleteIt is certain that they cut flights where there is least demand.
DeleteAnd it is the fact as well that mostly gasto routes were cut in the first round of cuts
DeleteCutting flights in June when the height of summer season begins is not a good sign.
ReplyDeleteHow come they don't have staffing issues at their other bases in Europe? Sorry I'm not buying it.
ReplyDeleteThey do, just not to the point of cancelling flights.
DeleteReduced demand due to war in Ukraine might also be an issue.
DeleteMa kakvi. Everybody else is increasing
DeleteAt some point airlines will have to stop blaming Ukraine for their failures. How is Ukraine affecting OU resuming OTP, PRG or any other European destination?
DeleteSo let's be clear here; They were promising up to 9 aircraft this summer, and they will base only 2 one of which won't operate in full capacity?
ReplyDeleteCan't say I expected this
ReplyDeleteLocals don't travel as much as some on here told us.
DeleteI have never seen Ryanair ad on a billboard, newspapers etc here in Zagreb. The ordinary public here don't even know what Ryanair is. I don't think Ryanair had expected local market to generate revenue at the first place.
DeleteOf course, Croatians don't travel anywhere, they hate everyone, especially Serbs, they are mostly illiterate and don't use computers, and never heard of Ryanair, and that's why FR cut some flights, not because nobody wants to work under their crappy conditions
DeleteRe: piR
DeleteBesides, Zagreb Airport reaching 85% of its 2019 levels is a lie, planes are flying empty, Ryanair destroyed Croatia Airlines and now leaving the market while all other airports in the region keep on shining.
And there are no more toilet papers left in supermarkets in Zagreb ;)
😃 Wow, you even have supermarkets there in Zagreb?? !! !! Lucky you, we in the province are not that fortunate !!! 😃
DeleteSome people here always get upset the fact that weak international outbound from Croatia is blamed. Statistics doesn't lie. According to WTO Tourist departures, 2019 - Country rankings, Croatia ranked 54th with 3500 thousand departures comparing to neighbouring Hungary 16th, 24860, Slovenia 44th, 6049. Yes Yes those country don't have sea and beaches like Croatia, but Cyprus where there's nice coast and beaches like Croatia, population 120m departed 1578.
Deleteryanair confirmed at two press conferences in zagreb that the majority of bookings are from abroad and not from croatia. they also stated that their goal is to bring more tourists to zagreb and to make it better known as a city break destination.
Deleteof course croats and slovenes travel, but the comparison to western europe is crucial: how often, how long, how much do they spend, how many use the bus or the car instead of the plane. ryanair gave an answer to this, but many here know better.
Hahaha, budy, the only one really upset here is you, seeing we are not buying your attempts to deliberately misinterprete the reason of these cuts, reason being staff shortage. And there is one very clever saying : "The best way to hide or twist reality, is statistics". Cheers! 😃
DeleteThe above comment was to reply to @An.11.32
Delete@An.11.38
At least 100 milion people live in countries served from ZAG. 4 million people live in Croatia. Don't you think is normal that 100 million people buy more tickets, or whatever else, than 4 million people?
Of course, but you can also compare flight passengers per inhabitant or average fares. or passenger numbers of comparable medium-sized cities in western and southern europe with LJU, ZAG, SJJ.
DeleteSlovaks also travel a lot, for example to croatia, but more by car than from bratislava airport.
it is also worth comparing how ryanair cuts in zagreb compared to zadar
zagreb no longer even has a direct connection to berlin. how can that be with the economic and cultural connections and the large diaspora? only 2-3 capital cities in europe have no direct flight to berlin.
DeleteIsn't it worthwhile from an economic point of view or does nobody see the potential?
Has ZAG got a rotten deal with Ryanair? I really don't understand this.
ReplyDeleteNot a good way to get customers on side.
ReplyDeleteYes bad for image. Then again, most people bought return tickets for 15 euros so it's not such a huge loss.
DeleteYes but do take into account that many people may have booked hotels, organized their holiday leave around these flights etc.
Deleteafter seeing this i will never book ryanair out of Zagreb. will always ook from venice or trieste in near future.
DeleteYou will drive 370 km to Venice just to catch a Ryanair flight?
Deleteim not from zagreb. im from slovenia. its same for me going to zagreb or venice. zagreb airport 160km, treviso 230km.
DeleteSorry, you didn't specify you were from Slovenia. Then I guess it makes sense.
DeleteIt makes sense if you are from Croatia as well. Not all people who travel from ZAG live in Zagreb. For me, it's the same distance as well to Zagreb or Venice. But I have no intention giving advantage to any airport, or any airline, based on isolated cases of cancellations, caused by diferrent reasons, or general prejudices. And I will continue using all airlines from Krk, Zagreb, Marco Polo, Treviso, Pula, Ljubljana or another one, according to my needs and my convenience
Deletedefinitely, but if you wanna travel somewhere and you see that a bit closer airport is getting cuts at the moment on a random base than its safer to book from venice. simple logic.
DeleteCancellations happen everywhere and with all airlines, and out of diferrent reasons. You can choose to book TRS or VCE over ZAG, than you travel there, and than your flight is cancelled because of weather conditions, or personnel strike somewhere, or many other reasons. There is no such thing as absolute guarantee for anything in life, air travel included. These kind of cancellations at least give you some other option because they are not last minute. I would never give up flying on any airline, from any airport, my RJK which is very often closed due to weather/wind, included, because of the fear my flight might be cancelled, in advance, or last minute. That's my logic. Of course you might have another opinion which I accept. It would be very boring on this World if we all were the same 😃
DeleteWeather conditions or personnel strike are unexpected situations, a bit hard to predict them isn't it? But when you see FR cutting flights left and right months in advance from one airport it's good to have some common sense you know.
DeleteYou just opened my eyes! Thanks for finally making me aware why I struggled my entire life! I lack common sense! LOL! ☺
DeleteWhen your crappy argument fails and you have to use some even crappier irony. Never change my good friend
DeleteI would love to see Ryanair's results in ZAG. What is their average load factor.
ReplyDeleteAround 55%
DeleteAre you sure? That would be a disaster for an LCC. I think they have a better LF.
DeleteI have flown 2 times with Ryanair from/to Zagreb in early December 2021, both flights (Malaga and Sofia) had a LF between 80 and 90%. I know it doesn't mean much but if others could let us know their experience also maybe we could get a clearer picture.
DeleteMalaga was selling for less than €50 one way most of the time. Now imagine, the cost alone for petrol for one way flight is close to 9.000 Euros. That comes on average to 51 Euros per seat. So they were maybe breaking-even on this route.
DeletePaphos 100 %, Bergamo 90 %, Sofia 60 %, approximate LF on my flights during last 6 months. And I "like" people who "know for sure" LF is 55 %, based on crystal ball
DeleteI was told that Wizz Air's approximate fuel cost to LCA from BEG is close to €8.000. Since they have 230 seats on the A321 that comes out to be €35 per seat. This is just to cover their fuel costs, no crew expenses, overlfy rights and so on.
DeleteI suppose JU is around €50 since they are flying with the less economical A319 with fewer seats.
In reality, anything below €100 return would be disastrous for them. People need to understand that no matter how nice €20 tickets are, they are commercially unsustainable.
Judging from what I read on here, most FR fares in ZAG were quite low. That's why they might have filled those planes but have lost money. Of course, they are new in ZAG so they don't mind losing money as long as they are forming their clientele.
At some point they will either have to increase their fares or their onboard sales. That is why these longer sectors like Malaga or Paphos struggled so much and were cut by quite a bit.
p.s. FR loves bragging how low their fares are but it's exactly because of this that airports have to considerably lower their charges or for municipalities to give them subsidies.
Málaga route is very successful and is here in Zagreb to stay!
DeleteMalaga was cut down to one weekly.
Deletewow that's a huge number of flights
ReplyDeleteIt's really unfortunate for ZAG. Quite a lot of routes.
ReplyDeleteWhere are the "OU won't survive FR this is their last summer" comments now?
ReplyDeleteWell there is still a possibility this could be their last summer. They are moving flights from Zagreb to Split which doesn't really exude a lot of confidence.
DeleteDon't wish for OU to die, this would be a disaster to ZAG. We all know FR can leave any day, that's what they often do.
DeleteI hope for the best for OU, but like the anon above said, this moving flights to SPU reminds me a lot of some of the last desperate measures Adria was making in its final days, focusing on bases in other countries and so on.
DeleteIn my opinion, now would have been the time for OU to attack Ryanair. Use this to your advantage. Make noise about it. Launch "rescue fares" or provide a discount code for stranded Ryanair passengers, see if there is potential to increase frequencies on some of the routes you indirectly compete on.
DeleteCroatia Airlines has missed all opportunities it was ever given. Do you really think now will be any different?
DeleteWasn't there an article on here how OU is already complaining about the lack of liquidity? They might get some breathing room now that FR is restructuring their ZAG operations but I think their situation is too dire to be fixed.
DeleteThat said, I don't see a point of keeping a one weekly flight to Paphos. I guess this is good news for JU which is currently very competitive from ZAG to LCA.
Nemjee, what has LCA got to do with the Ryanair ZAG cancellations?
DeleteYou see, Paphos is located in Cyprus which is an island primarily served by Larnaca airport. Most people reach this island republic via LCA but the last few years, thanks to FR, more of them have been doing that via PFO.
DeleteSince FR launched PFO from ZAG, Croats finally got a non-stop flight and an alternative to LCA. Unfortunately ZAG-PFO will be reduced to just one weekly flight meaning that those who are not very flexible with their time won't be able to work around FR's schedule and will have to look for alternatives.
Air Serbia which connects Zagreb and Cyprus via its hub in BEG will profit from this.
Hope I explained myself, if not please do not hesitate to leave a comment.
Get into bed with FR and expect uncertainty.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteReal disappointment.
ReplyDeleteNow everyone that bought Ryanair tickets will have to rebook at much more expensive prices.
ReplyDeleteThis is something LCCs do often. We saw it with Wizz Air over the past year too.
DeleteIve been flying Wizz from Sarajevo almost on a monthly basis for a year now since they launched, and not once did they cancel my ticket?!
DeleteLucky you, over the course of two years I experienced around 20 cancellations and/or significant schedule changes by Wizz! I avoid them now but still notice they keep messing with the schedules at my home airport.
DeleteOMG yesterday people were going nuts because Air Serbia cancelled one seasonal route. But very lukewarm reaction for the cancellation of 200 flights in a single month.
ReplyDeleteSo let's go nuts today! The sky is the limit!
DeleteI'm wondering what sort of incentive/subsidy agreement Ryanair has with Zagreb Airport if they are allowed to cancel routes, many of which have only operated for a few months.
ReplyDeleteOne that is probably heavily in favour of FR and allows them to do what they want.
DeleteThis will go into July and August eventually.
ReplyDeletePerhaps there was a reason OU wasn't flying these routes, or simply FR does not have a suitable aircraft for these routes.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's just staffing issues, they also had cuts when they had enough crew. I think this is them expanding too fast. They should have started with one plane and then built from there. Going to three and potentially four was too much.
ReplyDeleteAlso they didn't kill OU, they just made them stronger so that strategy backfired.
Their aim was probably to quickly reduce OU's operations from Zagreb and I don't believe that backfired. Croatia Airlines hasn't introduced a single new route from Zagreb and it hasn't restored a single pre-Covid route from Zagreb (exception is Barcelona which it has delayed). So this obviously worked for them. Question is at what cost, or better yet at what cost for its sponsors such as Zagreb Airport.
DeleteSofia is also gone in June, there are no flights, zero.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is worrying is that the Sofia-Zadar flights prices are quite low and not changing. In June they added extra frequencies to to Treviso and Vienna instead. The new Mallorca flights are very expensive on some days. My sad guess is that there is no demand from Bulgaria. This year it has been extremely strong demand to Turkey, Egypt and even charters from Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna.
DeleteI didn't see quite a lot of packages promoted to Croatia compared to Albania let's say. Plus, there is a tendency for more exotic and undiscovered destinations such as Cabo Verde, La Romana, Zanzibar that all witnessed charter flights and Phuket this autumn.
Still shocked and disappointed that flights to and from Croatia were not as strong as expected :(
Let's see what happens in July.
ReplyDeleteMy guess; more canceled flights
DeleteI don't understand why it's so difficult to hire 35 new crews. There are so many young people here without job and doing nothing everyday. Yes employment condition is crap, but still an opportunity to get into the airline industry or at least have some income while looking for a permanent job. I think this is very much typical problem here that young people here expecting to be a manager with 10k kn salary immediately after graduation and cannot give up one month at the coast in the summer.
ReplyDeleteBecause in Croatia most of these unemployed young people live at home with parents so there is less pressure on them to find jobs, even crappy ones. It also doesn't help that Croatian parents think their children deserve to be CEOs the first day after school. lol
DeleteWorking in a cafe on the coast is more lucrative
Delete"but still an opportunity to get into the airline industry" - and what is that supposed to mean? Do you really think that the next job won't be as shit*y as the previous one?
DeleteWhat people don't realize is experience means jack shi* in aviation. As an inexperienced captain I can only apply for First Officer's positions. And even if I was experienced with hours on the "wrong" type of aircraft I would still not have a chance of finding a (good) job.
People outside of aviation don't have the slightest clue of how cruel and unfair aviation is.
Some friends of mine have got a job at a legacy carrier from an LCC recently. Obviously they got much better contract and salary. Many airlines are desperate to hire experienced crew as staff shortages is real issue after laying off many crew during the pandemic. Having been already in the industry could work out sometimes.
DeleteAnon 10:05
DeleteThat's the problem with Croatian mentality, thinkin on short term only. Working in a cafe on the coast seems to be more lucrative for couple of months but no more opportunity to work for the rest of the year on the coast. On the contrary, you can find a stable job in Zg, work for the whole year and earn more annually. But people are migrating to the coast like crazy to earn 30% more during the summer months and then sit at home without a job in winter. This delusion affects people in Croatia Airlines' management too.
If your parents own tourist apartments (at least 2 but better 3 etc) for rent on an attractive location on the coast, with no loans than ... you are the king: in few months more money than any average job in Zagreb in one year is served to you.
DeleteMaintenance of the infrastructure already counted.
Plus you have a huge amount of time in the off season, you can do whatever you want.
Many cases like this in various locations on the coast.
Anon 09:58
DeleteThis is a real culture shock for me. Where I am from people are embarrassed to live with parents after 20 y.o. Also parents are embarrassed to feed and give a shelter to their grown up children who has no job or financial independence. Usually parents kick their children out or demand to pay a rent if kids stay with them.
lol you are obviously not from the Balkans. Personally I don't mind it as we love our parents here so why run away from those you love? Once you get married and have kids it's ok.
Delete@An.11.45
DeleteCitizens of the countries who get culturally shocked with some behaviours or habits from the Balkans, or Africa, or parts of the Middle East, or Ukraine as the last case, are in most cases not aware of how much their governments and their actions and decisions through history, both distant and recent, contributed to such behaviours and habits, in the most negative way
I have read in another aviation portal that Ryanair are facing a staff shortage issue. I flew recently to Santander and accidentally heard the staff conversation where they were briefly discussing about their crappier Spanish contracts compared to the Belgian ones. Their salaries do not seem to be high and were indirectly or very subtly discussing about the long working hours.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, there was a recent Michael O'Leary CNN interview where he was quite pleased with his company's current results and on how they crushed Wizzair in Eastern Europe which I guess is partly true.
Maybe Wizzair will take advantage of the ZAG FR réductions and step in....
Is it the lower cost of life in Spain compared to Belgium the reason for it?
DeleteIn case is not, it's pure and clear discrimination.
I guess there is more interest from potential candidates to be based in Spain than in Belgium but that can't be a reason for discrimation: same company, both EU members.
It surely is, but FR will do anything to minimize the cost of its workforce.
DeleteYou have no idea how nice it is to work for a company where you're worth less than the chair you're sitting in. If there really is/will be pilot/cabin crew shortage, then FR will just have to cough up more money. As they did in the past. I'm surprised that the divide and conquer (in the form of Lauda and Buzz) didn't work out as planned for MOL and his cronies. Maybe they won't be stuffing tons of money in their pockets this year as bonuses.
Staff issues? I wonder why. There were no staff issues in ZAD all those years when RYR had a 737 base from 2013 until 2018. As soon as Lauda, the utmost low cost within the low cost Ryanair group, was introduced, the system started emitting its unbearable stench. Airbus was a mistake both in ZAG and ZAD, you just have to ask the ground handling personnel in ZAD what they think about Lauda and their Airbuses. Two sets of steps (737 has airstairs), no access to cargo holds without special loading equipment…
ReplyDeleteAre they cutting all these flights because of the A320?
Delete@Harvey:
DeleteI just hope they'll face the same problems at Buzz. Buzz and Lauda's only purpose was to destroy improved T&C FR pilots worked/waited for so long to realize. Which MOL decided to annihilate.
Anon 13:34 I really don’t know for sure.
DeleteAnon 18:44 Segmenting what used to be one Ryanair company (EI registrations) into several AOCs was intended for one purpose, and that is divide et impera. Every EU country has different labor law, and vice versa different legislation concerning unions and organizing industrial action. Additionally, why AOCs were established was to further break the newly formed unity among crews, and that was on top of national differences (e.g. Germany and Italy are both under the “Malta Air” AOC, and yet German contract is very different from the Italian). Buzz is special by way of all pilots being on zero-hour contracts, and Lauda is again different from others. Overall, all 4 (or 5 if you count RYR UK) pretend to be competition to each other - literal race to the bottom.
ZAG-SKG still untouched , are these flights performing that good?
ReplyDeleteThey get discounts from Fraport in Greece, they work closely together.
DeleteIs there any other airline that lies and it is as pathetic as Ryanair?
ReplyDeleteWizz is golden in comparison.