Emirates to launch Zagreb service


Emirates, the world's largest international airline, will launch year-round flights between Dubai and Zagreb this summer season, with the Croatian capital becoming its first destination in the former Yugoslavia. Services will commence on June 1 as flight EK129 and operate daily with its 364-seat Boeing 777-300 aircraft, featuring twelve first class, 42 business and 310 economy class seats. Emirates will offer passengers from Croatia connections to over 150 destinations spread over six continents via its hub in Dubai, however, its main target are connecting passengers to and from Australia and Asia. Emirates will also become the only airline to link Dubai with Zagreb after hybrid carrier Flydubai suspended the service in November of last year sighting "operational reasons" for the route's termination. Further details for Emirates' Dubai - Zagreb service can be found here.

Commenting on the new service, Emirates' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Thierry Antinori, said, “Emirates has had a commercial presence in Croatia since 2003, so to launch full operations is a natural progression. Emirates is pleased to have this opportunity to add such a picturesque destination to our global route network. We look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders in Croatia to provide our world renowned service to our customers on our young, modern fleet of aircraft. We are also committed to our contribution to growing the trade and tourism flows between Croatia and Dubai, as well as encouraging incoming tourism from the Middle East and Asia Pacific, where Emirates operates 45 destinations”. The company also noted, "The new flights will not only benefit travellers in Croatia, but also those in neighbouring Slovenia and even the southern regions of Hungary and Austria making it more convenient to travel with Emirates to Dubai and beyond. Visiting the airline’s home of Dubai for leisure or business, in a choice of three different cabins, on a modern, wide-body aircraft, is now a viable option. Onward travel to Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, or Sydney, Melbourne, Maldives, Seychelles and Sri Lanka can all be reached with less than four hours’ transit time".

Although Emirates will have no direct competition on the route, it will battle over the same passenger base with Gulf rival Qatar Airways, which this summer plans to maintain ten weekly flights to the Croatian capital from its hub in Doha. The Qatari airline will up capacity on the route this summer by operating flights with its 182-seat Airbus A321 aircraft. Emirates recently said it had no plans to serve the former Yugoslavia and noted that Slovenia and Serbia were its best selling markets within the region. However, the airline did hold talks with both Zagreb and Belgrade airports, as well as officials from Slovenia over potential flights.

Emirates B777-300 first class seat

In what can be described as a major scoop for Zagreb Airport, the management has delivered on its promise of attracting new airlines in 2017 as its focus shifts away from the construction of its new terminal building, which is set to open its doors this March. All passengers on the new Dubai - Zagreb service will have access to Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system offering more than 2.500 channels of on-demand entertainment at every seat, regionally inspired dishes, complimentary wines, and dedicated children’s menus and activities. Passengers will also experience Emirates' inflight service from a multilingual cabin crew representing over 135 nationalities and more than 60 languages.


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Comments

  1. Anonymous09:35

    But today isn't April 1st?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      Quite a lot of people laughed and mocked ZG over this on this blogs comment section. Maybe now they will at least shut up before ridiculing

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:20

      Don't forget that they still have to fill the plane.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:21

      Upss...

      LOL

      I am genuinely surprised. They're sending B777, don't they have any smaller aircraft ?

      I think if they have A350 or A330 with 260 seats would be smarter move, Qatar is sending A321, this seems to be the right size for Zagreb, perhaps Emirates should consider getting some A321s, and now we know why fly Dubai ceased Zagreb flights, order from the above, however they also offered no connecting flights.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:25

      A330s are on their way out.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:46

      @AnonymousJanuary 12, 2017 at 10:25 AM

      No they're not, A330 is a very good aircraft, loads of orders for A330s, A340s are out, they're no longer made, or sold it seems. A340 is a gas guzzler.

      A330 NEOs are coming, A350s are also coming but A350 is direct competitor to B777s, A330 NEOs are competing against B787s.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:50

      A330s are leaving the EK fleet, not the market.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:56

      @AnonymousJanuary 12, 2017 at 10:50 AM

      Oh i see, my bad

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:58

      This is a big win for Zagreb and Croatian tourism!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:38

      EK has retired all A330s, A340s and 772s. I expect a 77L on this route frequently.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous16:53

      New York should be announced soon as well, towards the end of this month I think.

      I only hope SAS, Aer Lingus, TAP, Aegean, Alitalia, Finnair and EasyJet also come to Zagreb this year. This could push Zagreb numbers really high, Emirates I predict could add 170-200 000 per year to Zagreb numbers, All other carriers on my list could bring additional 700 000~, Pushing Zagreb numbers really sky high, from projected 3.2 million in 2017 to 4.0 million in 2018, 4.5 million in 2019 and 5.0 million in 2020.

      Not including any additional carriers other than announced New York and Chinese.

      If we add more carriers and LCCs, Zagreb could hit 5.75 million by 2020.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:37

    Congratulations, our western neighbors! Good news for Zagreb.
    Greetings from Belgrade.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Good luck to you as well

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:38

    WOW!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:39

    WTF? Daily 777??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nemjee09:40

    This is certainly unexpected. Congrats to ZAG.

    I wonder how this will impact QR's numbers.

    Equally big news is that OU sold 5/9 of its slots at LHR despite the sale being supposedly stopped by the government. Only goes to show that ZAG must rely less and less on OU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      seriously? do you have some link to confirm the news? then this should be today's headline!

      Delete
    2. Danijel10:01

      You can try tp buy ticket from Zagreb to London morning flight for 2.1.2018.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:02

      Who cares about OU anymore? This is the main news, possibly the biggest news this year! Congrats, Zagreb!

      Delete
    4. Nemjee10:12

      They sold 5 slots to Delta for $19 million.
      Supposedly they will use the money for liquidity.

      http://www.24sata.hr/news/croatia-airlines-za-19-mil-prodala-slotove-na-heathrowu-506932

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:37

      omg, kučko won!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:37

      @NemjeeJanuary 12, 2017 at 9:40 AM

      It is bound to impact Qatar, however not significantly enough for Qatar to change its policy and continue sending A321, Qatar planned to send B787s during busy days, that might not happen now, instead A321 + A320s will be sent, However I think Emirates should send B777 200 LR with 260 seats, not B777 300, too many seats to fill on a daily basis.

      There is a demand for Zagreb, there's no doubt, 250 000 Chinese, 320 000 South Korean, 220 000 Japanese, 50 000 Kiwi, 175 000 Aussie, 60 000 Malay visitors visited Croatia in 2016, this numbers are sat to grow by 5-7% in 2017, large number of these will come via Zagreb. There are 400 000 Croats in Australia, 120 000 in New Zealand, Croatian passport holders do not require visa to enter either country and vice versa.

      I see visitors to Australia might go up and vice versa. However I still think B777 300 is a wrong aircraft for Zagreb, too much capacity on what is a traditionally 250 seat route for intercontinental flights. B777 200LR would have been a far better choice.

      I just want to add, with Korean Air, Emirate and Capital Beijing, airlines that we know that will serve Zagreb with wide body aircraft, perhaps airport management should expand new terminal asp and add new wide body gates and boarding bridges. Clearly there'll be a need for one or two, if we see arrival of New York Flights, Canadians are coming back too, and JAL might also come back eventually.

      Delete
    7. Nemjee10:46

      Emirates' policy is to have two aircraft models in its fleet: B773 and A388.
      Other models are slowly being phased out.

      It will be interesting how all of this plays out. Let's not forget that OS and LH carry a large number of Asian traffic as well. I am sure Emirates' entry will impact them as well.

      Interesting times ahead, that's for sure.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:38

      This is beyond doubt a very good news for ZAG and Croatia. It gets one-stop connection to much more destination in Australia, Asia and Africa.

      I have few questions:

      Can LH prevent (formally/informally) to OU to codeshare its domestic and SJJ/SKP/PRI flights with EK?

      As far as I understand it, LH is in some kind of war with M3.

      Do EK and EY really compete with each other or are they in some kind of cahoots?
      I don't know about airline business, but in other areas Abu Dhabi and Dubai are actually coordinating a lot.

      I am looking forward to your comments.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous 11:38.

      OU is there only option to the coast from Zagreb so no need to codeshare really. The question I have here is will OU put in place a strategy to capitalise on this themselves.... time will tell

      Delete
    10. So I guess OU will be announcing a $19 million profit than!

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:54

      +1 Q400 :)

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:40

    Svaka cast koncesionaru u Zagrebu, ovo ce bitno uticati na cene avio karata, kao i na QR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:44

      I am sure there will be a fare war between the two and the biggest loser might end up being Turkish Airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:53

      OMG, so true. Turkish will be impacted the most by this. We will see how this plays out.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:02

      Don't be so sure about that , at least from where I live (Athens) it is cheaper to fly to Dubai via istanbul or beirut than directly with Emirates.

      Delete
    4. Nemjee11:07

      Emirates are always crazy expensive when you are flying into Dubai. From LCA they charge at least €660 while you can fly on QR via DOH for €300.

      However, we are not speaking exclusively about the market between ZAG and DXB, more about the market between ZAG and Asia.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:42

    Cestitam komsije/susjedi!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:44

    What I missed from the news is whether this would be seasonal flights or all year round or the Emirates did not make such decision yet.
    Good news for ZAG anyhow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      No one knows. The flights are not loaded yet.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      It is year round like it says in the article. The flights are loaded.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:32

      Great news, will definitely use them on my trip to New Zealand next summer! Can't wait!

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:47

    Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Now, let me hear all those people who claimed that this won't happen! Congrats, Zagreb! Welcome, Emirates!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      Yeahhhhhhh - go Zagreb - go Croatia!!!! Fly the worlds best into Europes best new designer terminal. Now this is flying reimagined!!!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:58

      A380 sight at ZAG is getting real chances now :) They will definitely send it once, even though probably only for marketing purposes. :)

      Delete
  10. Absolutely amazing, hard to even believe, and great news for ZAG. Would not have believed it if someone told me that any Airport in exyu would have Emirates in 2017.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:23

      Yes, HARD TO BELIVE, we will see ...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:34

      It's already in the system, so, no doubt, Anonymous 10:23! Year round! ;)

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:50

    This has been pretty obvious considering the cancellation of FlyDubai´s service which was always full :) They will easily fill the 777!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      They will not easily fill the 777, especially not premium classes. However, all the better for ZAG passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:11

      They will fill it easily! Premium demand from Asia and Middle Easy is definetely there.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:12

      Whatever buddy - I will be booking business class. Hello tomorrow

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:15

      I bet you will. :)

      Delete
    5. Bitterness still doesn't subside.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:47

      ok and they fly to Tanzania and all those other countries because the average salary there is 10.000$ a month? - yeah right. They fly to to so many countries where the average are ways below the Croatia average pay. And the average salary in Zagreb is around 1100€ net a month with other areas in Croatia lowering that average. But as said its not a topic here.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:20

      Last anonymus, where do you live? The average month income in Croatia is NOT 1100 euro, this is Slovenia. Croatia is around 800.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:36

      Anonymous 11:20, he said in Zagreb, not in Croatia!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:36

      I live in Croatia. If you read my comment, it says in ZAGREB, not in Croatia. The average monthly salary in Ljubljana is also way above its national average. Probably the same with Belgrade and other capitals in the region. So please read carefully next time.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous12:55

      Yes, you are right, sorry :)

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:10

      So what anonymous 11:36 am other people from different cities and towns in Croatia are not allowed to travel by air ?

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:51

    For all those who laughed to my comment yesterday

    "Anonymous January 11, 2017 at 8:24 PM
    With these news, 2017 is going to get even better:
    Emirates is going to announce in the next few days a direct daily DXB - ZAG service. Apparently, they're expecting a lot of connecting traffic from Australia and the Far East. Aircraft type 777-300, starting from June 1st 2017. Winter uncertain. From sources high up.
    Greetings from the desert. :) "

    I wish you a good day, and next time think before you laugh. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      I also thought that wasn't possible, so sorry about that! Thank you for the info!

      Delete
    2. I made a comment last year when FlyDubai cancelled and said Emirates is coming and was laughed at too. But I really didn't think it was actually going to happen!

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:53

    Come on, people, no comments? Jealousy? FlyDubai had excellent loads but you didn't believe, they cancelled ZAG so Emirates could step in!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      I think there are fewer comments at the moment because the news was published a bit later than the usual 9Am. I assume admin was waiting to get approval to publish.

      This is fantastic work. Congratulations Zagreb from Belgrade. Nicely done.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      There is already a lot of comments.This news was published something like 20-30 minutes ago, first it was some Air Serbia related news. Congratulations for Zagreb.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:14

      aproval? this news just apearred on airlineroute

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:19

      I meant approval to publish the story. Ex-Yu was the first to run the story anyway :)

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:58

    OMG - go Croatia go Emirates!! I am soooo excited. This is ground breaking. Hello Emirates and Congratulations. Smart choice. And Qantas codeshare - you beauty!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe Wantas will start Perth - Zagreb direct!! :) :). Now anything seems possible!

      Delete
    2. Maybe Qantas will start Perth - Zagreb direct.... now anything seems possible!! 😂

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:19

      Do they have a direct flight to Europe? If they don't, I guess they will try London first, don't you think?

      Delete
    4. I was making a joke re' Zagreb but Perth to London direct has already already been announced by Qantas and will start in March 2018 with 787s

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:59

    Nothing will be the same again. Great job by Zagreb!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:02

    Well done ZAG.

    Bad news for QR and even more for TK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:15

      Bad news also for EY and JU attempting to make BEG a transfer hub for pax that just want to go to Croatia. Another nail in their coffin - hello Emirates and goodbye Etihad and Air Serbia

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:18

      JU and EK are after a very different market my friend. No one will fly ZAG-DXB-IST/BEY/ATH/SKG/SVO

      So JU in ZAG is pretty safe.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:36

      You're right ZAG is safe and going places. Game changer - who knows tomorrow? EK purchases OU and creates the new glamourous Transfer hub for all the Balkans?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:36

      no, it is not. JU is an option for me only for ME and nothing else. Now, not even for ME.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:42

      And you as a single passenger are representative of the whole market? Sure.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:46

      well, since 70% of pax from Croatia to ME are guys like me, residents of ME countries.....yes, I can talk as their representative

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:47

      You are just an anonymous who is probably writing this from his parents' basement. You are not a representative of no one.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:48

      Croats who live in teh Middle East fly on TK, not JU so this will impact the Turks more than the Serbs.
      JU's loads to ZAG are in the high 70s and passengers are mostly flying to the Balkans and Russia, not the Middle East.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:58

      @anonymous 10.47 - well commented. @anonymous 10.46 - yes you are a nobody and no one cares what you represent. Are you the GSA for JU based in the ME? Start packing your bags as your job is now redundant

      Delete
    10. Anonymous11:03

      This may impact some JU passengers from Croatia. Those who wanted to travel to UAE already had Fly Dubai and Qatar alternatives.
      But, all in all, it does not make much sense to go to DBX and then to BEY. And I see even less how it can impact other JU destinations.

      And one more thing. Guys and gals, I sincerely congratulate ZAG for this from Serbia. And I am happy for it. I personally prefer ZAG development to IST or FRA.

      Please don't be sore winners, trying to turn everything into mean spirited and petty competition.

      This is not a zero sum game.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous11:24

      Anonymus 11:03, svaka cast

      Delete
    12. Anonymous11:39

      Thanks, Anonymous 11:03, that's nice of you!

      Delete
    13. Anonymous at 11:03am Well said! Thanks! Belgrade and JU are safe, Zagreb French management is doing a fantastic job and ultimately we all, as passengers win!

      Delete
    14. Wise word anonymous 11:03.... plus you never know they could announce Belgrade tomorrow!

      Delete
    15. Anonymous15:33

      Naah BEG is Etihad's playground and they can't compete with that plus with QR. They have FZ filling their network out of BEG.

      Delete
    16. Well if FZ suddenly drops out than you know what coming next!

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:03

    Just imagine, a beautiful new terminal with Emirates plane! Priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  18. wow, congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  19. This changes everything.

    RIP Ljubljana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43

      Not necessarily..but looking back, ZAG got almost everything that LJU could have gotten in the past 6-7 years.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:14

    ZAG management is doing the right thing. The city is premium heavy and needs these kind of airlines not lowcost ones.
    Let's see who is next.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25

      Premium heavy?????? LOL

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:39

      Apparently the airport's management and strategy (not to compromise to LCCs and conclude deals with legacy/premium carriers) seems to convert Zagreb into a premium destination.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:27

      There is no such thing as "premium" carriers.

      Delete
  21. Nemjee10:17

    Schedule:

    DXB-ZAG 08.15-12.20
    ZAG-DXB 15.35-23.05

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25

      It is also very convinient and for ljubljana residents , they can easily take the train or bus from ljubljana to or from zagreb and fly or return from Dubai.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:12

      As the article in austrianaviation.net suggests, the service is also of high interest to citizens from southern Austria with Graz being only about 180km from Zagreb whereas VIE is slightly futher away.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:03

      VIE has a double daily EK service to DXB which makes it a better option for citizens of Graz. Though some residents of southern Austria could definitely consider ZAG. But I would expect some interest from southwest Hungary (between the border and lake Balaton).

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:48

      Hungary is very well connected by road and rail. It's much easier and convenient to fly out of BUD where both EK and QR have considerable presence.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:43

      Pitty, these times are not suited for transit pax.from SKP
      I guess, its still Flydubai from SKP

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:17

    Wow, EVERY DAY!!! a 773 :) Docked on the new modern terminal it will be breathtaking :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous10:20

    @ Admin: QR ist flying to ZAG 10 times a week instead of the mentioned 9.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      With EK in town it might go back to 7 in winter.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, that 9 confused me a bit. Either they've dropped one weekly flight or it's a typo.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:26

    What??? No way.....really? well, in this case it is good buy LH & TK for me :-)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:31

    Wow, this really is a surprise, taking into account EK said they have no interest in ex-YU. I do hope there will be plenty of Slovenians aboard those 777 and that one day EK would flight to LJU as well (daydreaming :D(

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:39

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:40

      Bravo Anonimus!

      Delete
  27. Pedrag10:51

    That is a big win for Zagreb!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:53

      LJU too!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:40

      Let's say for Ljubljana, not LJU.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:29

      Don't know what happened to my post, it disappeared. Let just say that Ljubljana people already have an option to fly with Emirates from Venice. So this changes nothing for Slovenians. It only shows how poorly Fraport runs LJU airport since they are unable to get new destinations.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:11

      @AnonymousJanuary 12, 2017 at 1:29 PM: Exactly! Fraport is instead relying on Adria which has ridiculously low passenger figures this winter.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous10:56

    Flights are already bookable on the EK site. As in most cases (e.g PRG, BUD or WAW) they will at least send an A380. This will be amazing :) and chances are very high now to see that bird on the apron in ZAG :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Alen Šćuric Purger10:57

    Huge news. And for sure that will change everything in region. This route will attract not just passengers from Croatia (PUY, ZAD, SPU, DBV, BWK, OSI), from SJJ and BNX but also from Slovenia. For sure that will make routes:

    LJU-BEG-AUH-Asia and Australia
    ZAG-BEG-AUH-Asia and Australia
    the same from SJJ, SPU, PUY, DBV, BNX

    noncompetitive any more. The biggest benefit would be ZAG, but also OU as Emirates used OU connections even before, and for sure will connect PUY, ZAD, SPU, DBV, OSI and SJJ on those flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee11:04

      Air Serbia carries passengers from Prague via AUH onward to Asia so I am sure that their numbers in ZAG and LJU won't be as affected as some claim on here.

      Finally, the most exposed carrier will be TK, followed by QR and then LH. Air Serbia is not a major player in this field.
      It's not like anyone at JU will lose its sleep over this announcement.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:11

      Sorry Purger, could you please explain why it will specifically the routes via BEG noncompetitive?
      Several people pointed out that Turkish and Qatar will be impacted the most. Why do you focus on JU?
      Do you think that OU/JU competition is a zero sum game? Like JU success is OU loss and ZAG success is BEG loss? Why?
      I am quite surprised and disappointed to read that from you.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:16

      @Alen Šćuric PurgerJanuary 12, 2017 at 10:57 AM

      Indeed, if Emirates maintain 70% load factor on their daily flights to Zagreb, it'll prove profitable. B777 200LR would still be better aircraft for this route, safer bet. 266 Seats and gives room to other carriers, Turkish, Qatar, and EU carriers to cater ME and Asian Markets.

      I think in summer months B777 300 LF of 85% can be maintained relatively easy, due to shear number of Asian and ME visitors to Croatia, which now caters for 3.2 million non EU visitors each year. Croatia is expecting 17-17.5 million visitors this year. some 4 million visitors won't be from the EU, 1.6 million will come from Asia and ME and 300 000 from Oceania. That is a huge transfer market for Zagreb, and this is only going to grow, perhaps by 10% YOY till mid 2020s.

      Croatia is becoming a major tourist destination and structure of visitors is changing, with 3.2 million visitors to Croatia being from outside the EU in 2016, and 2.5 million from other continents.

      By 2020, I predict 5.5 million visitors to Croatia will be from other continents and 15 million from the EU/EEA, with 1~ million from non-EU/EEA European states.

      Emirates might even improve things for Zagreb dramatically and OU, increasing the number of pax by as much as 5% as a result of direct connection and transfer options.

      Very exciting developments.






      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:42

      Who said that turkish or qatar will be impacted the most ? It is all about the money and what prices each one of them will offer , once again don't forget we are not having the salary of a swiss.

      Delete
    5. Alen Šćuric Purger11:46

      You will read about it in my next article in Tango 6.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:46

      Don't forget that TK already reduced ZAG and I wouldn't be surprised if in winter it goes down to daily.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:34

      So what if it does, we got the Emirates instead!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous16:44

      Emirates is coming for the kill. Losing competition is nothing to be proud of.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:14

    Facepalm...Congrats ZAG

    ReplyDelete
  31. WOW!! Pa ovo nisam ocekivao ni snu! Barem ne prije 2020!
    Ali eto priljev turista u Hrvatskoj, dijaspora u Australiji i Novom Zelandu, ali i rast gospodarstva u Hrvatskoj ocito je potaknulo na otvaranju ove linije i to jos s takvim wide-body avionom. Svaka cast!! Ovo je jedan od povijesnih trenutaka zracne luke Zagreb i bas ce jako lijepo pristajat uz novi terminal koji zasluzuje jedan takav wide-body avion jedne takve velike aviokompanije. Nadam se da cu uskoro opet za Australiju pa da svakako putujem s njima umjesto s QR, malo za promijenu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:36

      Treba zahvaliti Emirates i tko god će letiti prema Americi. Te "Anglosaksonske" zemlje su među najboljim potrošačima, a ove linije će značajno ubrzati rast na tržištima Australije, SAD-a i sl.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous11:35

    Divna vest za ZAG! Po meni Qatar i dalje ima bolju uslugu na svojim letovima a i novi aerodrom u Dohi je bolji za presedanje, sa manje guzve. Putnici iz Zagreba mogu ocekivati dalje snizavanje cena na letovima za Aziju i Australiju. Bice jeftinije odleteti na Tajland ili u Japan nego u Spaniju ili Sakandinaviju.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:37

    SPU ...

    OFF TOPIC - info o dolasku EK se vrti vec duze vrijeme , a sada se cuju price da prodaja LHR slotova Delti nije slucajnost pa da vidimo sta se kotrlja po tom planu .

    Za ljubitelje SPU dobar link i par novih vizualizacija

    http://www.casopis-gradjevinar.hr/assets/Uploads/JCE-68-2016-11-3-1674.pdf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48

      I guess with the sale of slots we won't see the return of SPU-LHR.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous11:37

    All this fuss about a widebody AC coming to our region...unbelievable how low we all landed after the split of YU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:45

      Well it is always a great thing if an airline announces new routes, especially DAILY and with a 777-300 on a regular basis year round- this is a big achievement,, regardless of where.

      Delete
  35. Anonymous11:40

    Vucic na aparatima sada hahah.

    Bravo ZAGREB!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:48

      Sad će on da napravi pressicu i kaže da će Emirates da dođe u Beograd i pre Zagreba i to sa A380!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:55

      I to jos 5 puta dnevno s A380!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:34

      Anonymous 11:40, nema potrebe rugati se. Ovo je izvrsna vijest, kako za Hrvatsku, tako i za regiju!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:54

      BEG je u Etihadovom taboru, zasto bi bio uznemiren ovom vescu?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:01

      Vucic tralja ruke, jer su uspeli da ih sprece da lete za BEG kako bi zastitili Etihad i Air Serbiju

      Delete
    6. Sadly, the first thing that came to
      my mind... vucic sutra krene za Dubai!
      🤣

      Delete
  36. Anonymous11:42

    WOW WOW WOW

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous11:55

    Vau! Congrats Zagreb! Looks like there will be more Slovenians there in the future. Sadly:) As I have LJU in front of my doorstep :)
    Wondering if Emirates will send A380 for the opening flight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:59

      The will certainly have a one-off flight with the A380 :)

      Delete
    2. Can Zagreb handle an A380??

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:27

      Probably not. Yet.
      But this was more in lines of promotional flight, not replacing B777 with A380.

      Delete
    4. Not every airport can handle an A380 mainly due to the width of the taxiways.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:17

      Zagreb with new terminal will be A380 airport!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:33

      It would be nice to see at least one A380 by the new terminal!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:36

      @Q400January 12, 2017 at 3:22 PM

      It can easily, it is designed to handle all the largest aircraft, taxiways @Pleso are 32-35m wide designed for largest jumbo jets.

      An-225 landed at Zagreb few years go, and AN 125 and C-5 Galaxy lands at Zagreb regularly delivering stuff from Afghanistan where Croatian Soldiers are deployed in ISF mission.

      And these aircraft are about the same size as A380, as is B747 and B777 isn't much smaller. These lands at Zagreb on a regular basis. Not sure if new terminal will be able to connect A380, it can connect A330, others, not sure.

      Delete
  38. Anonymous12:12

    Good job, Croatia!!!
    Congrats from Sofia!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous12:14

    So ZAG attracted an EK bird even before OTP. Looks like it is the airport management and their business habits that make the difference and produce such results.

    This is an added capacity of 130 thousand passengers per year. A LF of 70% would bring some 90k new passengers (minus those who will switch to EK from QR, TK and LH). Looks good.

    I see both EK and QR slashing prices (at least for a while) and TK slashing both prices and frequencies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alen Šćuric Purger16:22

      364 pax x 2 ways x 365 days * 70% LF (actually EK has 80% average LF) is 186004 new pax in next one year.

      On top of that some extra connection passengers from PUY, ZAD, SPU, DBV, OSI, SJJ.

      So real number is more than 200.000 new passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:36

      ZAG handled around 187.000 passengers in December. I highly doubt EK will manage to have a 70% LF during that time. It would mean that on average 12% of daily passengers are there thanks to EK. Seems a bit much.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous12:32

    Took me 20 minutes to go through the comments and its just past 12..
    Nice for ZAG. Showing just how much potential Croatia has in tourism, as from what I understand these flights will be packed with people from Australia, Malaysia and so on..

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous12:32

    OT: From the same source, JFK next to be announced, very soon, in a few days or so :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:38

      Dont think anyone will laugh this time :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:58

      Hang on, let me send Nada Macura to Nemanjina first... :-)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:21

      This would be great!
      Fingers crossed! :)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:32

      Some people say it could be Delta flying to NYC, the sale of these slots is a part of the deal. Could it be true?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:40

      It is complicated. It would explain the relatively modest price for the slots.
      On the other hand, the best way it would work would be if OU had a code-share with Delta, which is not a star alliance. That would undermine LH group.

      Delete
  42. To somebody who's saying EK is rather expensive than some competitors:
    I paid for my latest flight of Dec 2016
    BLQ-DXB-PEK and return BKK-DXB-BLQ 535 EUR.
    In Sept 2016 I flew by EK BLQ-DXB-PEK and return EUR 550

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:33

      This is expensive. You can fly from Europe to PEK and PVG for 400-450 EUR these days.

      Delete
  43. Anonymous12:51

    This will be a major bloodbath and a dumping war.

    I just saw some fares and this is going to be a wild fight:

    ZAG-SYD
    EK €988
    QR €1033

    ZAG-PEK
    EK €383 (lol)
    QR €570
    TK €555
    LH €530

    ZAG-ICN
    EK €573
    QR €820
    TK €654
    LH €640

    ZAG-PVG
    EK €415
    QR €439
    TK €695
    LH €525

    Mid-June dates when it's high season. As we can see EK is going for the jugular here. Others will have to melt their fares/yields.

    Bad news is that most flights sold via LH are on OU to the Star hubs. It will impact them as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:17

      Well the overall market will grow. When prices decrease the amount of PAX increases in most cases. This is pure economics and is called price elasticity ;)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:18

      Good fares, though ZAG-SYD a bit expensive considering it is low season in Australia at that time. Etihad has quite cheap fares for Australia. Other fares you listed are great. Especially Beijing.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:46

      Price elasticity can give you an instant boost but it's wise for it to be followed by organic growth otherwise you risk losing it all, or most of it.

      Even with price elasticity there is so much each market can expand.

      Delete
    4. I'm expecting prices to get cheaper to / from Australia.

      Delete
  44. Anonymous13:07

    Emirates je 14.11. 2016. demantovao da postoje planovi za Ex yu tržište. Eto koliko treba verovati zvaničnim saopštenjima.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:42

      Evo dokaz sa Emirates-ove službene stranice pa ti vjeruj u šta hočeš ;)

      http://prntscr.com/duqv2a

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:49

      OP je mislio na saopštenje od 14.11, a ne na najavu za Zagreb.

      Delete
  45. Wow, nobody saw this coming around the corner. Respect.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous13:55

    EK probably got a better deal from ZAG than Wizz at Tuzla or Nis! There is no other way to justify 12F and 41Y to ZAG daily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:57

      41J

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:05

      With daily Emirates jumbo, ZAG is in a completely different league now.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:35

      ^No, it's not. Don't make this into something mythical, because it isn't.

      Delete
  47. I'm sorry, but it's so damn hard not to laugh at all those mockings of Zagreb now. Congrats!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:14

      Why? People laughed before JU announced JFK then they were shut up and now we see that they are struggling to fill those seats. same scenario will take place here. They can't fill a daily B777 in October, November, February and so on.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:22

      I am sorry to say that, but did you really try compare an EK flight with a JU flight?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:52

      Yes because the market dynamics are the same. EK would have had more chances if they flew to DBV seasonally or if they linked ZAG with SPU.

      Also, JU operates out of an airport that handles 4.9 million passengers and that has a large catchment area.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:54

      The difference with these EK flights is that they have demand on both sides of the OD. The flights will cater for a lot of incoming tourists as well as those VFR and Croatians going on holidays or business.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:56

      ZAG is still a relatively small market, if it wasn't then the airport would not handle only 2.7 million passengers. ZAG is not MLA either.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:30

      I didn't believe it either, and I'm from Croatia! Congrats, it made my day!

      Delete
  48. Anonymous14:31

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:33

      Svakako su ovo odlicne vesti za ZAG i svaka cast Management-u koji je uspeo pridobiti svakodnevne letove sa 773 sto je veliki uspeh.
      Ali ne treba zaboraviti da kad EK krene u ekspanziju u nekoj regiji brzo i druga trzista slede tako da je vrlo moguce da ce i BEG uskoro dobiti EK letove.
      INN-NS

      Delete
  49. Anonymous14:45

    UUUU BRAVO POZDAV OD SKOPJE !!!

    ReplyDelete
  50. JU520 BEGLAX15:03

    Btw EU has started negotiations on a new air travel agreement with Katar and the UAE
    UAE has not responded yet. With Katar the first round was held last September

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous15:20

    Great news especially since OU will be reducing LHR from 9 to 4 flights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:33

      So what? They will shift them to LGW. Most of the PAX fly between London and Croatia, and for that matter it does not mater if they fly between LHR or LGW. easyJet flies to SPU 5 times a day between London and Split for instance. They make horrendous money on that route although the fly - not from Heathrow.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:37

      OU is not an LCC!!! They must stay in LHR for prestige and because you can make ton money there. This is first step to collapse, thank you Kucko!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:36

      And finally we'll see Kucko leaving the company soon, thanks to the slot sale. I don't think the government will trust him anymore.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous16:48

      They let him sell the slots, so they trust him. Sad but true.

      Delete
  52. Congrats to Zagreb. It will be interesting to see how ZAG performs since future expansion in the region will probably depend on that. I do believe that A330 would be a ideal aircraft for this route since B777-300 is a huge bird even for some bigger airports in the region. From what I heard few months ago, EK was not doing so good in BUD. Have things changed recently?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. QR has in a way already responded at least when it comes to the route to Dubai (via Doha) . I am finding tickets in mid June and July for 320 CAD which is around 230 euros.

      Delete
  53. Anonymous16:02

    Respect to ZAG management, for keeping such huge project confidential until last minute. I can't imagine what kind of a circus it would turn, in case similar negotiations were held by another airport in the region!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alen Šćuric Purger16:29

      Ovo za Emirates se zna već više dana, pa je čak i ovdje bilo objavljeno (i to nakon prekida leta flyDubai, a posebno zadnjih 2-3 dana kad se to naveliko pisalo po raznim forumima, a ne samo ovdje), samo niste željeli čuti to od nas amatera i tvrdili ste da je to nemoguće.

      Čak štoviše ismijavili ste nas amatere.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:31

      FlyDubai se nije povukao radi slabe popunjenosti kako su neki govorili!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:33

      I? Koji je plan za dalje? 300 ljudi dnevno na liniji ZAG-DXB je malo puno za ZG/Hrvatsku kao odrediste.

      Delete
  54. JU520 BEGLAX16:24

    42 billion USD in state aid in 10 years for QR EY and EK
    No wonder they can afford bringing a 773 to ZAG

    ReplyDelete
  55. https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-to-launch-daily-flights-to-croatia-91252?intc_type=articles&intc_name=Fly_Emirates_daily_to_Zagreb_Croatia&intc_creative=link&intc_location=home

    ReplyDelete
  56. Predrag 77716:38

    Could somebody of the experts on here explain me an eventual effect on OU ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:41

      The only effect is that some passengers who flew on OU to ZRH, ViE, MUC and FRA... will be lost to EK.
      I don't think they were many, maybe up to 3-5 pax per flight.

      Delete
  57. Anonymous16:57

    On a positive note, this will bring very affordable prices for long haul flights for outgoing pax from ZAG, at long last. It will also bring some new tourists to Croatia, especially those who require proper business / first class (lie flat seats, essentially, wide body service).

    On a negative note, this probably kills any chance of other Asian carriers introducing scheduled flights (such as ANA, Korean, etc.) What happens with QR and 787 plans is anybody's guess, they might even go down to daily in the future. TK and LH are out from Australia, Africa and Asia markets.

    Hopefully, no one wins the battle, even though its hard to fight daily 777 with three class configuration. Because, if EK wins, the prices will go way up, as they did in VCE, FCO, BUD, PRG and other similar markets.

    ReplyDelete

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