Following numerous delays in the selection process, Croatia Airlines and Trade Air will once again be awarded multi-million-euro contracts to operate domestic Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights for a period of four years. “During the implementation of the tender, the Ministry for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure communicated with a number of interested airlines and two official offers were received within the prescribed deadline, from Croatia Airlines and Trade Air. Contracts will be concluded with the carriers after a final decision is made”, the Ministry said in a statement. The four-year contracts, which provide European Union funds for the upkeep of domestic services deemed commercially unprofitable, were initially to come into force on May 1. As a result of the delay, Trade Air, which has maintained a considerable number of PSO flights, suspended all of its domestic operations at the start of last month. Croatia Airlines, which is also the beneficiary of PSO subsidies, has continued its domestic services, albeit without EU funding.
The new PSO contracts will now run from July 4, 2022, until March 28, 2026. A final decision on which flights will be operated by each of the carriers and the total value of the deals is yet to be made public, although both are expected to maintain the same routes held in the previous PSOs, which were extended by two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government has defended its tardiness by noting there was “significant” interest from foreign airlines which required additional screening and due diligence on behalf of the state. Croatia Airlines and Trade Air are the only two carriers to have previously won contracts to operate subsidised domestic flights in Croatia, although any airline registered within the European Union that meets the tender criteria can apply.
Under the previous deal, Croatia Airlines received roughly 11.4 million euros in annual compensation, while Trade Air approximately 2.5 million euros per year according to the European Commission. The routes which will be subject to the latest PSO funding are: Dubrovnik - Zagreb – Dubrovnik, Split - Zagreb - Split, Zagreb - Zadar - Pula - Zadar - Zagreb, Zagreb - Brač - Zagreb, Osijek - Dubrovnik - Osijek, Osijek - Split - Osijek, Osijek - Zagreb - Osijek, Rijeka - Split - Dubrovnik - Split - Rijeka, Osijek - Pula - Split - Pula - Osijek, Rijeka - Zadar - Rijeka and Osijek - Zadar - Osijek.
What a joke
ReplyDeleteBig surprise to see Croatia and Trade Air got PSO! Who would have thought so...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTo me it makes sense to choose domestic airlines to operate domestic flights
DeleteAll EU airliners are domestic in Croatia.
DeleteFinally
ReplyDeleteSo they screwed over Trade Air for nothing?
ReplyDeleteAnd airports that rely on PSO.
DeleteWhat equipment will Trade Air lease now for domestic flights?
ReplyDeleteThere is talks of saab 340
DeleteATR is possible too.
DeleteSaab, not ATR
DeleteAny idea from which airline? Not too many Saab operators around
DeleteSprint air
DeleteAnd what if TA gets Split and Dubrovnik this time?
DeleteNo way that's going to happen. OU can't afford to lose any way of suckling the supple teat of state money.
DeleteSo OU will get aid plus PSO. Nice
ReplyDeleteNot a care in the world for them.
DeleteI was secretly hoping that Ryanair was going to be selected. They can offer really cheap domestic flights....
ReplyDeleteIf there was so much interest from foreign, why did no one apply for the tender after talks with the government?
ReplyDelete*foreign airlines.
DeleteMaybe it was just used as an excuse for the government being so late.
DeleteIf a route is under PSO, does that mean another airline can't start it, even without state support?
ReplyDeleteOf course they can and thats why the tender is for 4 years, so they can keep OU with funds even if FR starts domestic ops. Another 4 years saved.
DeleteJust another way to pump money into OU. Wonder why FR did not apply.
ReplyDeleteThey probably realized they would never be selected and it wasn't worth the effort.
DeleteOU knew it would get the PSO contract. That's why they kept flying. Trade Air not so much.
ReplyDeleteZagreb-Dubrovnik and Zagreb-Split getting subsidies because they are not "profitable" is laughable to say the least.
ReplyDeleteCorrect. Zagreb-Split and Zagreb-Dubrovnik shouldn't be under PSO having in fact that Croatia always has full planes on these lines, even in winter months.
DeleteLaughable is your knowledge about PSO.
DeletePSO is not made for only unprofitable flights
On the European Commission website there is a definition of PSO and it literally says it is for unprofitable routes.
DeleteI'm from Dubrovnik and I fly quite often, I can attest that on ZAG-DBV flights LF is almost always more than 80% even during the worst winter months, and in summer it's packed. Given the ridiculouly high prices on this route it really is a travesty that it's one of PSO routes.
DeleteWell, I travelled from ST to ZG at peak summer months and and there was like 10 of us on A319. So in my opinion this PSO route is justified.
DeleteDo they really need all these connections? I would keep Osijek to some seaside destinations and Zagreb to Dubrovnik that's all.
ReplyDeleteAgree. PSO for DBV is really not needed especially in the summer.
DeleteUnbelievable that the government kept all the routes from six years ago, some of which make no sense. Keeping Osijek-Zagreb with average load factor of 20% is ludicrous. It means there is no public interest for this route.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since the flight was operated with Let 410 aircraft which has load of 19 pax, meaning that on average there were 3,8 people flying there :D
DeleteWasted opportunities. Some route are unnecessary while others not included would be really beneficial.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Croatia Airlines and Trade Air!
ReplyDeleteTrade Air could also fly Bern - Portoroz with Saab 340.
ReplyDeletePortoroz-Belgrade would work as well
DeleteThe problem here is that the whole point of PSO routes has been lost. if they are put in pace to cover unprofitable flying, then recipient airlines should NOT be making money on such routes, but in doing precisely what is the main purpose - which is to cover LOSSES in flying such routes. It shouldn't given them the opportunity to charge extortionate fares from pax to then make money bucket loads of money flying these routes. They need to BREAK-EVEN. Otherwise, these become a quasi-subsidy, especially when flying high demand routes from ZAG (and elsewhere) to the coast during the high season. Airlines gain and pax lose, in paying hugely disproportionate airfares, for what are govt subsidised routes.
ReplyDeleteFully agree!
DeleteEveryone is a critics and you are entitled to your opinion however when the flight from ST to ZG during the peak summer months has less than10 passengers then obviously this route is included in PSO with a reason.
DeleteHasn’t it occurred to you that the reason for that lies in the fact that you can drive from Zagreb to Split in 3,5h? PSO is here completely unnecessary.
DeleteBravo OU!
ReplyDeleteFor what?
DeleteOU obviously knew it would win the tender. That's why they kept flying.
ReplyDeleteAs if Croatia Airlines winning the tender was ever in doubt.
DeleteThis whole tender process has been so mismanaged and poorly organized.
ReplyDeleteThe sole idea of PSO is not bad, it may however be misused, if the public entity announcing PSO happens to be owner of an airline. Then you may see strange routes or excessive funding.
ReplyDeleteOSI-ZAG route is ridiculous.
ReplyDeletethere are no ridiculous routes there, because the main point behind PSO route is to maintain air connectivity and also to promote it between certain key cities. from that point of view, PSO means strategic development. so all those routes are carefully chosen and labeled as strategic for Croatia. to a well educated person, the fact that load factor between OS and ZG is so low, means this air connectivity NEEDS to keep existing beyond economic feasibility. simply because there has to be such connection between those key cities. same goes for f.i. DU and PU or the island with mainland.
ReplyDelete