IAG Group airlines plan Croatia expansion


Members of the International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), which include Iberia, British Airways and Aer Lingus, plan to increase their operations to several cities across Croatia this summer season.

The growth will be headed by Spain's Iberia, which will strengthen its seasonal operations to Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split. The airline will maintain up to eight weekly flights from Madrid to the Croatian capital, an increase from five weekly last year. It will also bring forward the resumption of the service by a month to early May. Furthermore, Iberia will add four weekly flights to Dubrovnik, resulting in double daily operations during the peak summer season, while Split will also benefit with daily services to be maintained from Madrid this year, up from three per week in 2017. The resumption of its flights to both Dubrovnik and Split will also be brought forward. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said, "We will be offering 48% more seats to Dubrovnik in the summer of 2018 compared to last year. We will resume our flights from Madrid to the Croatian city on Easter and will extend them until October. We will also return flights between Madrid and Zagreb, offering 79% more seats this year than the previous one. The flights will be resumed in May and extended until October. Normally, we operate the route from June to September. Finally, capacity to Split will grow by 189% in 2018".

British Airways will continue to grow its number of flights to Croatia this year after adding Pula as its fourth destination in the country in 2017. The British carrier will operate twelve weekly flights between London Gatwick and Dubrovnik this summer, up from nine last year. Furthermore, the airline will strengthen its services from Heathrow to Split by introducing an extra weekly flight for a total of five. On the other hand, it will retain the same number of operations from London to Pula at two per week. The carrier is also considering adding flights between Heathrow and Zagreb to make up for Croatia Airlines' service reduction on the route. British Airways' leisure unit, British Airways Holidays, has listed Croatia in its top eighteen must-see destinations this summer. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said, "We are pleased with the performance of our routes from Croatia to London, which has resulted in additional flights and capacity this year. Our customers on these routes range from passengers travelling point-to-point to those taking advantage of our extensive international network which serves 199 destinations".

Aer Lingus will follow its partners and increase frequencies on all three of its destinations in Croatia. The Irish carrier will add an extra flight from Dublin to Dubrovnik, resulting in daily operations, while services to both Split and Pula will also be increased by one additional service for a total of three and four per week respectively. "We are delighted to announce the further strengthening of our network to Croatia with these additional flights. The extra frequencies to Dubrovnik, Split and Pula will allow us to continue offering the choice, service and value that delivered our Skytrax four-star accreditation and we look forward to welcoming guests on board these services to Croatia in 2018", the airline said. Asked whether it could add Zagreb to its network in the foreseeable future, the Irish carrier noted, "Flights could be introduced if we determine that this route matches our customers’ needs, is economically viable and makes a positive financial contribution to our business as a whole".

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:03

    Iberia is increasing their flights the most. Could they go all year round to Zagreb?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      I'm not sure there would be enough demand. Croatia Airlines extended Barcelona this year but only until early December.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      * early January that should say.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:10

      They should go year round! Anyway, excellent news!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:16

      Is Macedonia the only ex-yu country with year round link to Spain? Epic!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:17

      Hah yes it would seem so.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:25

      No it isn't, Vueling flies year round between Barcelona and Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:28

      Haha, Anon 9:17!

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:08

      Does Iberia or Iberia Express fly these routes to Croatia?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:18

      mainline. Iberia.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:29

      All of their flights to Croatia are operated by mix of A319, A320 and A321.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous17:36

      @AnonymousJanuary 16, 2018 at 9:03 AM

      Probably in 2020, not sooner, next year they'll probably start in early April, with flights ending in late October, that's 7 months, 8 weekly flights.

      in 2020, they'll see how things are, and perhaps have 3 weekly flights year round and during summers (4th 10th) add additional 5 aircraft.

      Iberia is very slow to go year round, they fly to many central European destinations only on a seasonal basis, Budapest and Prague where they went year round only recently flew for many years only on a seasonal basis. They stopped Warsaw and Bucharest, after flying there seasonaly.

      That fact Iberia is flying to Zagreb 8 times weekly this year, is amazing, they only have 79 aircraft in the fleet, retiring 17 A340s this and following year.

      Aer Lingus is also short of aircraft, otherwise they'd fly to Zagreb without a doubt. 20 000 Croats live in Ireland, 83000 Irish visitors to Croatia in 2017, 20 000 in Zagreb. That certainly warrants a direct link between two cities. Time will tell when this happens.

      On a positive note, BA plans double daily to Zagreb mon-fri and daily sat, for total of 11 weekly, they'll be announcing their plans in late feb.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    Wow. Congratulations Croatia. Amazing growth for 2018. Which airlines will be next?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:09

      I would like to see SAS start year round flights to Zagreb. Also better presence of Alitalia would be welcome and return of TAP. But this is just my wish list.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:15

      Agree with SAS, would also add Finnair!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:46

      It might seem like out of the box thinking but WOW Air could launch flights to ZAG. They have a massive and growing network in NA and demand from Croatia is booming.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:50

      It would be perfect to have a route to Reykjavik!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:12

      Wow recently stated they will not open any scheduled route further from KEF than MUC/SZG simply because then they cannot fit it into their Europe/North America waves which is vital for them (although they are LCC). Only exception was TLV as far as I remember.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    If BA does add flights to ZAG would it be from LHR or would they start LGW?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      Depends if they have slots.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:15

      they are already planning to add double daily ZAG - LHR. Probably just during the high summer season.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:07

    So it looks like this

    IBERIA
    ZAG: +3 flights vs 2017
    DBV: +4
    SPU: +4

    BRITISH AIRWAYS
    ZAG: 0 (maybe they will increase it)
    DBV: +3
    SPU: +1
    PUY: 0

    AER LINGUS
    DBV: +1
    SPU: +1
    PUY: +1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Nice. Iberia with most new flights. They might add Pula in 2019.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:28

      Impressive

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    More and more competition for Croatia Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      Well, it's a free market, so what?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:11

      Not really. Out of all these routes OU competes only with BA from ZAG to LHR.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:14

      @9.10 So nothing just making a conclusion.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:23

      Bad news for OU

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:29

      Great news for Croatia Airlines. Just bought 2 flights PAR to DBV one way late June at Euro 220 per person. I thought it was a bargain

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:18

      Lucky you, Anon 9:29! Which carrier? OU?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:20

      220 EUR one-way for a European flight is not a bargain lol

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:40

      Thanks Anon 10.18 & 10.20 AM
      Booked on OU. I thought it was cheap and includes baggage. I think there was a JU option for about Euro 12 less. Didn’t realise OU flying ZAG to MXP? Booked at Euro 147 which I thought was a lot? Cheaper than a train I guess. Greetings from Australia.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:40

      ZAG-MXP was launched last year.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous18:02

      Someone said OU is adding 5 new destinations in 2018? Any more news on that front ? O yes that they'll also lease 3 more aircraft.??

      Delete
    11. Anonymous19:07

      Yes 2 CRJ-1000 and one A321

      4 new routes, not 5.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous20:17

      220 EUR one way from/to HR coast in high season is ok. I mostly paid 350-420 return SPU or DBV to VIE (return) in and around July-Aug

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:10

    Now if only some of them flew year-round except for BA to ZAG and DBV.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    Regarding new carriers in Croatia, can someone explain the article, please?

    http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/u-hrvatskoj-se-ove-godine-ocekuje-oko-25-posto-vise-novih-avio-prijevoznika/1019597.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:16

      What is it that you don't understand?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:18

      If I understood correctly, they are negotiating with new carriers/new routes, but they don't know which ones will be realized. So, I suppose, there might be some new announcements soon?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:20

      It's interesting that they are talking with someone from the US.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:59

      EK was announced on January 11th, maybe there's another nice surprise coming...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:19

      not really. Possible 4 or 5 new European routes, and of course, it's hard to believe all of them will materialize.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:37

      Not really? So, until yesterday, it was possible for Air Serbia to announce Toronto, but it's not possible for another, non-European airline to announce new route to Croatia? Possibly not, but we'll see in the next few weeks.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:58

      what the hell? I said that is not possible to see "big surprise" which was Emirates! Also, we already had one great news, which is AC Rouge 4 weekly!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:15

    It seems that Croatia Airlines will quicker than Aer Lingus and add ZAG-DUB.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      When will they announce it?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      If they do add them, I hope they plan to fly year round. They are making ZAG way too seasonal with all these new routes lasting 5-6 months per year.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:30

      OU is planning to add 4 or 5 new routes, Dub is one of them, but we will know everything in the middle of Feb. Nothing is confirmed yet. Also, those new routes will be seasonal.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      That would make sense. I read articles here that they will focus more on the coast in 2018.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:39

      Dublin, Mostar, Sofia...

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      Why seasonal? Makes no sense, especially to/from Scandinavia. Norwegian is doing great on their route from ZAG to Stockholm, even during winter.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:24

      Well, to be honest, if is there huge demand I believe Norwegian will do something about it. At least they have enough "birds" to support that route and increase weekly flights...for the summer 2018. they will fly to Zagreb with the same number of weekly seats like last year...

      Delete
    8. Actually Norwegian has no spare planes during the summer season. They've had lots of issues with IRROPS and having to wet lease planes when some of their ACs went tech.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:17

    Should be a good year for Croatian airports.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:21

    Great news.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:22

    Speaking of IAG, does Vueling fly to Croatia?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      Yes to Zagreb, Pula, Split and Dubrovnik. They fly year round to Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:26

      Nice, thank you.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      They fly from Spain and Italy to Croatia. Will be interesting to see if they introduce flights from Vienna as well.

      Delete
    4. Pula isn’t a Vueling destination anymore

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:39

      @9,25 you forgot Zadar. They fly from Barcelona and Rome to ZAD.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:41

      When did they end Pula?

      Delete
    7. 2015 they flew from Rome to Pula and didn’t come back

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:52

      wow didn't realize.

      So Vueling flies to Dubrovnik (year round), Zagreb, Split and Zadar.

      Delete
    9. I don’t remember, maybe it was 2016. but unfortunately they flew only one season

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:24

      easyjet, I think it was for two seasons, but maybe I am wrong. But they had something like 6 flights for the whole summer. I was very interested in those flights, but unfortunately it seems that Pula has no allure for people under Firenze. Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik, they all have flights to Rome.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:31

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:40

    Maybe one day we will see LEVEL flying from Croatia. Dubrovnik to the US during the summer would be nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      I also think it could work for them but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. They just started last year and are focusing on Spain at the moment, which, btw is about to become the second largest tourist market in the world.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:41

    It seems that the legacy carriers only fly and focus increases on Croatian airports. It would be good if they also considered other ExYU airports. This update is massive for Croatian airports

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:42

    Saraj brate...malo Zadar, Rijeka i Osjek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:08

      nista od toga, uvijek i samo Zagreb, Split i Dubrovnik. Tu i tamo iskoče Pula i Zadar. Osijek, Brač i Rijeka (Lošinj ni ne računam) su marginalni.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09

      Slažem se, vrijeme je da se otvore nove linije i za aerodrome koji nisu Split, Zagreb ili Dubrovnik.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:25

      Bilo bi super, ali dobro znate da se nove linije otvaraju tamo gdje postoji interes.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:37

      Interes za direktnim letovima za brac sigurno postoji i svake godine ce biti sve veci...pogotovo kad 2021 bude gotovo dodato produzenje uzletno sletne staze i rekonstrukcija terminala...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:48

      Svim kompanijama koje traze novac za udruzeno oglasavanje je trebalo dati uvijet i obvezu da moraju uvesti barem jednu liniju direkt prema bracu.i na taj nacin poticati direkt letove prema otoku i rasteretiti splitski aerodrom barem malo

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:57

      o Kriste....hahahahh

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:25

      Samo jedno pitanje. Sto bi vi zeljeli za Brac? Ogroman aerodrom? Kolko tocno putnika? Brac je otok, i to predivan otok. Mislim da bi veliki aerodrom narusio okolis. A o silnoj masi turista da ne govorim.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:10

      Slažem se s Anon 11:25, bilo bi dobro naći nekakvu razumnu mjeru i povezati Brač s par glavnih europskih gradova iz kojih postoji potražnja, ali ne pretjerivati.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous19:10

      Sure. If Emirates wants to fly to Zagreb they must at least fly once per week to Brač. Air Canada also.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous10:01

    What about Brac? It could be an interesting destination for one of these airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      It would make sense that if they do introduce any more new routes to Croatia in the future it will be Zadar.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:32

      British will be good for Bwk

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:33

      BWK needs to be given a chance really. It's in the shadow of other greedy airports around it. Soon this will change as more players discover its potential. Eurowings should be the first one.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:41

      Yes.thats true..when they will have bigger runway then will be more new company...now chance can take company wich have plane wich can landed there.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:51

      So the government should give them money to build a longer runway. I guess Brac has a weak political lobby in the capital.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:22

      Brac airport is in hands of private corporation. If they want to do something there they need to do with private money.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:26

      BA could already fly with Embraers to BWK if it wants to.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous10:03

    It is good to read that all these flights are starting much earlier than before, some by 1 or two months. Great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:06

      Agree. The season is being extended and that is most important.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:28

      So true. Season is steadily getting longer eaxh year.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous10:09

    So, guys, any hints which new carriers or routes might be introduced this year? I don't think it will be long before we get the announcements!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:12

      well Mostar is almost confirmed and we all know for it. Dublin and Sofia are also in Croatia Airlines plan. I believe they will fly on those routes from Zagreb and start some destinations from the coast - of course, Split or Dubrovnik, other is not important for OU...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      I think the majority of airlines have already announced flights for this summer. The novelty is Aegean to Zagreb and all the big increases on the coast, as well as the new routes which are listed on the right. The only one that is still supposed to announce new flights is Croatia Airlines.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:16

      That's for OU, how about other carriers?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:17

      Have you read the article posted above? There will be other announcements in the next few weeks!

      Delete
    5. Danijel13:11

      And Split-Copenhagen. Or not? OU?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:15

      ^ Yes they have scheduled those flights

      http://www.exyuaviation.com/p/croatia-airlines-split-copenhagen.html

      Delete
  19. Is IB code-sharing with OU?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      No. OU is not codesharing with any IAG airline. They mostly codeshare with airlines from Zagreb with which they are competing directly.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:21

    I always found it such a shame that BA has degraded its service so much. It's idiotic that OU is reducing and eventually withdrawing from LHR now that it has the upper hand in terms of overall quality of product.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:09

      OU is going to become completely irrelevant on this route unfortunately. Sooner or later an LCC will start flights on this route and BA will increase operations.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous11:42

    It would make sense for BA to increase Zagreb with Monarch gone and OU more than having its flights, while the demand has never been greater.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:50

      It's odd easyjet is not interested in this route.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:10

      They used to fly from London to Zagreb. It didn't work out.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:52

      Wizz Air too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:32

      It didn't work out for them a couple of years back. That is correct. But the situation has changed significantly. Quite expensive Monarch (for a LCC) proved the success and potential on that route. No doubt now U2/W6 would be successful. ZAG is now also offering nice incentives.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous12:42

    Good news especially since all of them are legacy airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous13:53

    It's going to be a busy summer at Croatian airports.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous21:19

    @ Admin, aren't there in total 9 passengers airlines that are members of IAG?

    However in the article it says: "Members of the International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), which include Iberia, British Airways and Aer Lingus" so it appears there are only 3. Most importantly, Vueling has been forgotten, and they do already serve quite some routes to Croatia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The article focuses on three airlines of the group which are listed and plan to increase operations, with statements from all three.

      Delete

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