Croatia Airlines will operate over 17.000 flights with 1.8 million seats on sale during the upcoming summer season, which runs from March 26 until October 28. The carrier will introduce four new seasonal routes, including two from Split and one each from Dubrovnik and Brač. The four new seasonal destinations launched out of Croatia’s second largest city last summer will all make a comeback this year too. From its main hub in Zagreb, Croatia Airlines does not plan on adding new routes, however, it will maintain pre-pandemic frequency levels on services to Amsterdam, Brussels, London Heathrow, Paris, Rome, Sarajevo, Tel Aviv and Zurich. The airline has signalled its interest in restoring operations between the Croatian capital and Mostar this summer, however, flights are yet to be scheduled at this point. For a second year in a row, Croatia Airlines will maintain services between Zagreb and Dublin for just a month, after which flights will operate out of Split.
The Croatian carrier will continue expanding operations out of Split, with the addition of Skopje and Oslo to its network. Furthermore, the airline will boost frequencies from the coastal city to Prague and Paris with an additional weekly rotation compared to last year. Frequencies on all routes out of Split have now either matched or exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Operations will remain largely unchanged out of Dubrovnik, with the carrier introducing a new one weekly service to Prague. The airline will cap off its summer expansion with the introduction of a one weekly rotation between Brač and Munich between May 27 and October 7.
Please note that the frequencies listed below are preliminary and based on current availability in the Global Distribution System (GDS). They are subject to change. Furthermore, the tables below display the peak weekly frequency on each route during the course of the summer season. Increases in frequencies, particularly on domestic flights between Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Pula, may not come into effect until later on in the summer and may vary depending on the month. EX-YU Aviation News will also bring you the planned summer season operations for Air Serbia and Air Montenegro during the course of the month, in the lead up to the 2023 summer season.
Departing Zagreb
Departing Split
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Departing Dubrovnik
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From Pula, Croatia Airlines will operate to Zadar (8x per week) and Zagreb (3x per week), with no international services scheduled. From Osijek, the airline will fly to Munich (2x per week), as well as Split and Dubrovnik (1x per week). From Zadar, the carrier will operate to Pula (8x per week) and Zagreb (8x per week). Rijeka will see the Croatian national airline operate flights to Munich (3x per week). Finally, Croatia Airlines will maintain scheduled services from Brač to Zagreb (2x per week), as well as the abovementioned new weekly service to Munich.
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Split network is decent but Zagreb….
ReplyDeleteThat is BCGs strategy. Focus on Split
DeleteThey've transformed themselves into a mini-airline.
DeleteAt least Brussels has 11 weekly flights.
DeleteCan someone explain to me the logic of serving Dublin from Zagreb for just a month and starting the seasonal flights AFTER Easter.
ReplyDeleteMakes no sense
DeleteGetting hammered by FR, even their "expensive" tickets are still more competitive than OU's entry-level ones.
DeleteI would rather pay more and fly with OU!
DeleteMe too, it's about awareness, not just money.
DeleteWhy such little focus on Dubrovnik?
ReplyDeleteSofter demand, even this winter their numbers have been relatively bad. At least worst than expected.
DeleteThey haven't focused on DBV for a decade
DeleteKind of underwhelming to be honest.
ReplyDeleteWell if a small network like this can bring them money then I say go for it
DeleteBut it doesn't bring them money.
DeleteIn summer it does
DeleteIn summer it brings them loads of money!
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteEspecially from Zagreb to Dublin.
DeleteOU's response to Air Serbia flying to New York.
DeleteOU's long-haul flight.
DeleteSPU network looks good!
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Finally, happy they realised how important it is
DeleteOn a map, sure, it looks good, but if you look at the frequencies, it is rather underwhelming.
DeleteThey sure need more than 13 aircraft for more frequencies.
DeleteDisappointing, especially since they have an extra plane
ReplyDeleteIs that plane just back up?
DeleteIt seems they are definitely not focusing on ZAG or competing with FR.
ReplyDeleteIt is shocking how passive they suddenly became in ZAG
DeleteThey gave up
DeleteBut what's worse, they didn't even try.
DeleteZagreb Airport management are to blame. All the major carriers have made cuts or left completely. Looking solely after Ryanair and ripping off your other customers is not a good business plan long term!
DeleteI have to admit that I like this Ryanair expansion in ZAG and maybe OU can benefit on that. For example in last period I took OU from SPU to ZAG several times to catch FR. Comparable to bus is 40 - 50 € more expensive but you travel 3 hours (even more considering shuttle bus and waiting bus for reach Dalmatia) less to ZAG. Maybe OU should leave ZAG (not completely) to big ones and focus their efforts to conect the coast with ZAG and the rest of Europe.
Delete16 international destinations out of Zagreb, one of them operating for 1 month and another two which are not nonstop.
ReplyDeleteWho flies with them to Athens when there is Aegean nonstop?!
DeleteThat is why Aegean uses A320 while Croatia Airines sends a turboprop.
DeleteIf A3 flight is full the quickest alternative is OU.
DeleteWhat sort of strategy is that?
DeleteApparently it is the best strategy possible with the availabkle fleet.
DeleteAt the end of the day, a network like this will bring them money
ReplyDeleteBrings them money? They have been loss making for years.
DeleteOU still can't find a way to get around seasonality. This is killing them.
DeleteSeasonality exists for all airlines all over the world.
DeleteYou can't expect winter number of pax to even come close to summer no. of pax.
The priority should be extending seasonal routes into winter.
DeleteAnd fly empty planes?
DeleteWhat sort of strategy is that?
@09,40
DeleteA properly run airline finds ways to reduce seasonality issues so they don't bleed their summer profits so heavily in the winter months. Airlines typically send aircraft for maintenance during the winter months so you're not at full capacity for a decent amount of the winter season.
OU has for 4 years ignored an opportunity right at their door step - JP bankruptcy just over an hour away from ZAG. Winter flights from LJU could help lower seasonality issues. Sending crew to Ljubljana from Zagreb isn't as bad as how JU is sending in crew to Niš from Belgrade.
OU have some form of a wave structure in place in ZAG, expanding on that should help them boost loads to make direct flights more viable. They were flying to OTP for example and the bankruptcy of Blue Air should of opened an opportunity to pull in some additional pax.
Perhaps half empty flights could be a lower loss than not using that capacity at all. Airlines make a lot of money through ancillary sales.
Lots more could be added to this list.
So the novelties is 4 routes with total of 5 frequencies
ReplyDeleteThere might be Mostar :D
DeleteI'm dumbfounded by their logic to operate Zagreb-Dublin on and off throughout the year for just a few months. How can you compete against Ryanair like that?
ReplyDeletePlenty of demand during the Summer season for both.
DeleteWinter is another story.
But in summer they fly just for a month from Zagreb
DeleteWhy no flights to Poland. They could give Krakow a try if they don't want to compete directly with LOT to Warsaw. I think there would be sufficient demand from Zagreb with a Dash.
ReplyDeleteGood luck OU!
ReplyDeleteSame old same old from OU.
ReplyDeleteThe most exciting airline
DeleteNOT!
DeleteSo weird they don't consider coming back to Istanbul
ReplyDeleteEven Swiss is not flying to Istanbul. TK's (and Pegasus') prices are just too low to compete i guess.
DeleteSince when does Pegasus fly from Zagreb to Istanbul?
DeleteTK offers better price, service and connections to other parts of the world, also JU offers good deals to Istanbul via BEG and even INI if anyone bothers to go to LJU to take a flight.
Delete@11.50 LOL at the last part
DeleteAnonymous17:35 you can buy a LJU-INI-IST ticket for less than TK is selling the LJU-IST tickets, transfer times are around 40 minutes (since its the same plane). It is an alternative option not many ppl know for. Not only for LJU-INI but for some destinations from Germany.
DeleteYou can even take a flight from BEG and transfer to IST, ATH, LJU etc. via INI.
Their network out of Zagreb is considerably smaller than pre Covid.
ReplyDeleteNo Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague, Milan, Bucharest....
DeleteAll shifted to Split
DeleteRyanair effect.
DeleteNot a bad network at all
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteThis is quite low number of routes but good to see no route cancellations from last year.
ReplyDeleteThey have 13 planes. How many destinations do you expect?
DeleteLet's see how things turn out. I wish them good luck.
ReplyDeleteNot a single new route from Zagreb for 4 years now.
ReplyDeleteThank you MZLZ and FR.
Delete@10,03
DeleteAbsolutely not. It's all down to OU which consistently fails to react year after year while reducing it's market share on the Croatian market.
This airline makes me so angry. They could be doing so much more.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAlmost no coverage in the east
ReplyDeleteAn airline still under the impression that there is an iron curtain. They could have attracted transit pax from the east before Air Serbia even showed up. Every western european airline has made the most out of the East Europe market.
DeleteHow many bases does CTN have?
ReplyDeleteIn summer 2 - ZAG and SPU.
DeleteThanks. How many planes in SPU?
DeleteI believe 3 - 2 Q400s and 1 A319 but I'm not 100% sure.
DeleteFor me it is ludicrous that Croatia Airlines will be serving London from Zagreb just 3 times per week. That is really poor considering how many Brits are visiting Croatia.
ReplyDeleteThey sold slots so Kucko could show the airline is profitable.
Deleteeven if they sold slots there are other London airports. Whats the frequency of FR flights to STN
DeleteOr LGW, they used to have a decent presence there. Why they are not flying LGW-DBV too is just crazy, they would have a full flight daily during the summer on that route.
DeleteWhy OU does not implement greater emphasis on transfer system like many other airlines?
ReplyDeleteNetwork and frequencies too small.
DeleteYields are much lower on transfer flights.
Deletelol so why the many flights to MUC and FRA when they have to share with LH
DeleteHope they will have quite a few charters too.
ReplyDeleteGroundbreaking
ReplyDeleteWill never understand the logic of those seasonal 1 pw flights to ,for example, Berlin/Oslo/Prague. The competition on these routes is big considering the fact that some of them are even flown by lccs. And let’s be real, tourists arriving to Croatia would opt for those instead considering the frequencies offered by Croatia Airlines. Plus not to mention that the CAPITAL is not connected to some of these cities. If they would just use their brains for strategic growth and shifted these operations to Zagreb at least twice weekly trhoughout the year (Berlin and Prague could work for example, Bucharest also, demand was there) they could attract p2p and transfer passengers. These dalmos routes are insane.
ReplyDeleteWhy? They have a ton of flights to Frankfurt and Munich. Connectivity is nowhere as great as in Zagreb. Which is great for an airport in the categorization of 2 to 5 million passengers.
DeleteBut why would you connect, that’s the point. Why would your main source of profit be offering connections in Frankfurt or Munich when you have a flag carrier whose soul purpose is to provide connectivity and financial/economic/tourist development. Not to mention that it’s 50 times easier when having a direct flight.
DeleteYes, I agree with you. But various AnaLysts say that it is better to have a ton of flights to FRA and MUC than 2 or 3 weekly P2P flights. He says that it is more valuable and that is why Zagreb is unassailable.
DeleteIs it known which of the new destinations offered by Croatia Airlines is selling best?
ReplyDeleteI think JU will soon introduce midday flights to ZAG and start collecting transfer passengers to Western Europe. CRO's passivity should be used, and not everyone likes to fly with low cost airlines.
ReplyDeleteYou think JU can compete with multiple daily flights to FRA & MUC?
DeleteWhy not? If they can compete with them in Ljubljana, Tirana, Athens, Skopje, Bucharest, why not in Zagreb? Zagreb is the only city in the region that does not have flights to Berlin. Not even Stockholm, Prague, Lisbon, Valencia, Palermo, Florence, Bologna, Bari and many other destinations.
DeleteNot true. Ljubljana doesn’t have almost any of the destinations you just mentioned. Same thing with Sarajevo, Podgorica etc
DeleteRe-read both comments above yours. Maybe you get it.
DeleteI would say that the OU network is very respectable. If you combine the total number of routes and excluding long haul, it can be as much as JU and the coverage is geographically fantastic. It's just a matter of time when the A220s arrive and conquer the lands. Well done OU and Brawo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia's number of routes is over 80. Croatia Airlines is 41. I don't know how it can be as much as JU. Even if you exclude long haul JU still has just over 80 routes.
DeleteWell if OU had the same protection in its main hub as JU did in the past 20 years, I am sure that OU would be as big as JU and even bigger....
DeleteJU has had to contend with an LCC based at it home hub 10 years before an LCC set up a base in Zagreb. In fact LCC presence in BEG has been significantly bigger in the last 10 years than in Zagreb. But, whatever makes you happy.
DeleteNever let facts get in the way of what you wanna say.
DeleteHow come Zagreb can sustain 11 CA + 6 Ryanair flight to BRU (Charleroi) while BEG only has 2. It cannot only be the EU institutions and NATO.
ReplyDeleteJU flies to Zaventeem, not to Charleroi, and I personally prefer it over CRL. I wish they could add a few more frequencies, but I don't travel to BRU that often, only once or twice a year so it doesn't affect me too much. This is likely not the case with everyone else going to BRU, the LF is always above 70% when I fly so I guess there's potential to expand.
DeleteCRL is just as fine as an airport. Not terribly far from depressing downtown Brussels. Can't understand how they call it the capital of Europe.
DeleteRunning empty Dublin flights for a month is the most Croatia Airlines thing ever
ReplyDeleteThose flights will be full, I can assure you!
DeleteFull is not the same as profitable though.
DeleteBravo OU, Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteI am Czech from Prague, my girlfriend is Croatian. When we lived in Zagreb (2018-2019) we could choose if we fly to Prague via Croatian Airlines or CSA. Now we live in Prague and there's no fricking connection between the two cities, so even though we would happily pay the ticket, we are forced to take 10 hour smelly Flixbus. I don't understand why nobody operates the line. The plane was always basically full when I was flying.
ReplyDeleteWhy you don't consider Air Serbia? You can fly PRG-BEG-ZAG for only 90eur. Layover is 8h so you can go to the city center.
Delete@10.46 you gotta be joking? You can do that once if you have not been to the city but not every time
Delete14.36 was meant to be :D
DeleteAnonymous15:18
DeleteIt depends how often is “every time”. If “every time is “ once/twice a year i will always choose flight with 8 hour layover then to seat on the bus for 10 hours. But thats me.
My curiosity was alway why some tourist from Scandinavia drive to Croatia or Greece for a day instead picking a a flight even with longer layover?
I would always pick flying from Helsinki to Zagreb, having a 8 hours layover. Have a delicious lunch, coffee, desert and catch a flight from Zagreb to Pula, Split wherever. Instead of driving countless hours, eating hot dogs at the gas station, drinking bitter instant Nesscaffe, looking for clean toilets etc etc etc
but the price of flixbus
DeleteBoris, you clearly don't have children or don't travel with them.
DeleteI cannot imagine wanting to cross security or borders more than it's absolutely necessary. Non-stop flights all day, every day for me.
If you have children then it’s okay. But the gentelman told that he is flying with his girlfriend.
Deleteas someone from Skopje I was looking at transfer options with OU find it bit meh:
ReplyDeleteSKP-MUC is now available only on two days in the week, SKP-FRA on five
at least they offer connecting flights through SPU as well but they will get under pressure with Lufthansa starting SKP
So pretentious for someone who barely has connections to main European airports to call the OU service "a bit meh". At least they were serving your airport during the last years.
DeleteIs service to Athens year-round?
ReplyDeleteNo, seasonal only unfortunately.
DeleteThey need to upgrade ZAG-ATH to year-round without the the stop in DBV. It's so bad they don't serve a big hub like ATH year-round.
DeleteSo there are no Mostar flights from Zagreb?
ReplyDeleteIt says in the article:
Delete" The airline has signalled its interest in restoring operations between the Croatian capital and Mostar this summer, however, flights are yet to be scheduled at this point"