Pegasus Airlines eyes Zagreb service

Pegasus Airlines plans to launch operations between Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport and Zagreb pending government approval. The airline intends on commencing two weekly rotations between the two cities just before the New Year, if it is successful in securing a permit for the flights, which might prove difficult. Although the European Union has initiated talks on an aviation agreement with Turkey, which would remove nationality restrictions in the bilateral air services agreements between EU member states and the Eurasian country, no progress has been made on the deal for over a decade. Croatia and Turkey inked a bilateral air agreement in 1994, which entered into force ten years later, in 2004. It is restrictive in nature and favours the national carriers from the two countries.

Pegasus Airlines has been attempting to establish flights between Istanbul and Zagreb for several years. Turkish Airlines currently maintains two daily flights between Istanbul’s main international airport and the Croatian capital. Croatia Airlines discontinued services to Turkey’s largest city in early 2013 as part of its cost cutting and restructuring measures. During the 2012 summer season, the carrier maintained daily flights from Zagreb to Istanbul with its Dash 8 aircraft, as well as a one weekly service between Dubrovnik and Istanbul with the turboprop. The national airline had operated flights to Istanbul on an on and off basis for a number of years. Its last attempt lasted just a year and a half. On the other hand, Turkish Airlines has been serving the Croatian capital continuously for 25 years, launching operations on October 27, 1998.

Turkish Airlines’ monopoly on the route has resulted in the carrier handling a record 92.235 passengers between the two cities during the first half of the year. However, the majority of Turkish Airlines’ passengers on the Zagreb route are transfers with the rate of Turkish travellers being relatively low, by the carrier’s own admission. Pegasus Airlines offers connecting flights as well and often boasts competitive fares to the Middle East, however, it primarily caters for point-to-point traffic on its European operations. Pegasus Airlines is present in the former Yugoslavia, maintaining flights to Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo and Skopje. Services to the Montenegrin capital were launched earlier this year, after aviation stakeholders from both Montenegro and Turkey agreed to enable a third carrier to commence operations between the two countries.