Croatia Airlines expects record year


Croatia Airlines expects to see its passenger numbers grow by 6% in 2016 and for it to record a fourth consecutive year in profit. The Croatian carrier anticipates handling some 1.97 million travellers by years-end, which will be accompanied by an increase in the number of operated flights. If it fulfils its expectations, 2016 will mark Croatia Airlines' busiest year on record, eclipsing its 2012 record when it carried 1.95 million passengers. Last year it handled 1.85 million travellers, a modest 1% increase on 2014, while its number of operated flights decreased slightly. The figure is still below that registered in 2008, 2011 and its record year of 2012. It's average cabin load factor stood at 69.7%, making it its best occupancy rate to date.

The Croatian carrier will introduce several new routes this summer season, among which are services from Zagreb to Lisbon, Milan, Prague and St. Petersburg. It will also wet-lease a Fokker 100 aircraft from Trade Air in order to launch the new flights. It marks the airline's first major expansion in three years following a restructuring initiative, which has limited its opportunities for network growth. "The expansion of the European network of destinations has been enabled by the successful completion of Croatia Airlines' restructuring program in 2015, which concluded the company's obligation to operate with a reduced market capacity. This way, the company will be even stronger in contributing to the development of Croatia's tourism potential and the Croatian economy, and further strengthen its position as a regional leader", the airline says. It also plans to introduce new services from Dubrovnik this winter, which will further boost numbers during the slow months.

Meanwhile, the Croatian State Property Management Office (DUUDI) says it will soon launch procedures to select a new management team at Croatia Airlines. According to DUUDI, it will commission an executive search firm to help identify high performance individuals fit to run the company. This process is expected to start in mid-May, although no firm timeframe has been given for its completion. Croatia Airlines named Krešimir Kučko as its CEO in the summer of 2012. He previously served as the carrier's representative for the Benelux region, based in Brussels. Prior to that, he was airline’s representative in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    Seems achievable. Hopefully in 2017 they crack 2 million.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    Go Croatia, hope some of these seasonal flights will become year round!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:08

    Croatia Airlines has done pretty well considering increased competition from Zagreb. Last few years they got competition from Swiss to Zurich, Brussels Airlines to Brussels, BA to London and KLM to Amsterdam, which are their most popular routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      I agree. But what happens when an actual low cost airline arrives in Zagreb? They will be in trouble then.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:26

      No worries. Only Etihad alliance members can be affected by LCCs entering their markets. Others are 100% immune. I have learned it on this blog from various experts.

      Delete
    3. Yes - Zagreb still the only capital in the EU with no UK low cost flights - it's stopping my friends from visiting me!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:33

      Are your friends poor? ;)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:46

      @vibronics
      That is just their excuse. In reality they are not all that interested in visiting you. ;)

      Delete
    6. They are poor for sure :)… but maybe a Wizz/Easyjet/Ryanair €25 Euro ticket ZAG >> LON would make them suddenly more interested

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:12

    Hopefully they choose a professional management this time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:12

    So what I understand at the bottom part the article. The current Ceo Kucko is on his way out or more correctly he will be replaced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      That's correct in the article they Benelux and also Switzerland and the Netherlands well Benelux is the Netherlands and Belgium.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      Yes. I think his term runs out anyway.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:18

      Can't they do that without hiring an external headhunting company? How much will that cost?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:40

      Apparently around 250,000 EUR

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:48

      Great -.-

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:17

    A few weeks ago someone said they were negotiating with Bombardier over ordering C series planes. Is there any thuth to that? Some more info would be great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:41

      C series would be perfect for OU.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:26

    Anyone knows which winter route(s) they plan to introduce from Dubrovnik? Frankfurt, London?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:33

      Frankfurt

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      How about London, since British won't be flying from Dubrovnik?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:50

      I don't think they have plans for DBV-London. In fact from what I hear they are considering selling slots at Heathrow.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:54

      I don't think they will sell slots at Heathrow, especially with Kucko leaving soon, I think it was his idea from the beginning. Heard that story, but I think they gave up.

      Delete
    5. Purger10:07

      They said that they will sell Heathrow slots on meeting with pilots few weeks ago in front of some 100 employee. They promote that idea for 3 years now. Last time they went public with this they said that they will rent 7 out of 14 pair of slots they have in LHR, not to sell them. But on that meeting few weeks ago they clearly said they will sell them. I hope if they will not be so stupid to sell all 14 pair of slots, but they will sell not more than 7 and will leave at least 7 of them.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:23

      Agree with Purger on this one, hope they won't sell all their slots, it would be stupid!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:29

      Well, on one side it is a good income. But on the other side we have seen several examples of legacy carriers where the sale of LHR slots was just the delay of inevitable bust (Malev, Cyprus). That is why I would not like to see any of them sold.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:49

    I was expecting a bigger expansion after restructuring. Leasing a 20 yr old F100 was a bit of a disappointment to be honest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      Agree, what about Stockholm or Oslo, at least during summer months?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:06

      True. I was also hoping for a bigger eastern Europe expansion other than a seasonal St Petersburg flight. Scandinavia would be a good market to tap into as well.

      Delete
    3. Purger10:12

      Dublin would be the best (more than 30.000 young people, especially IT experts move from Croatia and Croatian part of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Ireland).

      Than they should start (by list of priority):
      Mostar
      Stockholm
      Bucharest
      Athens nonstop
      Helsinki
      Rome nonstop
      Sofia
      Oslo
      Podgorica
      Tirane

      For sure not St.Petersburg and Prague.

      Delete
    4. Danijel10:14

      Agreed. I was expecting at least 2 new planes and some all year routes. This is better then nothing, but not much better.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:25

      My assumption is that they will keep new summer routes based on performance. Suspending Prague during the winter would be risky especially since you are competing against CSA which will fly year round.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:25

      Does the airport management in Zagreb talk with OU about possible new routes (at least from Zagreb)?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:32

      Anyone have info on how bookings are going for the new flights from Zagreb?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous15:22

      I agree with Purger. Dublin, Sofia, Bucharest, Stockholm and Tirana are a must. TIA is currently one of Air Serbia's best fillers. For JFK flights they are filling up seats the most from Tirana right after Podgorica.

      Delete
  9. Good news for Croatia Airlines

    ReplyDelete
  10. Purger10:37

    I already demand this stupid CTN CEO that „Croatia is leader in region“. It is so far from truth:

    Number of passengers
    JU 2,55
    OU 1,85

    Profit (with accounting creativity)
    JU 2,7 million EUR (2014, by Mr. Mali 2015 even better)
    OU 1,95 million EUR (2015)

    Load factor
    JU 71%
    OU 70%

    Number of planes:
    JU 22 including A330 long-haul
    OU 13

    Plane order
    JU 8 A320neo (2018-2020)
    OU 4 A320neo (2021-2022)

    Destinations:
    JU 40
    OU 27

    Hub feeding routes
    JU 22
    OU 9

    Code-share with companies:
    JU 14
    OU 14

    So I wonder by which data CTN CEO can call CTN as regional leader.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:49

      Pa lider u Sloveniji i Hrvatskoj i Bosni. Malo li je.

      Delete
    2. Purger11:10

      Hahaha, to je neka nova regija (Hrvatska, Bosna i Slovenija).

      U svakom slučaju ako se kompariraju sa Trade Airom, Limitlessom, ECA, Adrijom i ovom parodijom od Sea Aira + nepostojećom kompanijom u BiH onda su stvarno lider. No, svi dobro znamo da CEO ne misli na tu regiju i da uporno tvrdi da je Croatia lider u komparaciji sa Air Serbijom. To je nekoliko puta i javno izjavio i nasmijao javnost, osim onih par bakica sa tržnice na Dolcu koje su mu povjerovale. E da, i jedan kontrolor tramvaja je isto rekao da mu vjeruje.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:24

      JU 10 A320neo on order, not 8 ;)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:15

      JU ima 16 code share partnera trenutno.

      Delete
    5. Purger14:10

      - Aegean Airlines
      - Aeroflot
      - airBaltic
      - Air Berlin
      - Air France
      - Air China
      - El Al
      - Alitalia
      - Etihad Airways
      - Etihad Regional
      - KLM
      - LOT
      - Bulgaria Air
      - TAROM

      Which one I missed?

      Sorry for 8 planes, typo. 10 it is.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:27

      Purger,why isn't that true? Since you and many others from this blog don't consider air serbia a regional player,but an international one!!!The new "singapore airlines"of europe!!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:29

      @Purger
      Adria Airways and AirEuropa miss.

      Delete
    8. Purger23:08

      Thanks. I knew about Adria, but not about Air Europa.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:55

    Have a feeling we might see Mišetić back at Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Purger11:13

      Not unbelievable. There is possibility for that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:35

      He did a good job. Or at least that's my impression. What are your thoughts Purger?

      Delete
    3. Purger14:18

      Of course not!

      He did not use huge chance to make Croatia Airlines regional leader and main company for Diaspora flights in exYU (to open flights to USA, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France... + BiH, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, latter on Serbia na Kosovo) in time when Jat was not flying because of sanctions, Adria was down and Austrian was in bad shape (did not have not as near routes in exYU as they have today).

      He bought A319/A320 for huge amount of money, most of experts thinks we paid those planes much more than catalog price (not with discount but much more than that).

      He did not make real system of waves, routes structure, did not use niche...

      Positive things is membership in Star Alliance (but did not use all benefits of it, instead was just a feeder of Lufthansa) and made Croatia airlines a good brand. Some experts think we should become member of SkyTeam or oneworld instead of Star Alliance what would make more benefits to Croatia Airlines. I support that.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:34

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous11:35

    Everyone is better than the current one they ,the current Ceo must be worried about his future together with his friends he gave a job .So finally this airline will be runned by professional. So congratulations to the new management and all the best .

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous11:59

    What the hell is happening with IFC?!? They were hired a year ago to find a partner for Croatia Airlines and no one has head of them since... and they are being paid big money for it too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:36

      Read Purger's comment below.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous12:34

    I'm really hoping things start moving at OU. It's been the status quo for way too long. Competitors are moving on and getting stronger.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous12:36

    I would suggest Christoph Mueller for CEO. He leaves Malaysia Airlines in September ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:48

      But he's staying as a board member.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:10

      As far as I'm aware Misetic use to be a board member of Lufthansa CityLine while he was Croatia Airlines CEO and no one seemed to care.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:30

      Will these headhunters be looking for Croatian people to run companies or foreigners as well?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:42

      Don't think anyone knows.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous13:41

    Dubrovnik city authorities have again attacked OU

    http://www.dubrovniknet.hr/novost.php?id=44778#.VyClYTB96Uk

    ReplyDelete
  18. Purger13:50

    BREAKING NEWS

    I get some information from top source concerning Croatia Airlines. Of course those information are not official, but for sure are interested.

    1. ILC (World bank) did not succeed in finding privatization for Croatia Airlines. Mandate of ILC finished. They don’t work on that task any more. ILC try to make new contract with new government.

    2. There is huge lobby in Ministry of transportation from several lobbyists for candidates that pretend to be new Croatia Airlines CEO.

    - Tonči Peović

    - Krešimir Kučko, basically in Ministry they find his “results” very good as he finish restructuration and make company profitable + they open new routes = they don’t have a clue that today all companies in world have record profitability because of low fuel price but Croatia Airlines is profitable just because they sell planes, engines and Pleso Prijevoz
    There are some more candidates but I was asked not to put their names on public.

    3. New CEO will be elected in two circles. First one by Headhunters which will collect all CVs by opening tender and will select the best options. From those candidates in 2nd circle Government Commission will choose the best candidate. By this way they will eliminate the worst candidates in 1st circle. One of requirements will be 10 years in managing position out of what several years (don’t know how many) in air business leading position (management).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:52

      Thanks for the info Purger.

      Hmm.. not sure what to think...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:54

      Tonci Peovic use to run Zagreb and Dubrovnik Airport right?

      I'm dissapointed about IFC if it's true. I was hoping they would manage to find someone.

      Delete
    3. Purger14:05

      Well my source told me that people who worked on that task from ILC did not look like huge expert on the field and that their main credibility was mostly by name of "World bank".

      Tonči Peović was CEO of Dubrovnik airport and moved to position CEO of Zagreb airport by HDZ, with only task to finish concession process. After that he moved to position of CEO of Brač airport.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous14:14

      My question is what is the deadline to replace the current management .And how can current management be keep in place by new government. As the current management had no business plan otherwise Croatia would have buyiers interested. Current Ceo only cared about his own pocket with all his history of the past referring to The Netherlands costs that he has

      Delete
    5. Purger14:23

      All past CEO's made same think.

      He is on position because his mandate (contract) finish in August. Government does not want to pay him huge compensation to finish contract sooner. But there are examples of CEOs in other public companies which contract was finished in meantime since new Government came but Government did not want to make new contracts as they will do it throw tender and Headhunters.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:19

      For some crazy reason I was kind of expecting that Aegean would by a share. A real shame. I can't believe that no one sees the appeal.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:02

      I hate to say this but in the end INN-NS wad right about Croatia Airlines privatization.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous17:53

      Maybe Janica Kostelic could apply for CEO position, she flew with a plane, so, judging by our incompetent government, she has all the necessary qualifications!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous18:52

      It needs to be an economist, not a person related to aviation.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous19:00

      I agree with last anonymous, OU needs someone who knows hot to make money!

      Delete
    11. Purger19:06

      I think company could be sold in no time. But it is about what you ask from it, what you can offer and presentation. Non of those was made. Just simple we want to sell it...

      Delete
  19. Anonymous17:02

    OT: New terminal ZAG

    http://i.imgur.com/vR9GSEy.jpg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:29

      Wow, looking better than expected! Can't wait for it to be finished!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:48

      Looks nice :)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous02:52

      Just that it'll be empty.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:49

      the approach looks horrible. first, they could have masked those pillars. and second, most of all, that left turn is too soon. they should've put it 20, 25 meters later

      Delete
  20. Anonymous17:24

    Vlada ne treba da zali da plati novog CEO i Manegment zato sto sigurno ima dosta potencijala pogotovu leti .
    Ali druga opcija je da se ponudi MT/DE ili BY posto je i onako Turizam ne normalno jako narastao u HR.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous20:37

    I've noticed that since the new design was introduced comments have been much more aviation oriented and on topic. Maybe it's just a coincidence but hope it keeps up :)

    ReplyDelete

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