TRIP REPORT: Croatia Airlines, Munich - Zagreb

TRIP REPORT

Written by MD

This was part of a longer European hopping trip and it meant that for the first time I had the opportunity to fly Croatia Airline and their Dash 8. Tickets from Geneva to Zagreb were bought through Lufthansa, and with smooth mobile check-in and carry-on allowance, the only thing stopping me was the huge security line at GVA for the 6am flights. But it was efficient and took less than 30 minutes in line. I slept through the whole Air Dolomiti flight, but it is quite sad to see their service deteriorate to Lufthansa levels. 1h 15 minutes connection in Munich was more than enough. Therefore, a 13-minute delay and a never ending bus ride to the terminal did not impact the trip.

Conveniently, Croatia Airlines departs from G31 at Terminal 2, right next to the area passengers arrived when being bussed from their aircraft. The flight was not full, maybe at 70% of capacity, so boarding was comfortable and the bus ride pleasant. However, it was raining as hell, and once we arrived at the airplane a stampede of people tried to get on the plane first - a situation where having a good rain coat comes in handy.

On departure, the flight was delayed for 5 minutes, which would eventually be reflected on the arrival in Zagreb. The plane was a 14-year-old 9A-CQF, called “Primorje”.

I was seated next to the window and had another passenger sitting next to me. While the leather seats are nice, the space was quite cramped and less comfortable than the ATR72 (I am 1.90 tall). The seats and trays were quite worn out, but you could feel their former glory through some details - such as a separate cup holder (that’s not working very well). This overall feel with the flight attendant’s manner, the captain's eloquent announcements, really took me down memory lane of happy times with JAT.

The seat had an excellent view of the right engine and the wheel, which made for super exciting taxiing over water puddles and even more fascinating take-off and landing. Granted, that meant the views of Bohor and Sljeme were much more challenging.

Speaking of JAT, unexpectedly, service brought me down that memory lane multiple times. First, in the magazine there is a huge advert for Boka Kotorska in Montenegro.

Second pleasant surprise was that besides Bajadere and Dorian you can actually buy Plazma as a snack. (Also, I didn’t know that within an EU country Plazma is still allowed to be called that name, being a stolen - and then made unhealthier - recipe from an Italian factory, thus sold on foreign markets as “Lane”.)

My joy was through the roof when I realised you can buy a combo set of some crackers, salsa (tomato), and red wine - which is what I went for. The flight attendants were a bit surprised, and it seemed that people rarely buy food on these flights. After some scrambling and figuring out if what I want is available - I got it - but with wine from the cup, since the small bottle was not available. Additional issue was that the card reader was not working, so we settled for some cash; all in a very easy-going manner.

Salsa was not good but not terrible, and the wine and the crackers were excellent. I got an extra bag of regularly distributed crackers with olives - that were also phenomenal.

Since I was a little bit cramped in the seat, with food and all, what happened next was something that happened only once in the past, on board the old JAT - a lovely flight attendant asked the passenger next to me to move to the empty row behind, so we could be more comfortable.

For such a short flight, this one was one of the most exciting I took lately. Dash occasionally felt like riding on a tractor, which is perfectly fine for a short flight - such as island hopping - but a bit unsettling at the huge Munich Airport. While observing the wheels go up and down was super exciting, the plane did feel very uncomfortable for any sort of a longer flight. Definitely ATRs, even the old 200s, provide a much more pleasant flying experience. Also, it seemed that the panels below the windows were quite wet, I don’t know if it was due to condensation or there was something leaking.

However, what did completely surprise me was service and passenger experience. I think that service onboard Croatia Airlines promotes local food in a much better way than Air Serbia, with small details that are tailored and higher quality (crackers with olives vs Noblice or chips for example), and provide a higher level of experience. This also relates to the design of the in-flight magazine and packaging of food. Hopefully, in the coming years I will have a chance to sample their upcoming new product.

Landing was smooth and the bus to the gate was quick. Quite a few people had connections, and some seemed puzzled about where to go. What I didn’t see last time I was in Zagreb was the customs “blue line” for intra-Schengen flights - I think it is always interesting to see different setups in which non-main hubs in the EU are organising customs controls and trying to optimise the operations.

While I was waiting for the bus 290, I couldn’t help but notice how something about new Zagreb Airport terminal reminds me incredibly of airports in other cities of countries that have developed in the last 30 or so years - such as Baku, Tbilisi, etc. - of airports that have these huge structures disproportionately above the ground, usually surrounded by empty flatlands, and accessible only through roads. No trees, nothing for passengers underground, rather like a semi-generic UFO landed on the plain.

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