Croatia Airlines plans to further expand its Split operations after initially announcing it will station two aircraft in the city this summer and launch five new routes. The carrier is expected to maintain a wider variety of destinations from Croatia’s second largest city during the coming 2022/2023 winter season and add more new routes in the summer of 2023. Speaking at the Aviation Arena webinar, the carrier’s Head of Network and Revenue Management, Krešimir Mlinar, said, “Based on the outlook that leisure travel and tourism will recover quicker than business travel following the coronavirus pandemic, we made certain changes to our network. This includes five new destinations from Split and the stationing of one Airbus jet and one Dash there. We have good expectations for the leisure market. We also have plans for winter, while next year we will do something similar. We are optimistic about the summer, which is illustrated through our forward bookings”.
Croatia Airlines will introduce flights from Split to Stockholm, Bucharest, Dublin and Milan, which were all served from Zagreb prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Amsterdam. The airline operated to some of these destinations from Split in the past as well. Amsterdam was last served in October 2013, Dublin in October 1996 and Milan in September 2000. An Airbus A319 and a Dash 8 turboprop aircraft will be stationed in Split this summer, which will also enable the company to increase frequencies on a number of other routes. As a result, the airline will outstrip its pre-pandemic operations from Croatia’s second largest city.
Commenting on its performance this year, Mr Mlinar said, “Our biggest problem this year is the price of fuel. The A320 uses two and half tonnes of fuel per hour. This is a constant, even if a ton of fuel is around 400 euros like last year, 700 euros as was the case at the start of 2022, or 1.200 euros, which is the current price. The numbers are huge, and carriers will have to make up for it through their customers. Our main problem now is that, despite a rise in late bookings, tickets are still being purchased in advance, when the increased costs were not included in the fares for use this summer”. He added, “From June onwards, we expect high levels of fleet utilisation. Some aircraft types will be in use more than in 2019. That year we also had two jets on wet-lease so as to reduce seasonality. However, it was too risky to employ the same strategy this year”.
ZAG doesn't like this.
ReplyDeleteThey are most responsible for this.
DeleteTheir Zagreb flights have been decimated. Thanks to Ryanair with the help of Zagreb Airport.
DeleteI really wouldn't blame either FR or ZAG. It is their own doing.
DeleteIn the end, the biggest winner will be Split Airport.
DeleteZAG will regret losing Croatia Airlines' dynamic strategy and mind-blowing growth.
DeleteHahahaha @An.09.37 you just made my day!!! 😃
DeleteI won't be surprised if they have more destinations from Split this winter than Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteWell at least something new from OU
DeleteI don't think they will add new routes in winter from Split but they will probably increase frequencies on the existing routes like they did this summer as well. Most routes have more flights than before Covid.
DeleteWhat are their winter frequencies from Split on international destinations?
DeleteWhich destinations from the new ones could work from Split in winter?
ReplyDeleteDublin could work
DeleteSplit the.board has been talking about Split-London in winter for years..
DeleteIf the board would assist with some incentives over winter I'm pretty sure OU would go for it.
DeleteWhich routes does OU operate from Split in winter?
ReplyDeleteFrankfurt, Munich, Rome and Zagreb
DeleteThey could introduce Amsterdam year round.
Deletei wonder how viable those routes are in winter.
DeleteWhat about Paris?
DeleteThey should consider to put some flights to SKP from Split/Dubrovnik. I was in Dubrovnik last weekend but man, I drove for 12 hours, 650km from Gevgelija. And that is with a proper driving through Macedonia, Kosovo and part of Albania with 130/140 average speed. The 'jadranska magistrala' is beautiful but very time consuming :). Dubrovnik is excellent place to be, although with bloated prices, but the 'clientele' there is different. But I would like to visit again...
ReplyDeleteWhy would they if there was never demand for leisure in SKP? All current charters or destinations are to Turkey. The rest is gasto.
DeleteSeasonal Split-Skopje sounds reasonable
Delete@9.39 theres moren then 30k macedonian tourists in Croatia despite no proper connections and crazy long drives. "There was never a demand for leissure"? Lol
DeleteBy air distance DBV to SKP is 180 miles, if they want and the demand is there, they can do a rotation in 2 hours...
DeleteI think it's the only option left for them - to focus on the coast because Ryanair is too strong in Zagreb now.
ReplyDeleteRyanair has 3 or 4 planes in ZAG, they have 13. Ryanair flies P2P only, they (in theory only) have advantage of transfer traffic and membership in the biggest alliance. They have been missing any single opportunity in ZAG during last 30 years. And once again they do it. It's not that ZAG can't work, they can't make it work, and the same will happen in SPU. It has nothing to do with Ryanair, or anyone else, it's entirely and completely about lack or strategy, or wrong feeder strategy, combined with crime, corruption and incompetence. No Ryanair's fault and no SPU services can change it.
DeleteWhat about Dubrovnik?
ReplyDeleteThey used to have a big focus on Dubrovnik. Then when the restructuring started they discontinued a lot of routes, much to the anger of DBV authorities.
DeleteShame
DeleteI always would have though DBV had the more potential
DeleteDBV has potential, especially in far away markets. LH, Austrian, British, Aer Lingus, KLM, Air France, Iberia, SAS, Turkish, LOT, Flydubai, Air Serbia, and many others, are not in DBV for P2P pax but for transfer pax. US companies with direct flights show that potential as well. But they are not interested in it and not capable of doing it. Why earning money on lucrative flights when you can feed LH for peanuts and make heavy losses
DeleteI remember reading here a few months ago that they will focus on secondary cities and it seems to be the case. I don't think it's a bad strategy. But I wish they would put some sort of a fight from Zagreb too.
ReplyDeleteSo what is the long term strategy? And whatever happened to plans to buy new planes?
ReplyDeleteForget about the new planes. It's not going to happen.
DeleteIs this is the BCG strategy?
ReplyDeleteI assume so. It is the only thing Croatia Airlines has done.
DeleteBCG strategy was there to split money, like many other "advisors" and "consultants"
DeleteAnd you are upset because you didn't get a piece of the pie. Now I understand why you always complain on this sight. YOU yourself are N uhljeb, but can't get a piece of the free money.
DeleteObviously you judge others by yourself, your mindset, your criteria and your parameters. Well, for your info, there are still people who believe that being rotten, being thief and being Mafioso is not acceptable behaviour. And I like how you have your crystal ball that told you I am upset and why I am upset. And once again for your info, I am not upset, I am just very very sad for all wasted potentials, wasted opportunities and wasted money on OU. I am also very sad about pathetic attempts of Party bots and Uhljebs to spit on the truth I am repeatedly telling
DeleteThis could ensure number 1 position for Split Airport in Croatia.
ReplyDeleteEspecially if Ryanair keeps cutting flights.
DeleteI wonder if this will come at the expense of Zagreb as did this summer expansion.
ReplyDeleteMost likely.
DeleteWhy doesn't Croatia Airlines have any international flights from Pula? I'm assuming there is more demand than from Osijek.
ReplyDeleteBecause they get subsidies to fly Osijek-Munich.
DeleteCould this finally be a solution to their seasonality issues?
ReplyDeleteThey will need to do a lot more work.
DeleteGood luck OU!
ReplyDeleteOperating more W rotation flights from Zagreb and then to Split could work.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Croatia Airlines' average passenger share in Split?
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking how passive they suddenly became in ZAG and decided to focus on SPU instead.
ReplyDeleteZAG obviously doesn't work for them anymore with so much competition. Of course, they haven't even attempted to address it.
DeleteThe fares for the new Split routes are quite good actually.
ReplyDeleteGood. I remember a few years ago when they launched SPU-OHD, tickets cost 300 euros return. Of course, flights were cancelled after two weeks.
DeleteDo you remember which year these flights operated?
Delete2015
DeleteYes, that was a big fail unfortunately but didn't need to be. It was OU's fault.
DeleteSorry I meant to write that they launched SPU-SKP a few years ago (not SPU-OHD).
DeleteToo expensive and they put tickets on sale late.
DeleteHow about launching some new routes from Zagreb? Tthey could start MAD, WAW, IST, DUS, TXL, SOF... Many opportunities
ReplyDeleteThey used to fly some of those but discontinued them.
DeleteMove to the coast!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteKroatovanje
ReplyDeleteI still think it would have been much smarter to have focused on Ljubljana and opened a base there with 1 Q400.
ReplyDeleteThey will certainly make more money flying out of Split, especially in summer, than in winter,
DeleteGreat news for OU and SPU.
ReplyDeleteThey should literally use a slightly modified Ryanair tactic. Announce ALL their destinations as direct from both Zagreb and Split (maybe even from Dubrovnik). The ones that don't perform well on a direct route - unlike Ryanair who just leaves you desperate - they reroute you to Zagreb through Split or to Split through Zagreb on an additional short flight. It does waste time, but they claim now that business travelers who would actually mind wasting time are not returning to Croatia anyway.
ReplyDeleteI was once traveling to Zagreb, missed my connection in Frankfurt and was rerouted through Split. As a leisure traveler I wasn't in a hurry, so I was just slightly annoyed. I had two hours to spare and after seeing the miserable state of then old Split airport café I ask the lady on a check-in counter what is there to do in two hours. I had two options: visiting a nearby Unesco town of Trogir only 15 minutes away (which I'm sure its nice) but she had another brilliant idea: go swim in the sea! I thought she was mad. But then she literally got me my suitcase so I can take a towel and spare undies, pointed me down the road and after walking 5 minutes I was on a semi deserted beach and had the best connecting flight EVER chilling on a beach! No lounge in the world can give you a better experience than this :)
That sounds like a very nice layover :)
DeleteOU finally waking up.
ReplyDeleteTotally disagree. Shifting few flights and two aircraft from ZAG to SPU means nothing. Their issues are waaaay deeper
Deleteor just move the whole network to SPU plus let the StarAlliance hub connections at ZAG
ReplyDeleteIt's not like they don't have competition in Split either.
DeleteNot only they have more competition in SPU than in ZAG, in summer, of course, but that competition beat them on every single route with competition they operated
DeleteThey used to fly Split-Belgrade until 2019 but then stopped. Any plans to restore these?
ReplyDeleteThe official reason for the BEG suspension was that they wanted to deploy the plane on more profitable routes. JU's Split operations might also have had an impact on that.
DeleteToo little too late.
ReplyDeleteFor what?
DeleteCould ATH-SPU work in winter? ATH is a big hub especially for middle east destinations.
ReplyDeleteI think it is possible. I mean Aegean thinks Athens-Dubrovnik will work in winter so I assume Split, as a larger city with larger catchment area could too.
DeleteI think it can work too, OU should grab the change before Aegean returns to SPU in 2023.
DeleteOU to grab a chance? I don't think they have grabbed a single one in the past five years. In my opinion it would also make sense for them to fly from ZAG to ATH nonstop.
DeleteAgreed, ATH is a strong market ZAG-ATH, DBV-ATH and SPU-ATH could all be profitable as year-round services.
DeleteWhat I don't get is that they don't cooperate with Aegean at all. And both are Star Alliance members.
DeleteExactly also Aegean's Middle East network is precious they could use that as a reason but how are they gonna cooperate with A3 when they don't even operate year-round to ATH? Classic OU..
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha Hahahahahahahaha Hahahahahahahaha
DeleteWell if OU can’t handle ZAG-DUS, when EW and FR Handel (CGN,DUS,DTM and NRN). I’m happy for this move to Split
ReplyDeleteDon’t be loud, OU sleep!
True haha
DeleteThat's hilarious. Imagine British Airways moving flights to Manchester Airport or Air France moving to Marseille, or KLM moving to Rotterdam because a LCC arrives to their home base. I wonder if there's an example of an airline running away from its main base due to arrival of a LCC.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts too. This must be a world first.
DeleteWell LH did move part of their long haul to MUC when FRA flirted with Ryanair. But you cannot compare BA,AF and KLM with OU. OU has a pax volume of 4-5 lcc A320's
DeleteAlso SPU is the biggest airport in HR
Delete???
DeleteHe probably meant busiest.
DeleteSince Croatia Airlines' unofficial motto became "it's too early to react" now it is too late to react in Zagreb. Let's see how this develops. I definitely don't think like some they are abandoning Zagreb but emphasis will obviously be put on Split and maybe even Dubrovnik next year.
ReplyDelete“Based on the outlook that leisure travel and tourism will recover quicker than business travel following the coronavirus pandemic, we made certain changes to our network. This includes five new destinations from Split and the stationing of one Airbus jet and one Dash there. We have good expectations for the leisure market."
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand leisure is coming back faster (especially with summer coinciding with covid disappearance), strategic planning should look at the bigger picture and be long term.
OU is looking to survive from season to season. Long term plans are not really possible in such a situation.
DeleteThis could be very good news for turning Split into a year round destination.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteUntil a few years ago Croatia Airlines used to fly to London from Split. Perhaps a route to consider restoring in the future?
ReplyDeleteWith Easyjet, British Airways, Jet2.com, Wizzair and TUI flying between the two, I somehow doubt it will happen, especially with LHR slots sold
DeleteMore of the same old, same old. Croatian will start a Split to Dublin route, which RyanAir already serves . Their route is advertised constantly at 39 and 49 Euros, Croatian is at 159 Euros !! Croatian still thinks that due to some national pride a family of four will fly with them to Dublin for over 600 Euros, instead of that nasty Irish company for under 200 Euros!!
DeleteWhat is new about this? This same news was already made public a few weeks ago... And the new routes introduced by CA for summer 2022 are to laugh at when compared to the same routes offered by other airlines... The only new info mentioned here is a "wider variety of destinations for winter 2022/2023 and summer 2023", but without mentioning which routes, when, how often... Is Split more interesting to CA now because of competition by Ryanair in Zagreb? Or because some monies from local and county tourist boards will be flowing to CA?
ReplyDelete