Emirates to boost winter operations to Zagreb

Emirates will grow its operations between Dubai and Zagreb this year by adding an additional two weekly flights for a total of seven over the 2018/19 winter season, boosting inbound tourism with over 15.000 additional seats during the slower months. As a result, the airline intends on maintaining the same number of rotations on the route both during the summer and winter with its three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Emirates, which launched services to the Croatian capital last June, initially planned on running daily flights throughout the year but later reduced its rotations to five weekly in the winter of 2017/18 based on demand. The airline previously said it would work hard to support the route and grow its passenger numbers, which it has since achieved.

Emirates noted it was satisfied with the performance of its Zagreb route. It has shifted around equipment on the service over the past two quarters between different variants of the Boeing 777 aircraft depending on demand, as the jets vary in seating capacity. However, the airline has recorded better than expected bookings for its premium product, meaning there were more passengers flying upfront in first and business class. "Emirates is pleased with the reception our product has had in the Croatian market. Passengers out of Croatia are travelling to Dubai, but also to the Far East, Australia and the Indian subcontinent and coming into Zagreb from Dubai and other destinations from Emirates' global network", the company said. Last week, the airline's partner, Flydubai, introduced seasonal flights from its hub to Dubrovnik, with Emirates codesharing on the service.

Flights between Dubai and the Croatian capital have brought in well over an additional 80.000 travellers to Zagreb Airport, which expects for its passenger numbers to continue growing throughout the year. Fernando Echegaray, the Director of International Operations at Zagreb Airport's concessionaire Aéroports de Paris, said, "We have a strong team at Zagreb Airport, which is very knowledgeable, and we are working hard to bring in even more passengers and airlines. In addition, Croatia, being a beautiful country that it is, has huge potential and growth in developing as a tourist destination, and that is what we base our expectations on, as well as the development of Zagreb as a tourist destination". Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron, has echoed those words, noting that traffic is expected to further grow this year based on estimates for a strong tourist season in the country, as well as new routes.