easyJet unveils major Croatia expansion


Low cost carrier easyJet has announced its expansion plans for the Croatian market in 2018. It involves the introduction of seven new seasonal summer routes and a considerable increase in capacity for next year with over one million seats on sale to and from Croatia. A number of new services will be added from the United Kingdom, in line with the airline's recent announcement. Pula forms the main focus of easyJet's expansion in Croatia in 2018 with new flights from London Southend, Liverpool, Basel and Milan. Services from London Southend and Venice will be added to Dubrovnik, while the budget carrier will also commence operations from Berlin to Zadar, complementing its existing services from London Luton and Milan.

easyJet will see some competition on its new routes. It will face off directly against Croatia Airlines and Volotea on flights between Venice and Dubrovnik, as well as Eurowings and Ryanair on services from Berlin to Zadar. In Pula, the airline faces no direct competition on its new routes but will offer flights from a fourth airport in London, with Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted already served from Pula by British Airways, Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI Airways and easyJet itself. The low cost airline will operate a record 3.100 flights to Croatia during the peak travel months of July and August next year and offer some 540.000 seats for sale during this period.

Commenting on the airline's new flights to Croatia, easyJet’s UK Commercial Manager, Ali Gayward, said, "With more than 46 services operating in Croatia, easyJet is committed to providing Croatian clients with affordable trips, offering them a broad network of connections with major European cities". She added, "Pula is very trendy both with young people who want to go to the various festivals of Croatia, but also with more mature people as well, and we expect all our new routes to be especially popular with passengers". Sophie Dekkers, easyJet's UK Country Director noted, "This announcement of our expansion highlights our commitment to providing affordable routes to summer holiday destinations. We’re sure that they will prove extremely popular for those looking for a summer break or visiting friends and family".

RouteLaunch date
Milan - Pula25.06.2018
Basel - Pula26.06.2018
Venice - Dubrovnik26.06.2018
Berlin - Zadar27.06.2018
London Southend - Pula24.07.2018
London Southend - Dubrovnik28.07.2018
Liverpool - Pula29.07.2018

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    I know ZAG fees are high, but, come on! Not a single route out of ZAG, such a shame!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      I agree, it would be nice if they came back to ZAG, at least on the London route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      In my opinion there are even more appealing routes they could serve from Zagreb other than London.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:37

      For example - Dublin, Venice, Berlin, Rome.

      Delete
    4. Alen Šćuric Purger10:50

      Venice is too close. Berlin already has Eurowings.

      Usually in beginning easyJet starts with flights to their bases. By that standard Dublin would not be their first option, but Rome for sure would.

      They could open Edinburgh, Geneva, Manchester, Newcastle, Nice, Toulouse.

      Later they can compete with other carriers on Amsterdam (KLM, Croatia), Barcelona (Vueling, Croatia), Berlin (Eurowings), London (British, Croatia), Milan (Croatia)

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    They will add more routes during the winter for the summer timetable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    What about Split?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      the increased many routes and prolonged the season considerably. New announcements for SPU will folow.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:41

      It would be nice if they announce Split but is there any space left? Split is very slot restricted during the summer.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:29

      There were no new routes to Split this year either.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:45

      There is no more space at Split both capacity and slot wise on many days. That is why.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:07

      I sincerely hope no further flights are coming to Split, at least not during the season. That is simply too much for that small city.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous19:40

      The city is not small it is the airport that is too small for the summer months.

      Split has very high fees so airlines think twice when it comes to opening new routes which are always a risk.

      But restricted capacity in summer surely also plays a role.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous23:51

      Obviously they should increase the fees further to limit the number of flights. Any extra flights should go to Zadar.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous07:34

      That is already the case - the new routes to Zadar instead of Split are the result of the high fees at SPU and the cheap ones at ZAD.

      I know people who fly into ZAD now and then take a rental car to anywhere South of Split / Makarska. That is still significantly cheaper than flying to SPU.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    This summer they added 8 new routes, next year 7. 15 routes in 2 years - great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:07

    I'm surprised there is no Split at all but like people say, maybe they add it later. It's nice to see that Pula will get the majority of the new routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      Any particular reason Pula got so many new routes?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      There is obviously demand.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:39

      Pula and Istria are, after Zagreb, the most developed parts of Croatia. Obviously they like what they can find there. I think they could open Rome as well. During summer it will definitely work.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:02

      @AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 10:39 AM

      Entire Kvarner and Istra is very rich part of the country, Varazdin/Zagorje too.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:58

      Anonymus 1:02, check data. Zagreb number one, Istra number two, Kvarner number hree.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:00

      And I would like to add that since Istra is a very developed county, and way more developed then the rest of the Adriatic counties, it has managed to prolong the season much more than the others.

      Delete
    7. Vueling tried FCO-PUY and failed after one season because of low demand

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    The coast will soon become greater than the capital. Quite ironic. DBV might easily reach 4 millon by 2020 ir ZAG doesn't act and relies on EK's triple 7.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Luckily for us in DBV, there is not much space for tourists any more. Split, on the other hand, has plenty of space.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      Personally, i don't find it ironic or strange in a country with a flourishing tourism industry.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:18

      PRG also is small technically speaking but look how it grew. I think DBV will soon become one of the busiest airports in the Balkans.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:35

      Are you seriously comparing Prague and Dubrovnik? Where exactly would you accommodate in Dubrovnik all the tourists visiting Prague?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:53

      In winter they have some 20.000 passengers per month. You really think airport with number of winter passengers same as Niš airport would become No. 1 airport in the Balkans?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:13

      I think you are underestimating DBV with your negative comments. The idea is to convert the flights to all year around. Remember the possibility to launch flights from DBV to US?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous13:02

      Seriously..? https://ibb.co/mjM44m

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:25

      @AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 9:08 AM

      You trolling ???

      Dubrovnik airport projected traffic:

      2018 - 2.75 million
      2019 - 3.15 million
      2020 - 3.5 million


      Zagreb
      2018 - 3.5 million
      2019 - 4.0 million
      2020 - 4.5 million


      Also you blame EK, you should be blaming Lufthansa Group which is responsible for nearly million pax @Zagreb if not million.

      Clearly you're trolling.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14:53

      Stop using the trolling word for everything you disagree with. The coast will have much success compared to expensive ZAG, what's the problem? The coast must also gain money and not just capital cities.
      LH group is also expensive. Reaching ZAG from many European cities is EXPENSIVE. Expensive means less passengers.

      Delete
    10. And the coast will rely on mostly summer months since they can't appeal airlines and travelers outside the season.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    wow I must say well done. Venice - Dubrovnik will be very competitive next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      It will hurt Croatia Airlines on that route the most.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:12

      No it won´t. While many overseas tourists use Croatias flights while visoting VCE and DBV, Easyjet will cater for the local demand. There is room for everyone.

      Delete
    3. Volotea flies from VCE to DBV thrice a week too. I think that’s too much ~ 8 flights a week

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:12

    They need open some route for brac,london,genf,basel,itali...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      I think Brac's time will eventually come. They just extended the runway so it will take time for airline's to recognize Brac's potential.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:13

      Brac have a big potential,lot destination can work without problem from brac... airlines who come first on brac can make a good work..

      Delete
    3. Anonymous19:46

      What are the fees at BWK?

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:15

    I really hope they come back to Rijeka eventually. It was their first destination in Croatia and they flew to a few cities.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      Why did they leave Rijeka anyway?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      Airport chased them away.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      yeah, London would work great from Rijeka, especially now when Croatia stopped LHR from Rijeka. There is now just Ryanair on the route from STN, twice per week and just during the high summer season. Hopefully someone will come on this route, EasyJet, Jet2, FlyBe or someone else....

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:18

    I think Croatia will become even more and more appealing with airlines from the UK because of Brexit. UK tourists will begin choosing cheaper destinations because of the weak pound.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      Croatia isnt cheap

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      Hrvatska je sve samo ne jeftina za obicnog gosta.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:28

      It's cheaper than going on holidays to places like Thailand or the Caribbean.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:40

      Croatia has always been popular with UK tourists. During Yugoslav times as well. Pula especially. I remember just how many Aviogenex and Adria planes used to fly charters from the coast to the UK. Plus JAT as well.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:28

      Pula and Istra were always light years ahead of the rest of the country. ;)

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:31

      Agree with Anon 10:28!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:41

      True. Different in many aspects.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous11:03

      “It's cheaper than going on holidays to places like Thailand or the Caribbean.“

      This comparison makes no sense. Thailand and the Caribbean are winter destinations for Europeans, Croatia is a summer one.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous14:55

      The problem with Croatia is that it's still not fully connected to Europe throughout the whole year and one needs to dig deeper in their pocket to travel in winter. Not good for business.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:22

    It's high time they open a base in Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:23

    Looks as if Easy jet will be ahead of Eurowings in Croatia next year as number one foreign airline.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      Has EUrowings overtaken them this year?

      Delete
    2. Alen Šćuric Purger11:04

      I don't think so.

      Especially with new Eurowings routes they plan to open in 2018. (Dusseldorf which starts in winter, new routes to Osijek, Rijeka, Zagreb and Brač + winter flights to Zadar), on 6 routes they increase frequencies, and with fact that Eurowings will have 10 all-year routes from Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar and Zagreb, and easyJet just seasonal routes, most of them even don't fly all summer season but from June to September.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:30

      From wich airport will they fly to brac?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:28

    2018 is really shaping up to be a strong year for Croatia. You only have to look at the new route launches bar on the right to see how many new routes are launching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:31

      True. 90+ of the routes are from/to Croatia.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:35

      The issue is that every single one of them is seasonal.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:40

      so seasonal is better than nothing.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:46

      I think more should be done on getting at least some routes or airline to prolongue the flying season.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:52

      Da li si normalan ko bi se gusio po Dalmaciji i Primorju u zimskim mesecima. Mediteran osim juga Grcke i Spanije je dosadan i melanholican od kraja septembra do maja.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:27

      Croatia is getting more and more popular each year

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:32

      I also think it's crazy that an airline flying more than a million people to Croatia each year has no year round destination in the country.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:37

      It obviously works for them.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:42

      Anonymus 9:52, ocito nisi bio u Istri na jesen i rano proljece.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:46

      @10.32

      Because the demand is really limited during the winter months. Simple as that.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13:48

      @AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 9:28 AM

      Tourism is a driving force, 16.4 million foreign visitors to Croatia this year. 102 million nights, €11.4 billion revenue.

      2018 is expected to do just as good, 18.5-20 million foreign visitors expected, 120 million nights, €12.7bn revenue, the number of new carriers or increased frequency or new destinations is just the consequence....

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:29

    I wonder if people have started using easyjet's long haul option with partner airlines. I think it is currently available when flying from or via the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:45

    They will be starting Manchester-Dubrovnik a whole 11 weeks ahead of last year, in early May!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      Yes but they will downgrade Bristol-Dubrovnik which will fly just for a few weeks at the height of summer. They just swapped the two.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:02

    So how many passengers can we expect in Dubrovnik and Pula next year?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:02

    Nice work easyJet!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:03

    Ryanair won't be happy with them expanding in Zadar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Yes especially about Berlin-Zadar. The former Zadar Airport CEO said last year that as soon as easy jet announced they were starting Zadar, Ryanair called the airport and was not very satisfied.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:08

      Ryanair hasn't been happy with Zadar for some time now.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:30

      easy started Zadar because they could not Split.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:37

      Why could they not start Split?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:45

      Split is full so they diverted to Zadar

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:33

      This should change when the new terminal is completed in 2019.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:33

      In Split I mean.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:40

      They can diverted to brac?

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:12

    That's a lot of growth. Croatia Airlines should be worried.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      None of these destinations is a destination OU flies to (except Dubrovnik-Venice which is seasonal), so why should they be worried about these new routes?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:19

      They might not fly them directly but they fly to places like Milan and London from Zagreb and I am sure that a number of tourists fly to the coast via Zagreb. Now they will have direct flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:20

      They had them before too....

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:45

      Milan???? Who the hell would fly from Milan to Pula via Zag? The great majority of Milan tourists in Istria come by car. I was born in Pula so I know.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:20

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:53

    Bravo Istra, bravo Pula!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:54

      Bravo Špišić Bukovica!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:54

      To selo postoji? Spisic something...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:30

      Špiškć, Spisic is somewhere else.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:30

      Ljubomora. Istra rules.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:53

      Bravo Cavtat or was it Cilipi?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous01:06

      Bravo Špičkovina.

      Da Špišić Bukovica postoji!

      Delete
  22. Anonymous11:00

    Excellent news for Croatian airports and tourism.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:07

    It's shaping up to be a fantastic year for Zadar in 2018.
    New routes: easyjet - Berlin, Brussels Airlines - Brussels, Aegean - Athens, Condor - Frankfurt, Germania - Zurich, Ryanair - Frankfurt, TUI - Amsterdam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:10

      Impressive. Such a shame Croatia Airlines has never made more use of Zadar.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:13

      With exception of Split, Croatia Airlines has made little use of the enire coast.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:13

      *entire

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:45

      They just can't compete against all the LCCs.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:58

      FINALLY flight from ZADAR to AMSTERDAM again!

      Delete
    6. Anonymous01:14

      From Zadar Croatia fly to:
      Zagreb, Pula and Frankfurt

      From Pula:
      Zadar, Zagreb, Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Frankfurt, Zürich, Osijek* and Split*

      From Rijeka:
      London, Munich, Osijek*, Split*, Dubrovnik*

      From Osijek:
      Dubrovnik, Split, Rijeka*, Pula*, Zagreb*

      From Brač:
      Zagreb, Graz

      From Dubrovnik:
      Frankfurt, Rome–Fiumicino, Zagreb, Amsterdam, Athens, Düsseldorf, Nice, Osijek, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pula, Rijeka*, Split, Venice, Vienna, Zürich

      * Trade Air on code-share

      You can not say that there are no flights out of Zagreb and Split. 38 routes. Much more than from Zagreb or Split. Much more than Adria out of Ljubljana, Montenegro out of Podgorica, and for sure Air Serbia which has not a single flight out of Belgrade.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:14

    We will probably see Easy Jet start a lot of new routes from Berlin Tegel, now that they are taking over parts of Air Berlin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:18

      +1 they are getting slots and will be able o base 25 planes at Tegel.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous11:15

    Croatia missed out on new easy routes from France unfortunately.
    https://www.thelocal.fr/20171213/easyjet-to-open-15-new-routes-in-france

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:56

      Croatia is a hit in France. Hopefully we see more of Transavia from there.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous11:44

    If OU does not get additional planes, U2 will be offering more seats to Croatia during the summer.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:01

    Are these flights bookable yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:10

      Yes, you can buy tickets on their website.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous12:38

    Not bad. Pitty about Zagreb. Hope they come back in 2019.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:40

    I wish we see new, long haul flights to Dubrovnik

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:57

      It would be nice, but it does not look like it will be soon.
      http://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/08/dubrovnik-sees-us-korea-flight-potential.html

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:57

      Thank you. I hope this happens one day and we see airlines like Scoot, Norwegian, Air Asia to fly direct to DBV. 2 flights per week would be nice.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous20:47

    EXCELLENT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous22:05

    It's actualy not a good news. Adriatic jewel is turning in to a mass tourism spot where where's nothing beneficial for Croatia itself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:40

      Trust me lots of Croatians benefit, especially if they own property to rent - for half a year at least.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous08:15

      Nemas ti pojma kako se novac okrece

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:55

      Pa da, okrece! Obogatali su od turizma i Grci, pa Spanjolci, Turci, svi oni pa ca valjda i Hrvati!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:58

      Nadasve glupo promisljanje.
      Nitko se radom nije obogatio, pa ni u turizmu.
      Ali, moze ugodno zivjeti.

      Delete
    5. Nije valjalo kada nije bilo turista, ne valja kada ih ima... Urnebes.

      Delete
    6. Beduin12:37

      Malo za kazat

      Delete

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