Finnair is terminating its seasonal service between Helsinki and Zagreb, while the Spanish low cost carrier Vueling is yet to make a final decision whether it will resume operations between Barcelona and the Croatian capital next year. Finnair confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that flights to Zagreb will not return in 2024 following two years of operations. “Zagreb is not in our network for summer 2024 and we currently don’t have any plans for restoring the route”, the Finnish national carrier said. Finnair maintained operations between Helsinki and Zagreb twice per week last summer season with a mix of Airbus A320 and Embraer E190 aircraft.
Iberia’s low cost subsidiary Vueling is yet to decide whether to resume its flights between Barcelona and Zagreb after the airline failed to put tickets for the route on sale. Last summer, it maintained two weekly rotations between the two cities with a mix of A319 and A320 aircraft. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier said a final decision on the route’s fate will be made “in a few weeks”, noting that, “At Vueling, we are constantly analysing our network and flight schedule”. Croatia Airlines, which also runs seasonal operations between the two cities, will resume services on April 4. It will maintain three weekly rotations with its A320-family fleet.
There are no other carriers operating between Helsinki and Zagreb. Finnair plans to serve both Dubrovnik and Split from the Finnish capital next summer, as does Norwegian, while Ryanair will maintain flights from both Dubrovnik and Zadar to Helsinki. On the other hand, 28.326 passengers flew between Barcelona and Zagreb during the first three quarters of this year, representing a decrease of 7.9% on the same period last year, and a 28.4% reduction on the same period during the pre-pandemic 2019. Ryanair, which has in recent years launched flights from Zagreb to Malaga and Lanzarote in Spain, will commence operations to Girona, near Spain’s second largest city, as well as Alicante and Palma de Mallorca, next summer. On the other hand, Iberia plans a record number of flights between Madrid and Zagreb in 2024.
Unfortunate, maybe Norwegian can consider it.
ReplyDeletePerfect chance for Ryanair to consider HEL-ZAG.
ReplyDeleteThey won't. The incentives given only to Ryanair include some rule that they can't launch any route that was served in the last year, or maybe even two. I can't remember.
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteLjubljana keeps winning lol
ReplyDeleteI know you are joking but I must say it is kind of disastrous that LJU has not managed to become a year-round route for Finnair for 20 years! They launched Ljubljana in 2004.
Delete20 years? Lol
DeleteYes since 2004 until 2024 is 20 years. Basic maths
DeleteThey flew since 2009, not 2004 lol
DeleteNeither of you are correct. They started flights on April 2007
Deletehttps://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/67-Ljubljana.shtml
Anon is correct that in 2004 there were Helsinki flights to Ljubljana, but they were operated by Adria (last year of flights).. I also agree that it is crazy that Finnair in its 17 years has not made the route year-round. And @12:41, even if it were 2009 (which it isn't) I really wouldn't be laughing. It's quite sad actually.
So apparently they launched flights in 2007, then discontinued in 2008 but then launched again in 2009? https://www.exyuaviation.com/2009/03/finnair-begins-slovenia-flights.html?m=1
DeleteTo me it is sad that LJU atleast has Finnair flights unlike your ZAG which is apparently the biggest tourist destination in EX-YU according to Analitičar.
No they didn't stop. They operated in 2008 too. The article you linked merely states that the seasonal flights resumed for another year.
DeleteIf you ever flew from HEL to LJU you would have noticed that some 30% of passengers were Japanese. I assume (or guess) that the route is profitable only when there's a sufficient number of Asian passengers on board - and in winter this is not the case.
DeleteThe Finnair route always seemed to be a struggle.
ReplyDeleteWell considering the situation for AY on the routes to the far east , Finnair is losing out while TK and QR profit.
DeleteDon't forget that BT is also coming to LJU and the cover some regional destinations like Finnair.
DeleteOnce the dudes start flying from Maribor the the Far East, it would be even harder for Finnair :)
DeleteGuessing Finnair continue to struggle. Before the Ukraine conflict they had a good model offering competitive fares to Asia but now as they can’t fly over Russia that model isn’t working so guess they have to be picky on routes to control costs thus sure Zagreb won’t be the only cancellation they make.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of surprised about Vueling. Yes, I see they have not made final decision but it is not looking good if tickets for route starting in 3 months is still not on sale.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised too considering Iberia's big growth on Zagreb route.
DeleteWe don't need them anymore. Ryanair is launching so many routes to Spain that Vueling is not really needed for summer 2024
Delete@09:07 Iberia takes transfers to North and South America.
DeleteI think IB also takes transfers to domestic destinations. Let's see how they perform after Ryanair's expansion.
DeleteIs Finnair keeping Helsinki-Ljubljana?
ReplyDeleteyes, 4 times per year atm.
DeletePer week*
DeleteI believe it's only a summer route, though, which is a shame
Not a big loss
ReplyDeleteWell it is unfortunate because ZAG looses nonstop connectivity to an entire market.
DeleteThey only ha 2 weekly season so it is not a major loss.
Delete*had
DeleteLot's of route cancellations coming to many airports across ex-Yu. Watch this space.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Ryanair is also cutting Hahn-Zagreb from summer season.
Delete"Routes that operated last summer that are currently not slated in Ryanair’s Zagreb schedule include Brindisi, Bratislava, Memmingen and Hahn, however, changes remain possible with the airline yet to fully finalise its Zagreb summer network."
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2023/11/ryanair-adding-five-new-zagreb-routes.html
One person from Vrapče, Zagreb still doesn’t believe in this.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, you are absolutely right!
DeleteNevera!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteDobronameran savet svima: prestanite da dajete klikove opskurnim blogovima 😊
DeleteThese are terrible news for Zagreb as they are losing one more legacy carrier.
ReplyDeleteAfter Korean, Emirates, Brussels, Swiss, TAP we have also Finnair leaving ZAG. This will additionally decrease Zagreb's connectivity.
And regarding Vueling...I think they are just too kind to say that they won't be also flying to ZAG anymore. It is enough simply to take a look on their web page and we shall see that ZAG is not even listed as one of the possibilities for Vueling flights.
Are you feel sexy when you always count the airlines left Zagreb. Especially since 2019. In 2035 you will probably list all the airlines that have stopped flying to Zagreb since 2019
DeleteWow with 2 weekly flights it will drastically decrease the connectivity zagrebs
DeleteDo you think Emirates will be back to ZAG someday?
Deletenot gonna happen.
DeleteAir traffic is still compared to 2019, so yes these airlines still need to be mentioned here.
DeleteI know it hurts, but you will have to live with it.
Did TAP leave also in 2019?
It will happen, since Asian and Australian tourists are coming back to Croatia, I think in 2025!
DeleteMy dear, this fact leaves me completely cold. But it's funny to see how you write the list every time an airline leaves. I think we here know very well which airlines have no longer been flying to Zagreb since 2019. But for you it's always a pleasure and sharing it
DeleteNo TAP started in 2022 and suspended all flights after beginning winter schedule, my dear
DeleteAnd it is enough simply to re-list Zagreb again to the destinations. Zagreb don’t need Vueling with ridiculous 2 flights pW
DeleteOf course that TAP left ZAG in 2022, but it seems to be forbidden for one to say here.
DeleteWouldn't really consider AY as a "loss" to ZAG. HEL is a terribly expensive airport, transfers to Asia are no longer that attractive because they now avoid Russian space and it takes much longer to reach Asia hence the reason why QR and TK are doing great. Noone would use HEL as a transfer to reach Europe because it is too far away. AY is also a very expensive airline to fly with. CPH, for instance, now is much more accessible especially after they constructed their LCC terminal. TAP would be important to have in ZAG. They have amazing prices via LIS especially to both Americas and a very decent fleet. Would dare say, they are a bit better than Iberia.
DeleteVY are always like that. When they meet a "threat", they immediately drop the route. In this case ZAG-GRO seems so. Remember when they were successful in BEG, but ended up terminating the route after JU got agressive in its frequencies in BCN.
Plus, their brand is not popular at all in Eastern Europe. They are NOT a punctual airline. Flew with them 10+ times. Volotea is a better and nicer product.
ZAG needs more Spanish P2P LCC destinations and not VY as someone mentioned here.
Valencia would be great. It is much bigger than Alicante and has more beautiful architecture and urban life. Alicante has more of a village or smaller town vibes, but still cool. Overall, beaches in Costa Blanca are nicer, imo. Water is warmer and sand is softer.
HEL-ZAG was introduced after the war in Ukraine started, so transfers to Asia were anyhow not possible. It is not good justification.
DeleteFinnair leaving Zagreb is a huge loss after so many other legacies that left Zagreb.
But hey, Ryanair is there, opening new destinations, increasing market share and making its negotitation position much stronger. And when they start to blackmail...heheh...other song will be sung in Zagreb.
Vueling left Belgrade as their flying schedule was terrible while W6 and JU offered much, much better flying times. VY simply had no chance there. Today we have endless number of BCN flights from BEG, but the same can't be said for Zagreb.
DeleteLast Anon, how old are you? 🤨 I can't imagine that a completely normal adult would write something like this nonsense
@anon 14:30
DeleteIt seems you have a huge problem with reality, mate.
Anon 13:11
DeleteAll you wrote is more than true. It seems some have huge troubles to see it.
Look yes definitely is bad news that so many are discontinuing flights to ZAG. But this can be an opportunity for OU and something to hope for.
DeleteThis opens an opportunity for OU to launch those flights instead. Just need to hope that the management at OU will take the opportunity they have.
Alicante has 2 million population is not a little town, is bigger as hinterland than Sevilla, Malaga o Bilbao, it’s the bigger airport in East central coast of Spain. It’s a must.
Delete@Slav.Man
DeleteOU does not have management. They have Party aparatchiks who execute Central Committee and Mafia orders. OU will not take any newly appeared opportunity, the same as did not before, because they need to feed LHG, and not create its own network. That's why corruptive BCG deal was concluded, where BCG was given frame to "consult" how to remain regional operator and feeder. The result is "brilliant" idea of single type fleet, totally inadequate for Croatia. So no, they will launch nothing, as long as Ivan Misetic is the one in charge of OU, and fully convicted criminal organization Kradeze has its fair share in it
Ryanair will take all the passengers to BCN with Girona route.
ReplyDeleteHow yes no.
Delete^ OU would never see an opportunity if it hit it in the face. Of course, next year they are flying the same frequencies they have been flying this route since the beginning.
Delete@09:19 The comment above was not referring to Croatia Airlines' Barcelona flights but their Girona flights.
DeletePity
ReplyDeleteBoth LJU and ZAG sere/are operated by Finnair mainly for Japanese tourists transferring through HEL.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's was a decent connection to the far East.
DeleteHopefully they remain in Ljubljana at least.
*it was
DeleteThose Japanese group tours are always combined Slovenia and Croatia, flying in LJU and flying out DBV makes more logical sense.
DeleteThey will probably keep LJU as there are 4 weekly flights scheduled currently from April 1st on
DeleteThis is exactly how Ryanair damages Aviation. The same will happen in Sarajevo.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, there is not much they can damage in Sarajevo.
DeleteWhat on earth does Ryanair have to do with Russia's invasion of Ukraine which caused the demand for Finnair in Zagreb to drop because there are very few Asian connections now?
DeleteAirline cancels a flight to where Ryanair doesn't fly to - it's clearly Ryanair's fault, obviously.
DeleteI just don't think there is huge demand from the ex-Yu capitals to Helsinki. LJU is there because of Asian tourists. The only one that works in PRN-HEL by Norwegian because there is a diaspora from Kosovo in Finland.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteFinnair seems to be strugling.
ReplyDeleteThey can't even maintain flights to any city in the Balkans including large markets like Istanbul or Athens. ZAG was their only route in the region.
ZAG is not their only route in the region. They fly to Ljubljana.
Deleteyes, interesting they wont fly to any balkan state next summer.
DeleteThey fly to the Croatian caost.
DeleteThey will fly to Slovenia, no?
Deleteyes, but they wont fly to balkan
Delete50% of Slovenia is Balkan.
DeleteThey literally fly to multiple cities in Ex-Yugoslavia, what do you mean there are no flights in the Balkans?? Dubrovnik, split, Ljubljana. They used to fly to Pula also
DeleteLast time I checked those were south of Sava river so definitely Balkans.
DeleteSeasonally they fly to a lot of holiday destinations but year round it is only LJU and I'm not so sure next winter they will still be there.
DeleteThey won't have any year round flights to any country in the Balkans.
DeleteWhether it is the ExYu, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania or Turkey.
Ljubljana airport is north of Sava lol
DeleteAn09:22 ATH and IST as being said have also two powerful carriers TK and A3 which maintain year round HEL flights. Also Norwegian serves HEL-ATH too in summer so Finnair just gave up.
Delete@ 10:28
DeleteGeography, as always, seems to be a struggle. :D
9:59, AY used to operate seasonal flights to VAR, but cancelled them. They are returning to Burgas in 2024 but with charter flights in the peak of the season. I think Norwegian is "beating" them, so perhaps HEL-ZAG with Norwegian makes more sense, imo even if it is going to be seasonal. Finland is not very touristic compared to Sweden and Denmark for instance.
DeleteFinnair is also flying to a lot of Greek destinations like HER, RHO, CHQ, JTR etc. and with high frequency to some of them. 2 daily to Chainia.
DeleteALL destinations that Finnair is flying in Greece and the rest of the Balkans are Summer seasonal only.
DeleteHas Croatia Airlines ever flown to Zagreb?
ReplyDeleteIn fact yes
DeleteI don't think so. OU doesen't even fly Zagreb-Stockholm.
Delete@12.04
Deletewhen?
Any new airline announced for ZAG for next year?
ReplyDeleteYes, Pegasus in less than a month
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/p/pegasus-airlines-istnabul-sabiha-gokcen.html
And that's it.
DeleteFor a country with so many tourists, basically no new carriers in SS2024.
Delete13:30 lol What about the 14 new Ryanair routes in Dubrovnik, 9 new Zadar, 6 new Zagreb, 7 new Split? But yes no new carriers at all :D :D :D
DeleteI still can't believe that ZAG can't be connected with the US and DBV can. They've been announcing flights to the US for ages now.
DeleteThose markets are not interested in Zagreb. They visit Dubrovnik, Korcula,Hvar,Split and Plitvice lakes. After that they go to Greece or Italy
DeleteNot true. They visit Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Hvar and Plitvice. Besides, Croatia has a huge diaspora in the States.
DeleteDiaspora is mainly from coastal area plus Hercegovina. From USA people mostly like to travel to northern part of Europe (Dublin, London or Amsterdam) and from there to final destination Split or Dubrovnik
DeleteI thought US is one of the most underserved destinations from ZAG?
Deleteofficial HR dzs: "SAD Prosječan broj noćenja po dolasku D 2,8" they cant be visiting all those places for 2.8 days
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteHahahahah
DeleteYeah as expected “dekintacija” affected Finnair too so trimming down of the network has started. Finnair will stay mainly seasonal to the Med region, coastal Croatia & Greece.
ReplyDeleteNorth of Europe is cut of from the . Asia market.
"Finnair adds flights between its Helsinki hub and key destinations in Asia for summer 2023. Finnair resumes flights between Helsinki and Osaka with three weekly flights and adds frequencies to Tokyo Narita Airport. Finnair also adds frequencies to Hong Kong and Delhi, operating daily to both of these cities during the 2023 summer season."
DeleteRyanair is also reducing Zagreb in January and February.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is reducing everywhere in February. It's the slowest NH month in airline industry globally
DeleteLast summer they were sending A321 twice weekly and few times I flew it was full, so its weird that they are cancelling.
ReplyDelete