Croatia Airlines will discontinue two routes this winter season in order to boost frequencies and vacate aircraft for more popular destinations. As previously reported, the Croatian carrier will suspend services between Zagreb and Pristina, but will also terminate operations between Dubrovnik and Rome after more than a decade. Flights between the two cities operated twice per week last winter season and originated in Zagreb. They will now be shifted to run via Split. Earlier this year, local authorities in Dubrovnik said low cost airline Vueling would launch flights from the Italian capital. This drew sharp criticism from Croatia Airlines which said, "Croatia Airlines has maintained flights between Dubrovnik and Rome for the past ten years without any support and at its own commercial risk. We plan on doing so in the future as well. If reports are true that the city is in talks with another carrier to operate the same route, we can only say we are surprised and disappointed that we haven't been approached to introduce additional flights". Vueling is yet to schedule the service between Rome and Dubrovnik for this winter season, which begins October 30. Air Canada codeshares on Croatia Airlines' flights between the two cities. On the other hand, Qatar Airways recently placed its codes and flight numbers onto Vueling's Rome - Dubrovnik service.
In a statement, Croatia Airlines said, "These two routes are being suspended in order to leave room for the introduction of additional frequencies and to optimise our winter route network so as to improve our overall product". The company will compensate its Rome suspension by extending its seasonal service from Dubrovnik to Frankfurt into the winter months. Furthermore, the carrier will add one additional weekly frequency between Zagreb and Copenhagen, and two extra rotations from Split to Munich for a total of six weekly flights. The changes come in the lead-up to the 2017 summer season, which should see significant changes in the airline's operations. According to its management, the company will bring in new regional aircraft and open several bases across southeastern Europe.
During the January - August period, Croatia Airlines saw its passenger numbers improve 4% compared to last year, which has been fuelled by the introduction of several new seasonal flights from Zagreb. "This year's passenger record comes as a result of positive trends in our business, as well as the growth of our destination network. In June we launched flights from Zagreb to Lisbon, Milan, Prague and St Petersburg, which we did not serve beforehand", the airline's CEO, Krešimir Kučko, said recently. He added, "By the end of the year, we expect to see our passenger numbers grow 6% to 1.97 million".
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Monarch Airlines in summer 2017 season is introducing a number of new service, including flights to Porto, Stockholm and Zagreb. These service will be operated by a mix of Airbus A320/321 aircraft.
LGW–ZAG 1-3-5-- (eff 28APR17)
MAN–ZAG 1----6- (eff 29APR17)
That would make Manchester to connect to Zagreb for first time in history.
From April we will have London served with 19 times weekly by 3 carriers (Croatia 9x weekly, British 7x weekly and Monarch 3x weekly).
http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/air ... es-in-s17/
Monarch is in talks with easyJet to buy them and in media one can read it is "finished deal" and question of time. So it can happen that on this way easyJet will come to Zagreb again.
August numbers for
Ljubljana -8.1%
Skopje and Ohrid together +2%
@Anonymous 9:47
For more than several times Kučko present idea to stop LHR flights and sell LHR slots. Of course we know that it is just excuse to sell those expensive slots and to bring some more quick money to make CTN "profitable" at the end of the year, but that also means this route is not super-profitable. For sure it will bring even less money with LCC to open London flights, and would help even more on this med idea to sell LHR slots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tAUxnaeI6k
So, it is payed by Serbian tax payers, not Abu Dhabi!
OFC you are not and you talk something about it?And if we are going to talk like that Croatia A. was kept in life for years with taxpayers money,and airline is on edge of you now what..
P.S News next summer season:Croatia ends LHR service,Monarch goes daily.
Bye from Serbian taxpayer :)
1 actually go and vote in your election and drive these tax payers to actually vote
Or
2 leave the country and go to one where there is no tax
If there's one thing that residents of the vast majority of the world know it's that you can't run away from death or taxes!
Surprising tho that OU didn't realise after 10 years of operating this route that they should have increased capacity.
tbh i dont expect a plus for SKP (the +2% could be due to OHD but we will see soon)
ZAG-FCO-SPU-FCO-ZAG
It's not like they have a real hub system in ZAG so that they need to take care of connectivity.
But your last sentence is outrageous. OU does not have a hub? Huh? Do you seriously try to say that OU does not have connectivity or a hub in ZAG? Most planes are based there, too. Get real and out of your ASL-only minded way of thinking. I pity people like you. There are loads on this forum, fanboys and Serbian nationalists. I am not croatian, nor do I live there but I hardly see such comments from Non-ASL-fanboys or Non-Serbs. Please think and inform yourself before posting in the future. And now, all the cheerleaders can bring it on and start bashing.
SPU and DBV routes are for tourists. They don't need to have huge frequencies. Anyhow most of passenger on those flights are from ZAG. And there are enough frequencies on ZAG-SPU and ZAG-DBV leg even without those flights to FCO. So, on that way you have double taxes, bigger costs for patrol (one more landing and take off, you spend more time, demotivation for potential passengers to make one more stop, longer flight, have to go out of plane in SPU/DBV, to take luggage on another (far away) belt... Logical time table for summer would be:
ZAG-FCO-SPU-ZAG-FCO-ZAG
-2---6-
ZAG-FCO-DBV-ZAG-DBV-FCO-ZAG
---4--7
1-3-5--
ZAG-FCO-ZAG
In winter:
-2---6-
ZAG-SPU-FCO-SPU-ZAG
---4--7
ZAG-DBV-FCO-DBV-ZAG
1-3-5--
ZAG-FCO-ZAG
But when I present that to them there was like you speak to wall.
ZAG-SPU-FRA-SPU-ZAG
variation:
1st plane ZAG-SPU-FRA-ZAG
2nd plane ZAG-FRA-SPU-ZAG
or ZAG-CDG-SPU-CDG-ZAG
CTN use first and second way. So, no need for expensive base:
- much more expensive maintenance (3 bases instead one),
- dislocated crew,
- dedicated plane that you can not combine from/to hub,
- no choice of plane in SPU/DBV like Q400/A319 but you have to use just those based there (and that should be A319 which which is stupid to fly MUC, VIE, ZRH, ZAG...),
- winter limitation of working hours in SPU and DBV from 22:00 till 6:00 hours, and summer from 23:00 do 6:00, so no possibility to use those planes for ad hoc or regular routes,
- just 20.000 passengers in winter so those based planes would be useless...).
No drago mi je da mogu mnogo naučiti od "stručnjaka" kao što ste vi.
Concerning to that Air Serbia project is not so successful as with this huge support (investment + subvention) they are just 30% bigger than Croatia which for last 5 years did not get any support at all.
Hahaha did you have a nervous breakdown or something? If you bothered to read more carefully then you will notice that I said they don't have a real hub system where they need to carefully think of the connectivity. That means that relying on O&D is of greater priority for the airline than expanding its own regional network for the purpose of offering more connections.
Furthermore, do you seriously think OU is more competitive for regional connections than JU and AZ are? Why should someone from SKP fly via ZAG and SPU when they can do it more efficiently by flying directly or with one stop via Belgrade?
Nothing about nationalism or hate here, just pointing out to a reality. You can read more on it from Purger's post.
Croatia needs:
All A320 fleet (6 planes)
6 Q400
6-8 Embraer 195 or CS100 or CRJ900 as temporary solution till CS100
In case of bigger fleet in future they should by CS300 in combination with CS100(CRJ-900).
Rubbish, EasyJet flew out of Gatwick and it was very competitive in terms of pricing, however BA and OU fly out of Heathrow, this is how I see it.
An underground travel card is $9 or $6 to Heathrow out of anywhere in central London.
$38-40 for train ride to Gatwick with Gatwick Express out of Victoria.
So Monarch better offer $100 per ticket or less, cause that won't beat OU's $150.
BA will have pax on the route no matter what cause they're BA, they can charge $550 on way and they'll have their planes full. People are so gullible to spend money cause of brand and name recognition. Not many from ex-YO will fly with BA, but that's totally irrelevant here.
Very rotten attitude, if elections in Serbia were that simple and straight forward.
I think 4 A320 would do, I'd add 2 A321 LR NEO for London - New York, Toronto flights.
So my fleet mix would look like this.
4x A320 NEO - European high yield.
2x A321 LR NEO - 7500km range
8x CS 100 - regional, European and low yield
6x Dash 8 Q400 - domestic and regional.
A 321s would be configured 158 Economy + 24 First Use on routes to London-New York, Toronto and Paris-New York, also I'd look at Zagreb - Dublin - New York.
First class tickets would sell out of London or Paris for New York if priced well and competitively @2500-3000 return.
Literally first class passengers will be paying for entire flight. Economy will generate pure profit, and Zagreb - London - New York - London - Zagreb will be sold out 5 days of the week, or Toronto since Croatian passport holders don't need a visa to go to Canada and soon US too.
Also, why should businessmen consider OU to New York when they have a dedicated BA A318 from LCY?
Southern Train to Victoria via East Croydon and Clapham Junction with a journey time to Victoria of around 35 minute (just some 10 minutes more than Gatwick express)
or Thameslink & Great Northern Train to London Bridge, St Pancras International and Luton Airport, also some 30 minutes to London.
Those two cheap trains runs every 5-10 minutes. And you will spent some 9-12 EUR per direction.
Also you can use easyBus to Earl Court or Victoria, ride is 1 hour, leaves every 15 minutes and price is 6-8 EUR.
I am in London several times per year, and never use Gatwick express just for 5-10 minutes faster link to London and 3 times more money.
I agree about British, I also mention that in my comment. OU never fly to London for 150 EUR, maybe once per year action in total out of season period. Regular price is 250 EUR.
http://tangosix.rs/2016/13/09/analiza-reda-letenja-er-srbije/
INN-NS
http://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/croatia-airlines-uvodi-dodatne-letove-prema-popularnim-europskim-destinacijama-317653
Cause it is cheaper and First class seats are always in demand on busy routes. And why not, why won't be possible to get a first class, KLM, AF, Lufthansa, Iberia, SAS... all of them are doing it out of London.
BA is just one of 140 airlines that fly out of London ;).
What I suggested is doable.
@Guess WhooSeptember 13, 2016 at 4:33 PM
I am ignoring you, you're a troll and not worth commenting on.
So as much as you feel Alex Popov is wrong, sorry to say, he is absolutely right.
So give it a rest and get on with life and wait your turn for the next election to express your dissatisfaction as an aggrieved taxpayer
I just payed LHR on beginig of November for 235 EUR, the best option. And it was AF via CDG. BA and OU were more expensive. That was one and half months in advance lowest season.
ZAG capacity at this moment doesn't allow for much either.
LED is seasonal traffic, while I'm not familiar with LIS to comment.
OU lost a lot of opportunities to do something in ZAG, and now would be harder with a stronger and growing JU. Keep in mind ZAG has more demand for long haul than BEG, yet its BEG who has better long haul connectivity regardless of the amount of intercontinental traffic in ZAG.
Jat had issues with its fleet that forced them to reduce frequencies and cut destinations. This is where Jat suffered the most. Poor management and decisions just made things worse, and this is the only thing Jat has in common with OU today.
And for sure Croatia can not compete British, United, Delta, American and Virgin on that route. It would be suicide.
I agree that A321LR would be good option for CTN, and I think that ZAG-JFK, ZAG-YYZ and SPU-JFK can be made without stop. But if there must be stop than solution would be ZAG-TLS-JFK (DBV/SPU-TLS-JFK) or ZAG-LYA-JFK (DBV/SPU-LYS-JFK) or ZAG-LUX-JFK (DBV/SPU-LUX-JFK) or ZAG-BOD-JFK (DBV/SPU-BOD-JFK) + same think to YYZ and ORD.
Takodje bi A321 LR sa takom malom ekonomskom klasom bio mali problem da se dodje do profita.
INN-NS
Croatia airlines would have a very hard time getting their hands on any of them, unless they either convert their existing order or sign a lease from a leasing house (which certainly would be expensive considering how in demand the next gen narrowbodys are).
There still isn't any real world performance data of the A321LR flying from Central Europe to North America. Theoretically, it is just on the edge of Airbus' claimed performance, but will they manage to deliver in the real world and with what passenger/cargo load? It is still not known and it is risky.
I doubt CTN could get the A321LR before 2021-2022 (in a perfect world where the management basically acts today). The A321 might be semi-competitive against the current planes flying across the Atlantic, but by the next decade there will be many more new generation planes flying (more 787s, A350s, and 777X). Also CTN's doesn't seem like the company that can make strategic plans half a decade in advance.
What should have been done is around 2005, when Lufthansa was retiring the A310-300, CTN should have bought 2-3 for the cheapest price possible. The government and whatever national tourism institution should have helped to finance it.
During the winter, simply park the planes or do charters for other airlines. It wouldn't cost anything.
During the summer, fly low frequency flights to bring tourists USA, Canada, and even some charters from West Europe.
The economic benefits would be rather large. Each tourist coming from N. America cannot stay in Croatia without spending at the very least €1000.
Pozdrav od Hrvata iz dijaspore! :)
Reason why I am suggesting A321 is cause it is cheaper option for OU, and with 185~ seats OU can manage to fill the aircraft. Getting A350 is risky and requires careful consideration, can OU fill the plane in Zagreb on daily basis five days a week? I don't think it can.
So commercially it is smarter to go with smaller aircraft, more fuel efficient. A321 LR NEO has range of 4000 nm, more than sufficient for JFK via London or Paris.
That said, with Austrian right next door I highly doubt we will see OU flying to the US.
smaller doesnt always mean smarter.
A321 might get you over the Atlantic, but how about ORD? ICN? NRT?
A330 fits into fleet comunality, and has the range to operate all markets in demand. As I said above, OU should be the one talking on long haul expansion and a growing hub. It has the demand, the growing tourism, the stronger economy, it is a EU menber and Croatians have even visa free access to Canada. OU should linking ZAG with:
- EWR (UA hub)
- ORD (UA hub)
- YYZ (AC hub)
- ICN (OZ hub)
- NRT (NH hub)
- SIN (SQ hub)
OU could of easily made what JU did in BEG and much quicker, yet didnt. Time is being wasted on planing 4 bases in the region, while its main base is being neglected and slowly taken over by foreign carriers.