Croatia Airlines to end Pristina operations


Croatia Airlines will suspend services between Zagreb and Pristina at the end of the summer season, despite the carrier's plans to establish a base in the city in 2017. The airline will operate its last service from the Croatian capital on Friday, October 28, and from Pristina the following morning. Ticket sales have been suspended past this date. The carrier has been reducing its frequencies on the route for several years now. This summer, it maintains just two weekly services between the two cities, down from its daily peak several years ago. In 2015, Croatia Airlines handled some 10.000 passengers on the route, well down from the 19.000 it carried in 2009, which marked its best performing year in Pristina. The carrier has previously said it plans to open bases in Sarajevo, Tirana, Pristina and Skopje in 2017 and offer direct flights to several destinations in Europe.

Apart from Croatia Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines will also pull out of Pristina this winter. The airline will terminate its flights from Copenhagen as of October 29. Last winter the carrier discontinued flights from both Stockholm and Oslo to Kosovo. Although SAS has no direct competition on the route, it faces increased pressure from Wizz Air's recently launched service from Skopje to the Danish capital. An increasing number of travellers from Kosovo are using Skopje Airport due to its generally cheaper air fares. In addition, Eurowings will suspend its flights from Berlin Tegel Airport to Pristina at the end of the summer season. The airline has seen strong competition on the route after easyJet launched services from Berlin Schonefeld this March. It will continue to maintain flights from Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover and Stuttgart to Pristina this winter.

During the year, Pristina Airport has seen the introduction of a number of new routes, including Adria Airways' two weekly seasonal service to London Gatwick, as well as Air Berlin's new flights from both Hamburg and Stuttgart. Furthermore, easyJet introduced flights from Berlin, which will be followed by the launch of services from Paris on October 1. Earlier this year, Pristina Airport launched a new incentive scheme in a bid to attract new carriers and encourage exiting operators to boost flights. The incentives, which came into effect on March 27, will run until 2018. The scheme encourages airlines to launch flights to Pristina, base aircraft there, operate during off-peak hours and offers a 30% discount for handling and landing.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    I'm not surprised. It was a guessing game each season to see whether they will keep PRN or cut it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:55

      x2

      Although it is sad they're leaving, I think they can regain 19000 pax for Pristina but they'll need to work at it, also they can't change arm and a leg as they used to for the route now that many carriers have come to the city.

      Sarajevo remains best bet for OU, expand there, apply for subsidies from the local government and get the status of a national carrier.


      However they really need to work on Croatian market hard, as more carriers are coming to Zagreb and summer seasons on the coast are becoming tought to compete with 50 other carriers, they must have a strategy of staying in the game.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    This is opportunity for Air Serbia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    You suspend a route a season before trying to establish a base there? What's the logic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      They won't opet a base there

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:46

      Well with this move it is highly unlikely.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      They plan to open a base in Tirana too and they don't fly from there so I don't think they have to fly to Zagreb to open a base somewhere.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:06

      They will apparently open a base in PRN, but would normally fly to more lucrative destinations in the EU market.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:08

    Ouch... I guess this is good news for SKP. Maybe we will see some more frequencies in winter time as W6 will get some extra pax.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:11

    Wow lots of airlines cutting flights to Pristina. Why?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      Everyone is flying out of Skopje

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:19

    Oh so that's why I could not book a ticket ZAG-PRN-ZAG a few days ago. Probably good news for Adria.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:20

    More options for Adria

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:38

    Will be interesting to see whather PRN numbers will be affected this winter by these cancellations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:47

    ZAG-PRN was good as dead for years. What's the point of maintaining flights just 2x per week, especially a regional route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:11

      Political reasons ...

      Delete
  10. JU520 BEGLAX09:56

    First medal for YU !!
    Gold in Judo :-))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:06

      Who or what is "YU" ?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:10

      OU needs to get its own house in order. If they establish a base in BOTH Split AND Dubrovnik, they don't need to go looking for bases in Sarajevo or anywhere else for that matter

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:21

      Baze na letnjim aerodromima? Uzimas ti neke tablete?

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:57

    I thought OU had finished its restructuring yet they are still suspending routes. Great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      Mnogo je za Kuckovu gigamega kompaniju vec godinama u gubicima da leti sa svakog seoskog aerodroma po Balkanu. Moze exYu da im ulepsava izvestaj ali su u gubicima. Nije Zagreb Minhen pa da se tamo gomilaju domorodci.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:47

      Ti si sigurno onaj koji spominje paradajz turiste u hrvatskoj

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:58

      Ne ja sam onaj koji pominje bekpekere i rvate iz usa, jer dobro poznajem ekipu koja dolazi na Balkan. Postoje Hvar i Dubrovnik pa onda grcka ostrva za ozbiljne trosadzije od turista.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:05

      Da da vidim. Komentari su ti na razini

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:08

      Velikog vodju Kucka nisam ja postavio na to mesto. Covek je zahebao sve sto se moze zahebati u biznisu bio bi idealan za direktora JATa u devedesetim i dvehiljaditim.

      Delete
    6. Croatia posluje u plusu od 2013. Mislim, možeš pričat bajke,ali ako hoćeš biti ozbiljno shvaćen, činjenice su ipak važne.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous08:17

      A ako ti hoces biti ozbiljno shvacen onda treba i napomenuti kako odrzavaju taj plus.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous08:39

      Vlada ti u restrukturaciji uplati pola milijarde kuna da otplatiš avione, ti ih potom prodaš po načelu sell and lease back. No, i to nije dosta pa prodaš i motore. Ali i to nije dovoljno pa prodaš i Pleaso prijevoz, superprofitabilnu firmu koja ima monopol na prijevoz iz ZL Zagreb i ZL Split do grada. I sada najavljuješ prodaju slotova na LHR... e dobra ti profitabilnost. Tako bi i moja pokojna baka mogla profitabilno voditi CTN.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:06

    I don't know if opening bases abroad is such a good idea, since it involves also some heavy investment and cost such as basing crews there, parking fees etc. Wouldn't it be better to cover the cities with so called M- flights? Like ZAG-ZRH-PRN-ZRH-ZAG?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:32

      Agree. Much better idea.

      Delete
    2. Agreed. Croatia should not try to be what it's not. It's too early for that. Maybe later, after it gets fully privatized and finds a strategic partner. Then maybe it could expand into Bosnia, but also I think it should make a bid to become a national carrier like someone said. One legacy carrier for Croatia and B&H is perfectly enough. Serving a natural geographic area with approx. 8 million people. What Albania, what Tirana? Or Skopje? ASL should serve all those remaining territories; Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, even Albania. ASL additionally already has potential to become a midsized carrier, unlike OU.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:33

    Why not open bases in your own country? There is a lot of potential on the Croatian coast?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54

      But establishing a base in Sarajevo is no stupid idea. The market and demand is there and Croatia may use it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:03

      Agreed. SJJ is seriously under-served, especially with regard to major hubs.
      Hopefully OU actually goes ahead with the idea.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      OU needs to get its own house in order. If they establish a base in BOTH Split AND Dubrovnik, they don't need to go looking for bases in Sarajevo or anywhere else for that matter

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:45

    Baš prenio ovu vijest prijatelju koji je FA u OU, a evo njegovog komentara: Fala Bogu, let je jako kasno išao a povratak je isto tako bio rano, dakle nista od spavanja. Hotel je bio izrazito loš, a putnici vrlo čudni ��Šta god ovo zadnje značilo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:02

      Kakav komentar zaposlenika...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:09

      bruka!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:32

      Komentar na mestu. Ne razumem sta se svi zgrazavaju, svi su kao nesto fini...

      Delete
  15. Steta. Nadam se da ce odrzati barem sezonski liniju.
    Cesto sam putovao za Pristinu, i letovi su uvijek bili popunjeni, posebnice srpanj i kolovoz kada nema niti jednog slobodnog mjesta. Samo je lose to sto za Zagreb polazi vrlo kasno, a povratak iz Pristine vrlo rano.
    Nadam se da ce se vratiti s vecim frekvencijama, kao i ponovno uvesti Tiranu.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous11:30

    Super work by Kucko and his team.... Up to their usual high standard.... Not sure what was the point of his pompous statement about opening bases in SKP, SJJ, PRN and God knows where else, only 2 mths later, to shut one of the routes to the city in which you said you wanted to make a base out of. Does this guy have no shame ?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous12:18

    Don't get all the outrage. If a route isn't turning a profit cut it! That goes for all airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  18. JU520 BEGLAX12:21

    OT: the inofficial opening date for the new terminal in ZAG is Monday APR03, 2017

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:21

      April seems nice, not as cold, lol.

      Yeah sounds about right, although terminal will be ready from looks of it in January.

      BTW not sure if I mentioned before, new terminal can be expanded to 127000sqm, from current 65500sqm, plan is to widen the terminal itself by additional 70m, the new section will house expanded baggage sorting facility, additional 3 carousels for maximum of 8 (current terminal has 3 + space for 2 more) and additional space in arrival nd departure areas. Number of check ins will also be increased from maximum of 50 to 100 with this expansion. And number of passenger boarding bridges will go up to 20, well 16, however four of these will be for wide body aircraft.

      So from one end to other end of the pier will be around 800m, or extending from current 325m to 800m. however eastern pier will eventually have passenger boarding bridges on both sides of the pier, not sure if four or six PBB will be added, however total number of PBBs will be around 24-26 and total designed capacity of the terminal is set to be around 0 million pax.

      Master plan envisions 2nd Runways and 2nd Terminal, on the other side of airport city and hotel. Air Force is also looking to re-locate when that happens further east, a 3rd 2.5km runway for Air Force only is also planned, however these are long term plans all in Zagreb's master plan. It is estimated some 3000 residents local to Airport and land covered by the future master plan will need to be relocated, mostly small outlying villages with few hundred residents.

      Cost of the move and relocation of said villagers is estimated at 400 million euros.

      Once fully implemented master plan (around 2040) entire airport and air force will cover an area of 175 hectares, employ around
      20-25000 people. NATO will finance 3rd runway and re-location of the air force base to new location 3km east of present location.

      Master plan was published by GUP Zagreb in 2015.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:24

      * 20 million pax no 0,
      and 1750 hectares of land, not 175.

      Delete
    3. JU520 BEGLAX17:20

      Very much satisfied with ZAG. It was about time but the desin has exceeded my expectations. A real eye catchet

      Delete
    4. It is a beautiful terminal, however what do they need the 2nd runway for?? Especially, considering there's no place for it and the cost of relocating all those residents around Pleso would be 20 million euros more than the cost of the entire terminal.
      Does that make any sense??
      Now, the air force base right there in plane site bothers me and if they relocate it, that'd be great! That military runway could then be extended and you'd have a second runway if they are so intent on having one.
      One more thing; do you perhaps have the information as to when the construction on the eastern connection to the road leading towards the Homeland Bridge should begin? Because without that connection, the approach to the new terminal will be a disaster. The trace has been dedicated, but the time is running out, considering the terminal opens for business in 7 months.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous12:30

    sudar sa realnoscu za OU.uprkos brojnim najavama nece biti nista od prosirenja flote. Purger to ne zeli potvrditi samo iz domoljubnih pobuda. ipak steta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Purger18:55

      Hahahaha... domoljubnih pobuda! Svaka cast, ova vam je dobra.

      Dakle, da ja imam tu informaciju, potvrdio bih je, bez obzira na domoljublje, ali nemam.

      I baš je grotesno to što vi znate više od mojih "pobuda" od mene samog.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:10

      Pa Purger ne znam ko je ovde velicao rat pre neki dan. ;)

      Delete
    3. Purger01:18

      Gluposti!!!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:16

      Mhm...

      Delete
  20. Anonymous12:38

    People calm down... this doesn't have so much to do with OU as it does with the fact that the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo doesn't have an economy or any hope of that changing any time soon. There is only so much demand from diaspora and JP and other lowcosts are taking care of that.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous13:44

    OU bi mnogo bolje bilo da je letela ZAG-ZRH-PRN-ZRH-ZAG .
    Ovo je odlicna sansa za ASL da ponudi bolje Konekcije za putnike i da ih preuzme.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:45

      Čime, autobusom?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:29

      Hahaha zanimljivo da ce ASl preuzeti putnike, mozda kada Srb prizna Kosovo

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:41

      @ 3.29pm +1

      Delete
    4. Anonymous02:50

      ... i dalje nerazumem zasto Srbija treba da prizna KiM kad je vec "nezavisna" drzava ...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:15

      Srbija nema razloga da prizna KiM. Nista ne dobijamo time vec samo gubimo. Mnogo je vaznije da se borimo za ocuvanje nase kulturne bastine dole nego da letimo za PRN.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous08:48

      A sta gubimo sto vec nismo?

      Delete
  22. Anonymous16:44

    http://www.vecernji.hr/ljetni-radar/ljeto-za-pamcenje-zracni-promet-rusi-sve-rekorde-1104828

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous17:46

    http://tangosix.rs/2016/08/08/moze-li-trade-air-istovremeno-letjeti-za-croatiu-air-serbiu-i-adriu/

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous17:48

    Oh dear. They can't even make PRN work twice per week...

    ReplyDelete

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