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".
| Route | Launch date |
|---|---|
| Milan - Pula | 25.06.2018 |
| Basel - Pula | 26.06.2018 |
| Venice - Dubrovnik | 26.06.2018 |
| Berlin - Zadar | 27.06.2018 |
| London Southend - Pula | 24.07.2018 |
| London Southend - Dubrovnik | 28.07.2018 |
| Liverpool - Pula | 29.07.2018 |
I know ZAG fees are high, but, come on! Not a single route out of ZAG, such a shame!
ReplyDeleteI agree, it would be nice if they came back to ZAG, at least on the London route.
DeleteIn my opinion there are even more appealing routes they could serve from Zagreb other than London.
DeleteFor example - Dublin, Venice, Berlin, Rome.
DeleteVenice is too close. Berlin already has Eurowings.
DeleteUsually 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)
They will add more routes during the winter for the summer timetable.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Split?
ReplyDeletethe increased many routes and prolonged the season considerably. New announcements for SPU will folow.
DeleteIt would be nice if they announce Split but is there any space left? Split is very slot restricted during the summer.
DeleteThere were no new routes to Split this year either.
DeleteThere is no more space at Split both capacity and slot wise on many days. That is why.
DeleteI sincerely hope no further flights are coming to Split, at least not during the season. That is simply too much for that small city.
DeleteThe city is not small it is the airport that is too small for the summer months.
DeleteSplit 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.
Obviously they should increase the fees further to limit the number of flights. Any extra flights should go to Zadar.
DeleteThat 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.
DeleteI 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.
This summer they added 8 new routes, next year 7. 15 routes in 2 years - great!
ReplyDeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteAny particular reason Pula got so many new routes?
DeleteThere is obviously demand.
DeletePula 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@AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 10:39 AM
DeleteEntire Kvarner and Istra is very rich part of the country, Varazdin/Zagorje too.
Anonymus 1:02, check data. Zagreb number one, Istra number two, Kvarner number hree.
DeleteAnd 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.
DeleteVueling tried FCO-PUY and failed after one season because of low demand
DeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for us in DBV, there is not much space for tourists any more. Split, on the other hand, has plenty of space.
DeletePersonally, i don't find it ironic or strange in a country with a flourishing tourism industry.
DeletePRG also is small technically speaking but look how it grew. I think DBV will soon become one of the busiest airports in the Balkans.
DeleteAre you seriously comparing Prague and Dubrovnik? Where exactly would you accommodate in Dubrovnik all the tourists visiting Prague?
DeleteIn 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?
DeleteI 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?
DeleteSeriously..? https://ibb.co/mjM44m
Delete@AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 9:08 AM
DeleteYou 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.
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.
DeleteLH group is also expensive. Reaching ZAG from many European cities is EXPENSIVE. Expensive means less passengers.
And the coast will rely on mostly summer months since they can't appeal airlines and travelers outside the season.
Deletewow I must say well done. Venice - Dubrovnik will be very competitive next year.
ReplyDeleteIt will hurt Croatia Airlines on that route the most.
DeleteNo 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.
DeleteVolotea flies from VCE to DBV thrice a week too. I think that’s too much ~ 8 flights a week
DeleteThey need open some route for brac,london,genf,basel,itali...
ReplyDeleteI 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.
DeleteBrac have a big potential,lot destination can work without problem from brac... airlines who come first on brac can make a good work..
DeleteWhat are the fees at BWK?
DeleteI really hope they come back to Rijeka eventually. It was their first destination in Croatia and they flew to a few cities.
ReplyDeleteWhy did they leave Rijeka anyway?
DeleteAirport chased them away.
Deleteyeah, 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....
DeleteI 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+1
DeleteCroatia isnt cheap
DeleteHrvatska je sve samo ne jeftina za obicnog gosta.
DeleteIt's cheaper than going on holidays to places like Thailand or the Caribbean.
DeleteCroatia 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.
DeletePula and Istra were always light years ahead of the rest of the country. ;)
DeleteAgree with Anon 10:28!
DeleteTrue. Different in many aspects.
Delete“It's cheaper than going on holidays to places like Thailand or the Caribbean.“
DeleteThis comparison makes no sense. Thailand and the Caribbean are winter destinations for Europeans, Croatia is a summer one.
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.
DeleteIt's high time they open a base in Croatia.
ReplyDeleteLooks as if Easy jet will be ahead of Eurowings in Croatia next year as number one foreign airline.
ReplyDeleteHas EUrowings overtaken them this year?
DeleteI don't think so.
DeleteEspecially 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.
From wich airport will they fly to brac?
Delete2018 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.
ReplyDeleteTrue. 90+ of the routes are from/to Croatia.
DeleteThe issue is that every single one of them is seasonal.
Deleteso seasonal is better than nothing.
DeleteI think more should be done on getting at least some routes or airline to prolongue the flying season.
DeleteDa 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.
DeleteCroatia is getting more and more popular each year
DeleteI 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.
DeleteIt obviously works for them.
DeleteAnonymus 9:52, ocito nisi bio u Istri na jesen i rano proljece.
Delete@10.32
DeleteBecause the demand is really limited during the winter months. Simple as that.
@AnonymousDecember 14, 2017 at 9:28 AM
DeleteTourism 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....
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.
ReplyDeleteThey will be starting Manchester-Dubrovnik a whole 11 weeks ahead of last year, in early May!
ReplyDeleteYes but they will downgrade Bristol-Dubrovnik which will fly just for a few weeks at the height of summer. They just swapped the two.
DeleteSo how many passengers can we expect in Dubrovnik and Pula next year?
ReplyDeleteand Zadar.
DeleteNice work easyJet!
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteRyanair won't be happy with them expanding in Zadar.
ReplyDeleteYes 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.
DeleteRyanair hasn't been happy with Zadar for some time now.
Deleteeasy started Zadar because they could not Split.
DeleteWhy could they not start Split?
DeleteSplit is full so they diverted to Zadar
DeleteThis should change when the new terminal is completed in 2019.
DeleteIn Split I mean.
DeleteThey can diverted to brac?
DeleteThat's a lot of growth. Croatia Airlines should be worried.
ReplyDeleteNone 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?
DeleteThey 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.
DeleteThey had them before too....
DeleteMilan???? 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.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteBravo Istra, bravo Pula!
ReplyDeleteBravo Špišić Bukovica!
DeleteTo selo postoji? Spisic something...
DeleteŠpiškć, Spisic is somewhere else.
DeleteLjubomora. Istra rules.
DeleteBravo Cavtat or was it Cilipi?
DeleteBravo Špičkovina.
DeleteDa Špišić Bukovica postoji!
Excellent news for Croatian airports and tourism.
ReplyDeleteIt's shaping up to be a fantastic year for Zadar in 2018.
ReplyDeleteNew routes: easyjet - Berlin, Brussels Airlines - Brussels, Aegean - Athens, Condor - Frankfurt, Germania - Zurich, Ryanair - Frankfurt, TUI - Amsterdam.
Impressive. Such a shame Croatia Airlines has never made more use of Zadar.
DeleteWith exception of Split, Croatia Airlines has made little use of the enire coast.
Delete*entire
DeleteThey just can't compete against all the LCCs.
DeleteFINALLY flight from ZADAR to AMSTERDAM again!
DeleteFrom Zadar Croatia fly to:
DeleteZagreb, 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.
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+1 they are getting slots and will be able o base 25 planes at Tegel.
DeleteCroatia missed out on new easy routes from France unfortunately.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thelocal.fr/20171213/easyjet-to-open-15-new-routes-in-france
Croatia is a hit in France. Hopefully we see more of Transavia from there.
DeleteIf OU does not get additional planes, U2 will be offering more seats to Croatia during the summer.
ReplyDeleteAre these flights bookable yet?
ReplyDeleteYes, you can buy tickets on their website.
DeleteNot bad. Pitty about Zagreb. Hope they come back in 2019.
ReplyDeleteI wish we see new, long haul flights to Dubrovnik
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice, but it does not look like it will be soon.
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/2017/08/dubrovnik-sees-us-korea-flight-potential.html
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.
DeleteEXCELLENT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's actualy not a good news. Adriatic jewel is turning in to a mass tourism spot where where's nothing beneficial for Croatia itself.
ReplyDeleteTrust me lots of Croatians benefit, especially if they own property to rent - for half a year at least.
DeleteNemas ti pojma kako se novac okrece
DeletePa da, okrece! Obogatali su od turizma i Grci, pa Spanjolci, Turci, svi oni pa ca valjda i Hrvati!
DeleteNadasve glupo promisljanje.
DeleteNitko se radom nije obogatio, pa ni u turizmu.
Ali, moze ugodno zivjeti.
Nije valjalo kada nije bilo turista, ne valja kada ih ima... Urnebes.
DeleteMalo za kazat
Delete