Zagreb Airport numbers dive in November

November figures hit by strike as Zagreb prepares for new terminal

Zagreb Airport has recorded its eighth consecutive month of passenger decline on the back of a two day strike staged by its employees. Croatia’s busiest airport welcomed 151.760 passengers through its doors in November, a decrease of 8.2% compared to the same month last year. The number of flights operating to and from the airport was also significantly down. It saw 1.305 departures and arrivals, down from 1.518 in November last year, therefore plummeting 14%. So far this year, Zagreb Airport has handled 2.150.254 passengers, down 2.1% compared to the same period last year. The airport’s new operator estimates Zagreb will record an 8% increase in passenger numbers next year.

Meanwhile, the Zagreb Airport International Company, which last week took over the airport’s management, has announced that the concession has reached a financial close since it has signed financing agreements with lenders. The new 65.000 square metre terminal building, which will have the capacity to serve five million passengers per year, is scheduled for completion in December 2016 and will cost 243 million euros. The consortium running the airport says the existing terminal, built in 1966 and expanded in 1974, is now at “saturation point”. Capacity will eventually reach eight million passengers per year. The project will see a total investment of 331 million euros, 243 million of which have been allocated for the design and construction of the new terminal and 88 million euros for the maintenance of airport infrastructure over the entire thirty year period of the concession.


Initial preparation work for the construction of the new terminal building will begin next week while actual work is scheduled to commence in January or February next year, depending on weather conditions. The airport’s operator says the new terminal has been designed by architects Kincl, Neidhardt & Radić, with support from the design office IGH, who have joined forces to develop a “daring, yet functional design”. Its construction will involve between 700 and 800 people during peak times. Particular attention will be paid to sustainable construction, as the project aims to secure LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The financial lenders for this project are the European Investment Bank (EIB), IFC, Unicredit Bank Austria and Deutsche Bank.

Comments

  1. Great news for Zagreb. It seems like there will soon be two new modern terminals in the Ex-Yu. I wonder how the growth of Zagreb and Belgrade airports will affect each other.

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    1. Anonymous09:20

      Well would someone drive, take bus or train 4-6 hours, i don't think so. Too much wasted time, added expense, and hassle. Then again many people from Beograd and Novi Sad did just that to BUD in the 90s and early 2000s.

      -- Charlie

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    2. Anonymous20:27

      It won't, Zagreb is different market than Belgrade, Zagreb is also closer to central europe, so many can drive to Vienna, Munich or Milano and be there in 2-3 hours. U can't do that from Belgrade,

      What should help Zagreb a lot to boost its numbers is citybrake destination, business travelers and intercontinental flights or flights from France, Scandinavia/Baltics, Spain and Poland/Czech R.

      Germany is too well connected with Croatia as is Italy, Switzerland and Austria, I'm referring to road and rail connections.

      Croats can travel to these in mare hours by car, or 4-5 hours with a bus and soon with a train (Croatian rail infrastructure is getting major upgrade, almost entire rail network between Zagreb, Hungary, Serbia, Italy and Slovenia is getting major renovation for speeds of 160kmh, and high speed line is being built between Rijeka and Zagreb and Hungarian border that will allow speeds of 250kmph).

      So things are really moving fast for Croatia, only thing that can make Zagreb Airport come to its full potential is business travelers, citybrake visitors and to a degree Croats who travel a lot by plane.

      With Croatian Rail, Road infastructure one of the best in the entire region its gonna be hard to compete, as we speak half a million Croats are hitting the road for their winter holidays in Austria, Slovenia, France and Italy, its sad that many do not travel by plane but travel by car.

      Its safe to say 2013 was the worst year for Zagreb Airport since 1999 and War 1991-1995.

      First you had 8 days of strike in May than 2-3 days in November and to maker things worse Croatian Airlines has decided to become profitable and reduce number of flights significantly, something I'm sure in future they'll pay dearly as others take ever greater chunk of Zagreb and Croatian air travel market.










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    3. Anonymous23:35

      You make some valid points. ZAG has to compete with excellent motorways in Croatia and Slovenia. But how to do you figure that Milano is 2-3 hrs. away? more like 6-7, (650km), so it is not competition for ZAG in any way. Munich is almost 600 km away.

      So why wouldn't BEG be an option for Zagrebers then, it is 'only' a 4 hour drive?

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    4. Anonymous01:19

      Munich is only 3-4 hours drive from Zagreb, as city is only 400km from Zagreb, u can be in Munich in 3 hours, i did it in 3 with m8 of mine, I work in Amsterdam and normally drive from Zagreb via Germany to Holland.

      Milano is bit further away, but still many Croats prefer to drive there, it takes around 4 hours to get to Milan from Zagreb, or 5h if there's a traffic.

      Zagreb is only 500km from Milan, so many Croats who go there go by car, or many Italians who visit Zagreb do so by car.

      There are almost no border check points so you can cross Croatian Slovenian border with only an ID and continue on to Italy, quite fast.


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  2. Anonymous09:09

    My question is, does a new terminal automatically mean increased pax numbers and aircraft movement? And if so is it sustainable? Good luck ZAG

    -- Charlie

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    1. No. Zagreb airport just doesn't have a large enough market, unless there are transit passengers. For Zagreb to get 5million+, there needs to be a major airline there too.

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    2. Anonymous21:05

      Charlie, No,

      But, if there's a strategy and plan to get more airlines coming than yes.

      Zagreb is major city in the region, largest economic, commercial and banking center, with largest number of foreign offices in the capitol and almost all major global firms have their regional head offices in Zagreb, also Croatia attracts largest FDI investments, more than whole region combined.

      Problem is that past management at the airport didn't see the potential of the airport and has lackluster attitude what needs to be done, never has airport openly marketed its services to other airlines, never has airport made a concessionary agreements and deals that would attract new airlines to start flying here and never has airport tried to sell itself to other airlines in the EU like most airports do, they simply have no qualified staff for that, they have marketing departments that does little marketing and head of sales department that knows nothing about sale.


      Zagreb is a large market for airlines, despite what Alexander Stojanovic says, its just not being utilized well.

      Example Zagreb is a most popular tourist and city brake destination in the region among all capitols of ex-yu, its most visited city with largest overnights, most business friendly city with 3-4 new hotels under construction as we speak, 8 months ago Hilton hotel opened in Zagreb, with Kempinski, Crown Plaza (SAS) and another Austrian hotel group looking to build 4 and 5* hotels in Zagreb.

      Than you have really popular winter event that happens each year in Zagreb called Snow Queen and Snow King alpine skiing event that attracts 50 000 foreign visitors alone, its a mot popular events in alpine skiing event calendar as event is held in a major city.

      Than you have large number of visitors who visit city each year, currently growing at 15%, 850 000 visitors are expected to visit city this year with 1.4 million nights, next year at least 1 million visitors and 1.7 million nights. All these are quite important figures as many visitors come from the UK, USA, Japan, China, Northern Germany, Scandinavia and France.

      Yes there are loads who come by car from Austria, Italy and Slovenia, Zagreb gets around 2.5 million day visitors each year, but for Airport we need air travelers and for this its far more important to have more tourist coming from destinations where you need to use air travel. UK, USA, Japan...

      Many business travelers to Zagreb arrive with their corporate jets, you look at Zagreb cam and look at airport's general aviation section you can always see at least 7-8 large business jets and trust me in Croatia no one owns such jets, not even richest man in Croatia.

      So far, very few airlines offer business traveler a choice, Lufthansa and BA are the only ones.

      BTW this year, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Ballmer, Larry Page, Larry Elison, Eric Schmidt were among few major business visitors this year, with heads of EU in Zagreb 2-3 times this year alone and the regional EU summit and CEI summits held in July and May.


      U got the market, just not the organization, I hope with French taking over incentivised to make profits will ensure major passenger growth at Zagreb airport. I can tell you this, new terminal will make money or they'd be mad to invest $320 million+ in to new airport.


      I always held a strong belief, that local mafia cares little for Croatia, or Zagreb, and when i am referring to local mafia, all the positions at all state firms are basically filled by inept, incompetent and useless individuals with no qualifications and skills to do their jobs, and I mean this is a literally a fact, every vacancy at state firm is given to friends and relatives, family members, never individuals with qualifications.

      Zagreb Airport is fine example of that, a major cash cow that made millions for all who got their jobs there, sure you had protests going against take over, for they feared they won't be able to do what they did under old management, and that is to steel and do nothing.

      anyway,

      Delete
    3. Anonymous03:46

      You're not bright, aren't you?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:57

      Hahaha seems so...

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:15

    evo odgovora
    http://www.jutarnji.hr/u-30-godina-francuzi-ce-nam-platiti-vise-od-1-5-milijardi-eura-naknada/1145624/

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    1. Anonymous09:33

      According to the jutarnji article ZAG will increase pax by 1m in two years. I find that very hard to believe. What would be the basis for such a huge increase in pax? New terminal?! New airlines will start using it, but surely not that many.

      -- Charlie

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    2. Turkish Airlines removes a lot of their flights from congested Ataturk airport over to Sabiha Gokcen.

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    3. Anonymous19:53

      Do you have more details?

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    4. Anonymous21:24

      No Charlie,

      New owners plan to make Zagreb more attractive to other airlines, in the past airport never gave incentives to attract new airlines, and current management plans to change that, and allow more low cost operators to come in.

      From what I read (owners published their business plan when they made a proposal to take over Zagreb airport). Part of the plan is to give landing concession to few major airlines, Air France, BA, KLM, SAS.

      Talks are being held with Air Canada as we speak, United airlines over them coming to Zagreb, there's a plan to pay these airlines to have rights to land at Zagreb for next two years, Zagreb airport would book on each flight around 25% of all seats and sell them on at discount in US and Canada in conjunction with Croatian Tourism Agency as a promotion for more visitors.

      From what I understand there are few more North American airlines in play, but it seems that 2 players are interested in this and we'll know more towards mid March. intercontinental flights aren't certainty but its a possibility.

      Easy Jet will be allowed to base 1 of their jets at Zagreb airport, talks are being held as we speak, if they bare fruition EasyJet should be announcing new routes out of Zagreb soon, Norwegian AirShutle is another airline, German Wings and Valueing another 2 who are being talked over them getting free landing rights and easier access to Zagreb.

      Wizzair might return, but as most in Croatia hate that airline, not sure how well they'll be received.

      there are few more airlines that are being talked to including LOT, Czech Air to return, as well as Iberia and TAP to increase their frequencies.

      Croatian airlines has only 2 years to shape up or they'll loose their primary position at Zagreb airport, so 1 million pax is possible, quite feasible, although new terminal won't be up till 2016, so old terminal will need to cope with increased traffic, and yes old terminal will be expanded by 5700sqm first thing in March or April works should start on new and old terminal.

      Old Terminal will remain operational as low cost base, low cost airlines will pay next to nothing to use it, but capacity will be small, only 3.5 million.




















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    5. The Wikipedia article about SAW lists a lot of routes by TK.
      I read a lot about that in the last years.
      Atatürk has no space for the massive growth.
      So they relocate a lot of their flights to SAW.

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    6. ^ That was a reply to the one that wanted more details.

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    7. Anonymous22:20

      'Easy Jet will be allowed to base 1 of their jets at Zagreb airport...'

      Oooh did they intend on basing 3 aircraft there but you will allow them only one? :/

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    8. Anonymous22:39

      Maybe better an operator from Arabia should take over ZAG...
      Then it probably would sound like" Three aircraft?
      You can base hundred of them.
      From tomorrow.
      Which colours do you want the tapestries in your part of the terminal?
      You dont want tapestries?
      OK,we will reduce the price...".

      Delete
    9. Anonymous22:46

      Well, they're only a few, mostly with strong O&D, that's not what i would call a lot (to the one about SAW).

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    10. Anonymous23:27

      I bet that the few flights TK has from SAW
      transport more pax than whole Croata Airlines
      or Adria...

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:19

    The thing I really don't get is how can we have two big airports that are so close to each other. How can a big airliner invest in OU if now there is a big one in BG? How can both cities in the future have long haul flights (if)? I would like to get an answer from croat and serb experts. Thank you.

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    1. I don't need to be an expert to see that there is not enough room in the market for both airports. Personally, I think the new Zagreb terminal won't make sense. I don't think Zagrab will be seeing long haul anytime soon. Zagreb is in decline, not in growth. It would be better to invest in the coastal airports, and perhaps renovate Zagreb.

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    2. If any airline is planning on investing into OU then they will not only look at Air Serbia (read Etihad) in Belgrade but they will take a closer look at a larger picture which also includes Vienna and Austrian Airlines. Furthermore, Wizz Air from Tuzla and now Air Serbia from Banja Luka do take away some potential (I stress the word potential) passengers from Zagreb airport. People living in eastern Croatia have other options other than flying from Zagreb, especially if Tuzla is not that far away- we all know how cheap Wizz Air can be.

      The new terminal will make Zagreb more attractive but it does not mean airlines will rush in to set up new flights or bases. As time goes by, Lufthansa will fix the fundamental flaws at Austrian Airlines which will make it once more a dangerous neighbour. Though it is still early to say what will become of Air Serbia we can all assume that they will not stop at being a regional carrier especially if Etihad is to take over the airport.
      Bottom line is that Zagreb will soon enough find itself sandwiched between two hubs with rather aggressive airlines. If any airline is to step in and buy OU then it has to be one with deeeeeeeeeeeep pockets. Pretty much the same thing we needed in Belgrade with Jat Airways.

      It will be interesting to see what ambitions the French have for the airport. I guess time will tell.

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    3. Anonymous11:19

      So Zagreb doesnt stand a chance at all, but Belgrade does? Maybe you should teach the French how to run an airport

      Delete
    4. Where exactly did I say that? I said that as time goes by things will get more difficult for Zagreb to position itself as an important regional player- primarily because other airports in the region will restructure themselves and grow thus taking away a considerable amount of passengers from them.

      Belgrade stands a damn good chance because Serbs are no longer responsible for the future of the civil aviation in the country. The main difference between Belgrade and Zagreb is that Belgrade has secured the future of its home carrier which can expand its network so as to bring in more connecting passengers, that is more money.
      For Zagreb this is a problem since Croatia Airlines is currently struggling and downsizing. If they go bust then the airport will have to rely on foreign carriers for an increase in the flow of passengers. It's always better if you have a well run airline than a well run airport. The best case scenario in case OU goes belly up is for a lowcost to set up a base there but then again that will mean relying on the O&D which can only take you that far.

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    5. Anonymous11:59

      I agree with Nemjee's last comment. Take a look at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Capacity is scarce, the airport facilities are getting worse and worse every year but Turkish Airlines is expanding like nothing before and there are more and more passengers flying to Istanbul. Believe me, passengers will soon forget about the conditions of the airport and the queues and will remember the price, easy connections and quality of service offered by the airline.

      What OU needs is a proper strategy, right prices and services which will actually appeal to customers, and get to expand the departures area, which is, 'hand on heart' as we say, smaller than an average-size kafana in any given city in our region. I think it is alright to think big, but there are core things to be improved and firstly start with offering a decent terminal expansion and not some huge state of art terminals which are not needed at thus very moment.

      When OU will become a true airline on its own, it will be alright to build this or even something bigger. But, until then, we risk repeating the Pristina scenario (building a big terminal and seeing its main airline going bust).

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    6. Anonymous15:45

      What big airports?

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    7. Anonymous21:34

      Few Serb posters here post utter nonsense, they're basing their opinions on nationalist views.

      Belgrade is closer to Bucharest, Sofia than to Zagreb yet all 3 airports do just fine.

      I can give you loads of examples, Milano, Zurich, Munich, Vienna all with in 400km from each other.

      Prague, Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, all with in 400km of each other.

      Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, London, all with in 400km of each other.

      Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm, all with in 400km of each other.

      and I can go on and on.

      Croatia and Serbia have nothing in common, nothing, two different markets, two different countries, political and economic spheres.

      Zagreb Airport will do just fine and grow very fast under new management, and Croatian airlines might pay a hefty price if they don't start competing as new airlines are coming in fast.

      BTW just in case you wonder, Croatia is in the EU, most Croats never travel to Serbia or east of Sarajevo, I mean there are flights to Pristina and Skopje and I think Tirana, not sure, but Croats travel to the EU, not to the east, its where sphere of influence is, for Croatia its in the EU and in North America. Serbia, I really couldn't say, Asia ?









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    8. LOLz @ the last anonymous.

      By the way, have you ever tried travelling from Belgrade to Sofia or Bucharest either by train or by road? ;)

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    9. Anonymous03:23

      @NemjeeDecember 10, 2013 at 10:17 PM

      I know right, Serb roads are like samajama as Japanese would put it as are Serbian railways and airport isn't much better, but than at lease you can say you have Air Serbia and new Airbus aircraft you're leasing in hope to make few bucks before they go belly up like the rest of Serbia.

      I know it sounds cruel, but its reality of things, you guys yell how bad current terminal in Zagreb is, true it small, but inside it looks 10 times better than Belgrade airport and has more services than Belgrade airport winch is 3 times the size.

      just saying, look in your own neck of the woods before pointing fingers at others.

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    10. Anonymous03:54

      I would give you a few slaps...

      Delete
    11. @Anonymous-without-any-decency-to-use-a-nickname above:

      You do realize that when I asked the disillusioned anonymous if he travelled from Belgrade to either Sofia or Bucharest it was because I was trying to point out how bad the roads are and how a train ride is equal to Hell on earth? It was all with the purpose of letting him know that it is logical these three do not compete against each other for passengers since they are practically inaccessible (unless, like I said it before, you are ready to travel for 12 hours by train).

      So, I do not see where you got the impression that I was praising Serbian infrastructure.

      Personally, I couldn't give a rat's ass about Zagreb airport or Croatian aviation. I have no ties to that country and I am rather indifferent to its existence so I believe when I comment something on it I am rather objective. I have also trashed Belgrade and Serbian aviation on here, it is unfortunate you have a selective memory.

      I love your kind of anonymous. You just go ahead and say how Air Serbia will go bankrupt and God knows what else but you never seem to give concrete reasons why you believe so. But I guess I can understand your frustration. All of us here want our national airlines to be successful and large so it must suck when your region is lagging behind others in some way.
      I am just curious what you meant when you said that Zagreb has more services despite being three times smaller.


      As for Belgrade airport- well, as it was reported on here a few days ago, Etihad will build a new terminal soon.

      p.s. regarding the bankruptcy of Serbia, well here we have the pot calling the kettle black. ;)

      Delete
  5. B777PIA09:44

    Bucharest OTP is at 7M figure and it does not get any long haul. What is with croatian ego maniacs? The North American diaspora will continue to visit Croatia via EU hubs, and this practise wont change anytime soon.

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    1. Anonymous10:45

      Government propaganda is very strong in Croatia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:36

      And in Serbia its not ???

      give me fucking brake Ano 10:45, you're a typical ignorant nationalist cunt who know jack shit about Croatia, only peddles hate and ignorance to the masses. go give yourself a blow job or something perhaps that'll give you another perspective. Stupid cunt.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous22:05

      Jesus, dude, you have some serious issues.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous22:12

      At least we know who he voted for in the last elections. :D

      Delete
    5. SQ2622:38

      If you ask me so I will continue to fly from JFK via Frankfurt with SQ :D after all only reason why I do fly via FRA is because i love flying SQ A380 on upper deck ;)

      Delete
    6. Anonymous23:32

      You are clever and use SQ!

      I know a lot of people that dont know they can use other Star airlines instead of LH from Munich or Frankfurt.
      They flew BEG-MUC-BKK with LH although MUC-BKK with Thai Airways had better price and better service.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous11:00

    Belgrade airport figures for December will show 15-20 % passengers growth.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:29

      18% increase for sure, if you ask me. It had 14 % in growth in November only because JU's increase in frequences, and with only Abu Dhabi as a new destination. Here you have BNX, LJU, PRG, OTP + Geneva from mid-december + Sarajevo + flydubai boosting frequences during the holidays + world handball championship...

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    2. Pera Kojot poludio15:17

      ...which means, Zagreb is going DOWN!!!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:17

      its more like 180 % growth next year, paris, london and amsterdam are crying over their destiny

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    4. Anonymous18:25

      Naah Paris, London and Amsterdam are not crying over their destiny but Belgrade will keep up the double digit growth in the coming few months since Air Serbia will be adding flights on top a few other airlines launching new routes. Interesting times ahead, that's for sure.

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    5. Anonymous18:30

      I suppose if someone in November said "BEG will have 14% growth", you would say "yea, it's gonna have 140%". I think my estimation is it doesnt prove to be right, then we could say it was realistic.

      But I'm just gonna leave you now. Go on being ironic. Have a nice evening..

      Delete
  7. Hey everyone - first of, the entire Ex-Yu region is heavily underserved. I don't believe that current numbers at any ex-yu airport presents reaching the full potential.

    A likely scenario in the region for the next 10 years would be the so called "polarization" of markets: while Belgrade serving the needs of the non-EU western Balkan markets (Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, 1/2 of BiH), Zagreb at the same time mostly serving the needs of Croatian population, 1/2 of Slovenian, 1/2 BiH and the inbound foreign tourist markets.

    We have stated this many times before, but the long-term success of any airport will be determined by the: a) corridor/geographical position, b) domestic market potential, c) tourist potential, d) airport management and e) domestic airline management

    Both ZAG and BEG have most of these areas covered well.

    Belgrade supremacy:
    - Larger domestic market (larger population)
    - One single airport in Serbia
    - Better infrastructure for Conference Tourism
    - Air Serbia's development strategy

    Zagreb supremacy:
    - Capital of the #1 tourist destination in Balkans (except Greece) - ZAG should see at least 15-20% overflow of tourist pax for stop-over/short break visits and transfers, most direct tourists will go to DBV and SPU respectively
    - more advanced economy for now
    - excellent highway access infrastructure (bypass, A1, A2 and A3 accessibility to high-yielding markets: Kvarner region, east Slovenia, south Austria)
    - CARGO Opportunity - starting to unwrap: Rijeka Ship Port - railroad to Zagreb - ZAG Cargo terminal plans
    - ZAG airport managed by a serious Operator for 30 years
    - Croatia Airlines: out of all airlines in Ex Yu, it stands the highest chance to be restructured/bailed out ...

    I believe that the "natural predispositions" and taking the proper advantage of the oppotunities will determine the success of both airports.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. '- Croatia Airlines: out of all airlines in Ex Yu, it stands the highest chance to be restructured/bailed out ...'

      Jat Airways was an ex-YU carrier and it was restructured, saved and turned into Air Serbia this year.

      You are forgetting one important thing. Belgrade also has the chance to attract passengers from western Romania as well as southern Hungary. These two could be especially interesting for destinations not served from either Budapest or Timisoara.
      I would also add an additional advantage which will help fuel Belgrade's growth and that is Air Serbia's business model which is directed at attracting connecting passengers.

      As for Zagreb, like I said it before, it all depends on how the new management sees its future. It's too early to tell. I just hope they don't do what foreign investors did in Cyprus and Greece. They built state of the art terminals and then increased the charges so as to maximize their revenue.

      I see one of the biggest challenged for these larger airports the emergence of small, regional airports such as Tuzla, Nis, Banja Luka... which can be interesting for lowcost airlines such as Ryanair or Wizz Air. Two airlines which are capable of attracting masses to fly with them.

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    2. Anonymous11:19

      +1

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    3. Ok, all that you wrote here is completely plausible and makes sense. It supports the idea that both airports have their own potentials showing that one's prosperity does NOT have to come at the expense of the other. Wouldn't you agree ? The only cross-over areas would be transfering PAX from BiH and Macedonia - in that sense Belgrade stands a better chance, although Zagreb will take its 1/3 share of the transfering pax pool...

      Low cost, yes for sure. Given that ZAG is waaaay underserved in that segment, I believe that with the increase of LCC offer at ZAG, many PAX that live in the Zagreb area, but now use Rijeka, Venice, Ljubljana charters, and Budapest Wizzair connections may turn to ZAG.
      It's all the way you look at it. In the end, it's about who'll better capitalize on the market opportunities... Both countries have them...

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    4. Anonymous12:31

      But what if a new national carrier is created in Macedonia? Or what if SkyTeam starts expanding in Skopje and Sarajevo? They will take a considerable market-share of passengers flying to CDG, AMS, LHR, Scandinavia and the US, Lufthansa will react immediatly and nothing will be left for JU. Leave your Serbian supremacy at home, Yugoslavia is dead and gone for 22 years!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:54

      You said it right, what if... but we need not worry as it will never happen. Especially the creation of a new carrier in FYROM- at least not now when there is Wizz Air there.
      What makes you think that nothing will be left for JU? It has nothing to do with Serbian supremacy it has to do with an airline offering good product for a good price. Simple as that.

      Delete
    6. calm down everyone. If the ex -yu market was not fragmented, than Air Serbia would be a sole player, just as it was with JAT prior to 1991.

      However, since we are facing the current situation, it is likely that for the next 10 years we'll see 2 players.

      If anyone has the ambition and the "actual market chance" to challenge Air Serbia, that would be Croatia Airlines or whatever the restructured national carrier would be (from Croatia).

      Sorry guys, but the rest of the countries have much more obstacles to tacle in order to fight this Cro-Serb duopoly...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:17

      Belgrade supremacy:
      Just quoting Petar :)

      Well, you cannot predict the future. A year ago everyone was laughing about Etihad and Jat and OU was in its confort zone taking the most of the market. No one could predict the arrival of Wizzair in Tuzla nor the (relative) recovery of Adria. Wizzair began expoiting a whole new segment of the Macedonian market, the low-cost one, which didn't truly exist at SKP. There is room for more carriers in the field of legacy carriers, that is for sure and certainly even more in the years of economic recovery in the near future.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:22

      As long somebody uses FYROM there will be peanuts left for him in Macedonia.
      Cccc after so many wars and hater somebody didn't learn the lesson that building partners is crucial for business and you don't mix it up with politics.
      But never mind planes can burn fuel also with 50% LF.

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    9. If Etihad keeps its word and invest in Air Serbia all it promissed and signed, nobody in ex-yu region would not compare with JU, even OU. Don't forget that money makes the world goes around and that James Hogan is the best CEO in airline business in the world

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    10. Anonymous14:14

      I think some people on here are overestimating the importance of the FYROM market. ;) It's a rather small one and it can provide business for only a few carriers around Europe. It's a limited market at best- however some of our FYROMian friends are forgetting that. You might attack us for being Serbian supremacists but it's better than to be self-proclaimed Macedonian disillusionists.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous14:47

      Are you 15 years old or something? I feel deeply sorry if Macedonia and Macedonian people did frustrate you at some point in your life, since you are saying such things against Macedonia.

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    12. Anonymous15:07

      I will never forget all those dirty-mouths saying

      "Do you really think Etihad is gonna transfer their pax to Europe and Scandinavia via Belgrade?". Well, watch this now:

      JU 614
      EY 6002 PRAGUE 18:15 18:15 ATR 72
      JU 604
      EY 6010 VIENNA 18:30 18:30 A6 ATR 72
      JU 414
      EY 6037 STOCKHOLM 17:35 17:35 Airbus A319
      JU 112
      JA 1375
      EY 6044 SARAJEVO 14:10 14:10 A7 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 14:19
      JU 172
      EY 6048
      SU 3528 PODGORICA 14:10 14:10 A8 Boeing 737-300 Одлетео у 14:17
      JU 182
      EY 6016
      SU 3526 TIVAT
      JU 304
      EY 6032 BRUSSELS 18:00 (09.12.) 18:00 (09.12.) A5 Airbus A319 Одлетео у 18:28
      ...

      Delete
    13. Anonymous15:28

      @ Anonymus 2:14 pm

      Are you maybe in Greenhoppers in Amsterdam? What mushrooms did you get?
      Serbian supermacy :-)))))))))))
      Hehehehehehe
      Btw. Happy new 1918 in advance :-)))

      Delete
    14. Anonymous15:34

      Last anonymous,

      how original using the mushroom joke that was used on this blog a few days ago- how very original on your behalf.

      All of you who are trying to trash Serbia- you can say all you want but the numbers speak louder than words. Skopje needs Air Serbia more than Air Serbia needs Skopje.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous16:13

      Give us an objective reason about your statement. SKP is served by 11 other airlines besides JU. For sure it won't be good if they pull out because of price competition but it's not that it will be lost a connection to US or Asia with single stop. All of JU's routes can be flown with a stop with other airline.
      As for the joke it can be really used sometimes on this blog:-))

      Delete
    16. Skopje will surpass Zagreb, you'll see. TK sending A330 to SKP soon again.

      Delete
    17. Anonymous18:23

      All airlines in Skopje can be replaced by another if one leaves the airport. It's not like Air Serbia is the exception to the rule. The whole point is that Skopje is not that competitive and it needs as many airlines as possible in order to keep the level of competition as high as possible so that its passengers can travel as cheaply as possible. If JU is to leave for some reason Skopje, the airport will not fall apart but the prices will most definitely go up a little bit. It's a normal and widely spread phenomenon. That's why I said that SKP needs JU more than JU needs SKP- this applies to other airlines such as TK, OS or any other one there. It's pretty much the same with any other smaller, regional airport in Europe.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous21:41

      @PetarDecember 10, 2013 at 11:05 AM

      I agree Petar, concise and precise. Although Croatian economy will recover in 2014 with good growths expected after that, as long as there's a vision still left in Croatia things are looking good. Previous HDZ government did a lot of damage, it'll take a generation to fix problems they've created.

      But things look good for all concerned.

      Delete
  8. B777PIA11:19

    1/2 of Slovenia for ZAG besides Vienna, Venice and Ljubljana???? You must be on some expensive drugs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1/2 doesn't mean that the actual 50% of the traveling population will use ZAG. it means that ZAG may appeal (geography wise) to the population pool: the actual numbers will depend of: a) flight offer, b) easy -to-drive-park, c) airline ticket prices, d) airport parking prices....right now about 20% of all licence plates parked at ZAG are from Slovenia and the airport's connections are not even that great as of now... :)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:32

      B777PIA - great nick! :)

      Delete
  9. Pera Kojot12:24

    OT: What's up with Lufthansa today in BEG?
    Now when JU is getting on time we have LH getting behind. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous13:25

    OT: if someone has any clue about load factors of AirSerbia flights to OTP and LJU today, he/she shoud be free to post it here :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:32

      According to the article at finance.si there were 50 pax on LJU-BEG flight (not sure if VIPs included though).

      Delete
  11. Anonymous13:29

    OT:
    Today there was an inaugural AirSerbia flight to LJU with A319. You can see some photos here:
    http://www.finance.si/8352978/Letalska-linija-Beograd---Ljubljana-uradno-odprta

    ReplyDelete
  12. Zagreb needs low cost carriers and OU must adjust its business model and become a semi low cost carrier to serve Croatia and Zagreb properly.

    Because of the state of the economy, people are choosing not to fly out of Zagreb. Too expensive and not many low cost options which is what passengers including those from the business community are looking for at this time.

    To attempt to achieve this 3.3 million passenger target by 2015, I can see Zagreb becoming very low cost friendly. This could be OU's biggest challenge yet. A challenge they have had plenty of opportunity to prepare for but have done very little to date.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:19

      I wonder if the best solution would be to attract some lowcost airlines to set up a base at Zagreb? Maybe easyJet or why not even Wizz Air? They have changed since the last time.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:41

      Lowcost-friendly by building the most expensive terminal out-there? Not a smart move in my opinion.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:03

      The biggest problem of ZAG is that it can not sustain OU and low cost airlines at the same time.
      Probably low cost airlines will take over the airport if OU goes bust...
      Belgrade airport could suffer also from this problem if EY takes over.
      Think about it once!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:20

      Why would Belgrade suffer if EY takes over? Lowcost and legacies have been coexisting for years there and both kinds have considerably increased their presence at the airport. Naturally, some will lose from JU's expansion but neither kind will be completely pushed out.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:45

      A new terminal has to refinance itself by increasing prices...
      Low cost airlines try to avoid them.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:16

      I just wanna ask someone who knows, if all this is true, why are they building new terminal? Are the French idiots and they don't know what they're doing?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:41

      Well, they are not idiots but they probably do not want an airport filled with lowcosts which is apparent from the design of the airport. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that flying from Zagreb won't be that cheap.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous19:52

      The French are not idiots.
      They simply want to make as much money as possible.
      Low cost means for the airport also low profit.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:00

      So how will they make money? Btw., I think the old building will be renovated for LCC

      Delete
    10. Anonymous20:09

      Well, they will make money off of legacy carriers. Also I don't see why keep the old terminal at all. It makes little sense if they are building such a large new terminal.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous20:24

      I really don't understand you, people write that new terminal won't pay off, but they will make money off of legacy carriers? Contradiction?

      Delete
    12. Anonymous20:37

      Well, no one said that the new terminal won't pay off. All people said is that they will have to increase their charges so as to pay for what they invested into the terminal. Nothing surprising there as it happened in so many different places. The thing is that they will most likely target the legacy carriers as their primary customers as they might not be able to get the amount of cash they wish from the lowcosts. Do you get it now? :)

      Delete
    13. Anonymous20:44

      yes, thank you ;)

      Delete
    14. Anonymous20:50

      No problem. :)

      Delete
    15. So how will they make money?
      Through a lot of space for shops they rent out to businesses! The rent for space is especially high at airports: Every day thousands of passengers who like to spend money.
      Munich airport for example resembles a shopping mall.Thats intention!

      Delete
    16. Anonymous21:12

      Yeah but they can have a lot of shops only if there is quite a large passenger flow. I hope they do manage to do it however my opinion is that new ZAG will not be a lowcost Mecca as some have claimed.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous14:45

    My understanding is, that the present terminal, will be serving the low-cost airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous16:37

    Why did ZAG lose so much traffick?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:32

      Mostly beacuse of the strike, also Croatia airlines reducing lines, bad management at Zagreb airport...

      Delete
  15. Sorry for OT, but new Etihad REGIONAL routes are being loaded into Amadeus system:

    Geneva-Belgrade
    F7 394 1235GVA-1445BEG 246 S20
    F7 395 1515BEG-1735GVA 246 S20

    Rome FCO-Zagreb
    F7 196 0820FCO-0950ZAG x246 S20
    F7 197 1020ZAG-1200FCO x246 S20

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So basically, there will be THREE flights per day on days 2,4 and 6, and NONE one days 1,3,5 and 7.

      Swiss summer 2014 schedule:
      LX1404 1015GVA-1210BEG 246 320
      LX1405 1250BEG-1455GVA 246 320

      easyJets summer 2014 schedule:
      U21437 0945GVA-1140BEG 4 319
      U21437 1210GVA-1405BEG 2 319
      U21437 1825GVA-2020BEG 6 319

      U21438 1215BEG-1415GVA 4 319
      U21438 1440BEg-1640GVA 2 319
      U21438 2055BEG-2255GVA 6 319

      Like, seriously!?

      Delete
    2. lol... well, this is funny. :D
      I really hope one of these three airlines actually revises its schedule because the one we have now is rather stupid.

      Also, I don't get what Etihad Regional is trying to achieve with this schedule. The only flight which makes sense to offer connections for is JU 654 to Moscow. Hmm...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous21:40

      So stupid... It` obvious that one of them will drop off soon. I think 2 players will share the cake and make normal timetable once 3rd player drop off. I think Swiss will be the first one.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous03:48

      In the end NONE of the three will make any profit.

      I think the best prospects will have the airline that flies on the days the others dont.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous20:35

    Kroz aerodrom Banja Luka je u novembru prošlo 434 putnika što predstavlja pad od -21.09% u odnosu na novembar 2012.
    U 2013. godini(sa novembrom) kroz aerodrom Banja Luka je prošlo 6.636 putnika a to je +17,26% u odnosu na isti period prošle godine.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous20:59

    A picture from Bucharest earlier today :)

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/560056_1438946459652786_55763200_n.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  18. Seems like Aegean is going to take over Olympics BEG-ATH route from Feb 1. Until the start of S14 Aegean is going to operate the route based on Olympics schedule, but from the beginning of S14, the schedule is going to look like this:
    A3850/OA6850 0815ATH-0915BEG DH4 x36
    A3581/OA6851 0945BEG-1240ATH DH4 x36

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting that they will operate the route with the Q400. It was mentioned that they will be getting rid of them once the merger is complete.
      A friend of mine is a pilot with Olympic Air and he told me that everyone hated them when they switched from the Atr- they were very difficult to fly on shorter routes around the Greek islands.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous22:30

    So let's start speculating what north American airlines are currently negotiating with future Zagreb airport owners about launching flights. I can see United skipping Vienna and going straight into Zagreb while Delta could do it from New York. I can see American Airlines flying straight from Miami in order to bring those wealthy people who would otherwise fly in their private jets.

    Hmm what about Air Canada? Are we talking about Toronto here?


    ...but when we wake up we realize that the only secured novelty is Etihad Regional on a SAAB from Rome a few times per week. lol

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous23:34

    bing bong bong

    The European Commission is officially investigating Adria from November 2012, preliminary investigation into Adria started in 2011.
    For Malev the EC needed 13 months.

    NOW is time for Adria results: December 2013.

    Anyone wants to bet for the result?

    If Adria made it thru in Bruxelles they are sniffing coca :)

    ReplyDelete