Skip to main content
  • Home

Search This Site

EX-YU Aviation News

EX-YU Aviation News

  • About
  • Vintage
  • Trip Reports
  • Newsletter
  • Support

EX-YU VINTAGE


Loading a JAT DC-9
London, 1971

Labels

ACI Air Adria Airways Adria Airways Switzerland Adria Tehnika Air Croatia Air Montenegro Air Serbia Amelia International Archive files Banja Luka
Belgrade BH Airlines Bihać bosnia and herzegovina Bosnian Wand Airlines Brač Covid-19 croatia croatia airlines Dalmatian Dubrovnik ETF Airways European Coastal Airlines Feature Fleet Fly Air41 Airways FlyBosnia Focus Jat Airways Jat Tehnika jobs Kon Tiki Sky Kosovo Kraljevo Limitless Airways Livery Ljubljana Lošinj low cost airline macedonia Maribor Mat Airways MAT Macedonian Airlines montenegro montenegro airlines mostar MRO New route Newsflash Niš Ohrid Osijek Photo podgorica portorož Pragusa.One Priština Privatisation PROMO Pula Results 2008 Results 2009 Results 2010 Results 2011 Results 2012 Results 2013 Results 2014 Results 2015 Results 2016 Results 2017 Results 2018 Results 2019 Results 2020 Results 2021 Results 2022 Results 2023 Results 2024 Results 2025 Rijeka Ryanair safety sarajevo Sea Air serbia service Skopje Sky Srpska slovenia Smile Air Split Summer 2009 Summer 2010 Summer 2011 Summer 2012 Summer 2013 Summer 2014 Summer 2015 Summer 2016 Summer 2017 Summer 2018 Summer 2019 Summer 2020 Summer 2021 Summer 2022 Summer 2023 Summer 2024 Summer 2025 Summer 2026 tivat ToMontenegro Trade Air Trebinje Trip report Tuzla Užice VLM Airlines Winter 2008/09 Winter 2009/10 Winter 2010/11 Winter 2011/12 Winter 2012/13 Winter 2013/14 Winter 2014/15 Winter 2015/16 Winter 2016/17 Winter 2017/18 Winter 2018/19 Winter 2019/2020 Winter 2020/2021 Winter 2021/2022 Winter 2022/2023 Winter 2023/2024 Winter 2024/2025 Winter 2025/2026 Winter 2026/2027 Wizz Air Zadar zagreb
Show more Show less

Archive

  • January63
  • December89
  • November77
  • October84
  • September81
  • August80
  • July85
  • June80
  • May83
  • April80
  • March80
  • February73
  • January84
  • December81
  • November83
  • October83
  • September79
  • August80
  • July83
  • June76
  • May84
  • April81
  • March77
  • February78
  • January81
  • December83
  • November83
  • October84
  • September84
  • August87
  • July84
  • June80
  • May84
  • April79
  • March84
  • February75
  • January81
  • December79
  • November79
  • October80
  • September81
  • August81
  • July79
  • June79
  • May80
  • April75
  • March84
  • February76
  • January79
  • December83
  • November78
  • October78
  • September79
  • August86
  • July98
  • June99
  • May93
  • April93
  • March92
  • February83
  • January93
  • December94
  • November77
  • October80
  • September79
  • August79
  • July86
  • June84
  • May86
  • April82
  • March95
  • February74
  • January79
  • December82
  • November77
  • October84
  • September80
  • August82
  • July84
  • June75
  • May79
  • April76
  • March75
  • February73
  • January80
  • December80
  • November79
  • October77
  • September73
  • August70
  • July80
  • June75
  • May76
  • April72
  • March75
  • February71
  • January78
  • December74
  • November72
  • October75
  • September69
  • August65
  • July73
  • June73
  • May74
  • April67
  • March72
  • February64
  • January72
  • December73
  • November70
  • October70
  • September70
  • August56
  • July68
  • June72
  • May73
  • April56
  • March31
  • February29
  • January34
  • December31
  • November30
  • October31
  • September31
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March31
  • February28
  • January31
  • December31
  • November30
  • October31
  • September30
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March31
  • February28
  • January31
  • December31
  • November30
  • October30
  • September30
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March31
  • February28
  • January31
  • December32
  • November30
  • October31
  • September30
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March31
  • February29
  • January31
  • December31
  • November30
  • October31
  • September30
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March31
  • February28
  • January31
  • December32
  • November31
  • October31
  • September30
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May32
  • April31
  • March31
  • February28
  • January31
  • December31
  • November30
  • October31
  • September31
  • August31
  • July31
  • June30
  • May31
  • April30
  • March32
  • February29
  • January31
  • December30
  • November30
  • October31
  • September30
  • August30
  • July31
  • June31
Show more Show less


Wizz Air: Zagreb Airport and coast too expensive

  • Get link
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Reddit
  • Linkedin
  • Other Apps

Wizz Air's CEO, Jozsef Varadi, has described as "unfortunate" the carrier's limited presence in Croatia, noting that high costs at Zagreb Airport and the coastline, as well as seasonality, are deterring the carrier from expanding its operations in the country. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Mr Varadi said, "Unfortunately, if you look at the Croatian coastline it is a very seasonal business. It is intact for a few months and then sort of dies out for the rest of the year. Zagreb Airport is quite in a similar situation as Belgrade Airport in terms of costs, so I think it is a high-priced airport environment with fluctuating demand. Should the costs come down, I think they would attract us".

Wizz Air maintains limited services to Split, with flights from London Luton, Warsaw and Katowice, but is well behind other low cost competitors on the Croatian market, such as easyJet, Eurowings, Ryanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Volotea. Over the years, Wizz has also operated a number of  other services into Croatia including Dubrovnik and Zagreb. The airline initially launched operations to the Croatian capital in 2009 with flights from Dortmund but later suspended the service. This winter season, only one low cost carrier, Eurowings, is maintaining flights to Zagreb. However, it too noted last year that the airport's charges are "significantly higher than most major European airports, making it less appealing for low cost carriers". Croatia's busiest airport hiked its fees following the opening of its new passenger terminal in 2017 by two euros per each international passenger for a total of seventeen euros. Wizz Air also ran flights from London to Dubrovnik, which were terminated in 2012.

Mr Varadi noted that overpriced airports are a problem throughout the former Yugoslavia. "For whatever reason, it is still kind of an inherited issue in the region to price airports very high and this is not the recipe for success. The recipe for success is take down airport costs. As a result, you are attracting a lot more capacity into the airport and that capacity will stimulate the marketplace and you will recoup that investment through volume". He added, "I think there is still a lot of legacy thinking with regards to airport management and airport costs. If you look even at some of the privatised airports, not in the former Yugoslavia, but for example in Tirana, it is a privatised airport but we have the same issue in Tirana. To some extent, Skopje is a privatised airport and the development of Skopje is not aided because of the airport, it is more aided by the government's intervention. I think those strategies have to be thought through. But clearly, you have millions of examples in mainland Europe what recipes to follow if you really want drive your aviation and airline industry and, I think, in the former Yugoslavia it revolves around airport costs and the airport operating environment".

December 10, 2018
croatia Dubrovnik Feature low cost airline Split Wizz Air zagreb
  • Get link
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Reddit
  • Linkedin
  • Other Apps

Comments

Anonymous said…
Are high costs also a reason why Eurowings is cutting Berlin-Zagreb? This could be an opportunity for LJU and easyJet.

Btw does anyone know how much cheaper LJU is compared to ZAG?
09:03
Anonymous said…
ZAG has considerably small LCC presence comparing the other European capitals. Hope this gets sorted out. Croatian coast needs more traffic during the off seasons as well.
09:03
Anonymous said…
Funny, Croatia is the biggest Ex-Yu market, but obviously not good for them!
09:04
Anonymous said…
It's ok, airlines that operate in ZAG are constantly adding flights so it seems the market is adjusting to these new realities.
09:04
Anonymous said…
If the situations at ZAG and BEG are the same, as he says, how come they have 2 planes based in BEG.
09:05
Anonymous said…
Constantly adding flights? British Airways, Qatar Airways, Norwegian Air Shuttle and KLM have all cut flights compared to last year.
09:08
Anonymous said…
That's because most of the traffic that comes to Croatia is on holiday charter flights.
09:08
Anonymous said…
Maybe there is less seasonality at BEG?
09:08
Anonymous said…
Maybe because there is a bigger market in BEG so paying more is worth it?
09:08
Anonymous said…
Well BEG is at 5.5 million pax whereas ZAG is at 3. BEG is also slightly less seasonal.
09:08
Anonymous said…
No, it was only for two months during the slowest period. All airlines do that in the world not just in Croatia.
09:09
Anonymous said…
Lift your game, and let's see what happens...
09:10
Anonymous said…
Even with seasonality BEG has relatively decent numbers during slow months. This year in February it had 297.000 while this November it had 370.000. Not bad for two slowest months in aviation.
09:11
Anonymous said…
Norwegian Air Shuttle is not here just for two months? What are you talking about? No need for excuses. If everyone says the airport is expensive, they are probably not making it up.
09:11
Anonymous said…


Ovaj lik u poslednje vreme samo kuka. Izgleda da gubi trku sa Rajanom u Istocnoj evropi, pa mu svi drugi krivi.






i





i
09:13
Anonymous said…
Norwegian is going bankrupt so they need to cut some routes to return to proftability. I am sure they will be back.
09:13
Anonymous said…
Yes and they choose to cut ZAG of all destinations. Excuses.
09:13
Anonymous said…
ZAG can't be more expensive than VIE or ATH or FRA. Wizz Air just wants to pay nothing in Zagreb. That's not how a business is run. They should stick to dead airports like TZL and OSI.
09:14
Anonymous said…
Compare the market of ZAG to VIE, ATH and FRA and then think again.
09:15
Anonymous said…
you mean the same way Hainan cut Belgrade? ;)
09:15
Anonymous said…
Also why is Eurowings cutting Hamburg? Also because of financial issues?
09:16
Anonymous said…
Are they cutting Hamburg or Berlin?!
09:17
Anonymous said…
OK what about smaller airports like Riga or Krakow. I am sure they are not much cheaper than ZAG. I don't know why they are being like that when there is a market they can serve.
09:18
Anonymous said…
@9.15 I'm talking about Zagreb here. If you run out of excuses and start talking about Belgrade then there is no point discussing anymore. That usually seems to be the norm here. Whenever someone runs out of arguments they start turning to some "arch enemy" airport. Childrens play.
09:18
Anonymous said…
@ 9.17 No, I meant to write Berlin.
09:20
Anonymous said…
Explain to me then how come Iberia has a market in winter but not Norwegian which is cutting so many flights from BCN as well. ZAG isn't the issue here, DY is.
09:20
Anonymous said…
Riga's total charge is 11 euros. Zagreb's is 17.
09:21
OjOj said…
Hoce dzaba.
Nema tu puno mudrolije, cijena usluga.
Hoces povoljniju cijenu? Povecaj promet.
09:23
Anonymous said…
Yes but again Riga's catchment area is 2 million while ZAG is over 5 million. If you look at the size of the market then Riga isn't that cheap.
09:23
Anonymous said…
Explain to me how come Eurowings is cutting a destination to Zagreb in high season. Why Aegean is completely disappear for 2 months (they don't do this anywhere) - they either fly seasonally or year round.
09:24
Anonymous said…
So why don't they go to Rijeka then... I am sure their costs are lower and since they want to grow a lot they might give them some subventions. Also during winter it could act like a Zagreb 2 airport, they could attract passengers from Slovenia and even from the Trieste area in Italy.
09:25
Anonymous said…
Riga handled 6 million passengers last year. That's double of what Zagreb handled.
09:25
Anonymous said…
EW has many issues and cancelations in their network. They grew too fast without enough plane or crew. Like I said, ZAG is getting more and more flights by other airlines so it doesn't need Wizz Air.
09:26
Anon said…
@9:18

They are.
09:27
Anonymous said…
So all these cuts and cancellations are the fault of the airlines and not of the airport and its management? Ok.
09:28
Anon said…
LOL @ 5 mil catchment area
09:29
Anonymous said…
"The recipe for success is take down airport costs. As a result, you are attracting a lot more capacity into the airport and that capacity will stimulate the marketplace and you will recoup that investment through volume".

Well said.
09:29
Anonymous said…
Wizz Air has really improved over the years so I would like for them to give ZAG another try. I think they would have much more success than last time.
09:31
Anonymous said…
Of course they all want as cheap as they can get it. And they don't care if that will make airport bankrupt. Example of Frankfurt Hahn which had more than 4 million passengers and is on edge of bankruptcy is more than good example. So, was it clever for Hahn to lover prices so low to come to bankruptcy with 4 million passengers?
09:32
Anonymous said…
Same with BUD. The airport is going to make a tiny profit only this year after a decade of losses.
09:35
Anonymous said…
The argument would make sense if only Zagreb Airport didn't refinance its debt 2 weeks ago and record a loss of several million euros last year.
09:36
Anonymous said…
Consolidation of airlines has started in Europe, and by the end of this process there'll be not more than 5-10 airlines remained in the continent. That's what happened in US and will happen in Europe too. And of course, consolidation will be accompanied with lots of flight cancellations, route terminations and bankruptcies. In this case, shall we blame the airports and their managements for this process?
09:41
Anonymous said…
Croatia has the best sea, foods, hotels, so many world heritage sights. We don't need to go holiday abroad. We have the holiday house and spend 1 month or more every year there. If foreigners want to come to our beautiful country, of course expect to pay premier. Croatia is not for budget travellers.
09:42
Anonymous said…
Wizz Air already flies to Split, why not opening new routes from Eindhoven or Rotterdam to Zadar?
09:46
Anonymous said…
KE has terrible results in November and December in ZAG. No more than 30-40 passengers per widebody flight.
They will aslo probably go seasonal.
09:46
Anonymous said…
To quote a famous movie -

"Jeli, jes' ti j... nekad nesto van svog sela?"
09:46
Anonymous said…
People come anyway, whatever the price tag and the airline.
09:48
Anonymous said…
Yes, Anon 9:08, so?
09:52
Anonymous said…
Incomparable with Turkey
09:56
Anonymous said…
Bravo Hrvatska?
09:58
OjOj said…
Kako ne kuzis???
Ono sto oni zele nisu nove linije, vec letjeti na postojecim s nizim troskovima......
Sad jasnije?
09:58
Anonymous said…
Not true, Anon 09:46, Croatia (especially ZAG because of Advent) is still packed with Koreans! KE is more than satisfied with its ZAG performance, don't spread fake news, please!
10:00
Anonymous said…
It is interesting this comment comes at the moment when ZAG is having negotiations with FR.

I wonder where are now all those experts saying how ZAG is only legacy carrier airport and that ZAG does not need those terrible (U)LCC's.

10:00
Anonymous said…
Riiiiiight, we Croats have all the best stuff...
10:01
OjOj said…
Rog Afrike mi najdraze selo....
10:02
Anonymous said…
Croatia is still more popular than any other Ex-Yu country, that's the fact. Also, Turkey and some other countries are coming back in the game, another fact.
10:02
Anonymous said…
ZAG management is doing a poor job, unfortunately. And there is also OU problem making things more difficult!
10:04
Anonymous said…
Seriously, how come Wizz is the only LCC that finds Croatian airports too expensive? How come so many other LCCs fly there regardless of airport fees?

OK, some may say others only fly in high season. Well, so could Wizz. What prevents them from opening a couple of seasonal routes, the same way as so many LCCs do?
10:05
Anonymous said…
You are very wrong.
ZAG is probably full of Koreans, but they do not arrive directly from ICN with KE! They land in Germany, make few tours visiting few countries including Croatia and return on the same way they arrived.
KE in November and December in ZAG is terrible. Please check the actual data.

10:05
Anonymous said…
Well others have complained - Eurowings and Ryanair to be more precise. ZAG wants to decrease concession fee because it says its the only way they could lower prices for LCCs that way.
10:07
Anonymous said…
+100
This is excellent opportunity for LJU.
10:08
Anonymous said…
It seems to me the Wizz board is convinced they can struck a kind of bargain they got in SKP or TZL anywhere in the Balkans - they just need to bash the local authorities a bit and things will go their way (i.e. airport operators will be begging them to come at any cost - preferably zero cost).
10:11
Anonymous said…
I think ZAG knows about this and does not want to change. Firstly, it's protecting its prestige by not allowing lower class airlines such as Wizzair to operate.
If you look at the airlines operating they are>
Emirates > not flydubai
Iberia > Not Iberia Express
Air France > not Transavia or Hop! (terrible name)

Top 5 star airlines: EK, KE, BA, etc.

Also 99% of the routes are to primary and less secondary.
Primary destinations: DXB, SEL, CPH, YUL, etc.
Other countries have even tertiary cities such as Växjö or Treviso.

ZAG is a highly sophisticated product of the French, it´s making them lots of money and they want to keep it that way.
10:13
Anonymous said…
Have you ever driven from Slovenia to Krk? Especially in the summer?

Trieste... It's not like Treviso is around the corner with LCC connections to entire Europe.
10:13
OjOj said…
Oni u Osijeku i Rijeci mozda.....za ostale nisam siguran
10:14
Anonymous said…
Of course, only the BEST. Every country seems to claim they are the best around the Balkans...
10:14
Keep Calm and visit Dalmatia. said…
Croatia is beautiful!
10:15
Anonymous said…
We can agree that HR is not targeting budget/mass tourists. So why should the tourism strategy involve subsidizing Wizzair?
10:15
Anonymous said…
It's also the only LCC carrier to pay taxes in a non-EU country where only couple of offices are located.

Still not enough profit I guess.
10:15
Anonymous said…
Half of the things you wrote are downright false. Interestingly I see Flydubai landing in Zagreb today and tomorrow and the day after. Also there are no flights to YUL. Stop writing rubbish.

Also ZAG posted a loss last year and it's not going to get better this year either.
10:16
Anonymous said…
SKP has flights to DXB and CPH as well. But you are right, just like Zagreb it has no flights to Montreal.
10:18
Anonymous said…
It subsidizes Ryanair, Norwegian air shuttle, Eurowings, Easy Jet. Why not Wizz Air?
10:19
Anonymous said…
VIE, ATH and FRA can be as expensive as they want because they have massive traffic demand.
ZAG not so much. Don't compare apples and oranges.
10:22
Anonymous said…
hahaha. this is so funny!

"Highly sophisticated product of the French" is currently negotiating with Ryanair - the company with the worst service in Europe!

I really hope you are joking!
10:30
Anonymous said…
Wizzair has a big problem!!! They have hundreds of aircraft on order which they will eventually have to fly somewhere. Well, they are already expanding into Western Europe. Their initial focus point and business model however relies on stimulating demand with ultra low fares on the back of the airports. When airports like DBV and SPU grow with their charges being no problem for the likes of EasyJet or Norwegian, because they can charge the prices from their passengers, like Wizz can also from LTN or WAW or KTW, this goes to show that their business model (filling 200 planes) one day, will only work with low fares. This however will only work with airports lowering their taxes. I personally think that the position airlines / airports will change very soon in the favour of airports. So no need to rush for Croatian airports.
10:44
Anonymous said…
Which actual data? You are making things up like that other guy above saying airlines are fleeing ZAG.
10:48
Anonymous said…
Anonymous10 December 2018 at 09:46

you crack me up :-). I don't thing he understand what is the point of your comment
10:48
Anonymous said…
Emirates also gets help from the government, that is the tourist board.
10:49
Anonymous said…
Ermmmm they are only negotiating, nothing is concluded!
10:50
OjOj said…
Ne pricaj svasta.....
Aerodrom je aerodrom, sam sebi nije svrha postojanja.
10:50
Anonymous said…
Obviously this anonymous, like their comment at time 09:42 (writing style the same) is just trying to stir the pot.
10:50
Anonymous said…
Qatar also downgraded ZAG this winter, from 14 to 13 weekly.
10:51
Anonymous said…
The worst service in Europe? Have you ever flown with them at all?
They have new aircraft, they are SAFE, not 1 sole crash ever since they were founded.
Thanks to them people can now fly for less money and discover new places never seen before.

Dude, you can fly from Continental Europe to the Canary Islands for 80-100 squid return.

You can fly from BNX to CRL, the capital of Europe for 5€.
You can fly from INI to BTS for 5€.
You can fly from ZAD to Germany for 15€. I didn't hear anyone from Zadar complaining.

But anyway, back to Zagreb. It really remains the most sophisticated airport in ex-Yu and possibly the entire Balkan region.
10:54
Anonymous said…
he has not realized yet that ZAG is run by TAV
10:54
Anonymous said…
he basically said that if it wasnt for the mk government, SKP wouldnt have a single based aircraft. TAV TAV TAV what a misery
10:55
Anonymous said…
ZLZ ne potrebuje nizkocenovnikov. Oni igrajo na drugačni segment potnikov. Dejansko je LJU postalo nepomembno majhno letališče, kamor prihajajo LCC in polnijo svoje sedeže s potniki iz Zagreba in okolice, medtem ko slovenci polnimo letala, ki letijo iz ZLZ. Francozi, lastniki letališča, vedo da morajo prikazovati izgubo, ker jim v tem primeru nasproti pride država s subvencijami. Prav tako država preko oglaševalskih pogodb, subvenicionira letalske povezave Zagreba z leti daljšimi od 2500 milj. Kako se jim to izplača je drugo vprašanje. HTZ je preračunala in očitno ugotovila da se nekajmiljonski vložki v privabljanje potnikov iz daljnih trgov izplača. Wizz je za hrvaški trg nepomemben, tao kot Ryanair. Potniki, ki letijo z LCC so pomembni samo za mrtvo sezono, da kljub vsemu zasedejo hotele in sobe. Tekom visoke sezone je privaljbljanje LCC čisto in povsem brez pomena. Vsa obmorska letališča so poleti polno zasedena. LCC bi delali samo gnečo, dodane vrednosti na potnika pa skoraj nebi bilo, oziroma je premajhna za povračilo izgube vrednosti slota, ki bi ga lahko prodal letalski družbi, ki bi pripeljala potnike z debelejšo denarnico.
11:00
Anonymous said…
..which delivers rich Asians who can afford 5€ for a coke and pay back the subsidy at least 100 times over thier visit.
11:01
Anonymous said…
Try to find them out. Airport data. Actual data.
Then come and tell us how "great" KE in November and December in ZAG is!
11:06
Anonymous said…
@anon 10:54
Yes, I have flown with them. Many times.

You did not understand my post. I did not mention safety issue anywhere. I meant service. Huge, huge difference in aviation world.

Attractive price? Ok, sure. What does it have to do with the quality of service? Nothing.
Once again, I was talking about service. S-E-R-V-I-C-E.

Have you ever been left by FR on some distant airport where FR cancelled their flight and did not offer you any alternative?

This is called service buddy.

Sure, FR presence in ZAG is determinating factor for ZAG's "sophistication" :-)
11:12
frishki said…
Anonymous10 December 2018 at 09:42

Yeah, we're standing on the top of the world, no one can't touch us.
A shot of reality check is desperately needed...
11:13
Anonymous said…
Yes that is why you can fly Airbaltic for 150€ return from Frankfurt to Moscow. Riga is a transit airport. Most of their pax are counted twice. On top it is the only airport in the country, whereas Croatia has 12 million pax at 10 different international airports
11:24
Anonymous said…
Plus standard of living in Croatia is higher than in Latvia, everything outside of Riga is as poor as Africa.
11:26
Anonymous said…
12 million? Count again.
11:26
Anonymous said…
LO is increasing ZAG to double daily in summer so they can carry even more Koreans if KE is empty.
11:28
Anonymous said…
They would not negotiate with FR if they weren't interested Ryanair to fly from ZAG.
11:28
Anonymous said…
"Plus standard of living in Croatia is higher than in Latvia, everything outside of Riga is as poor as Africa."

I would suggest to some Croatian visitors on here travel the world more. You might be surprised.
11:29
Anonymous said…
And be more humble perhaps..
11:30
Anonymous said…
Zagreb in comparison: February: 170.658
November: 234.075

ZAG: smaller metro area, not only airport in the country 40% less population and significantly lower amount of LCCs.
11:32
Anonymous said…
Who is talking here about the summer?
11:36
Anonymous said…
+1
TAV s sitting back and earning their profits while the state gives subventions to W6.
11:42
Anonymous said…
↓ ↓ ZAG sophistication explained below ↓ ↓

I can't think of another airport in the Balkans with a direct route to Korea.
I can't think of another airport in the Balkans with connections to 2 of Canada's biggest cities.
ZAG has one of the most developed domestic network in the Balkans.
ZAG is now family of a huge French conglomerate which adds to the prestige of the airport.

I think ZAG can easily handle flights to SIN, KUL and maybe in 8-10 years possibly Australia where there is a huge Croatian diaspora.
I know you are thinking this is not possible but you all said this about Korean Air and look where we are now.
11:43
Anonymous said…
Yes but Zagreb is a more sophisticated and prestigious place.
So it can have more visitors and passengers.
11:46
Anonymous said…
You still lack nonstop flights to Rome and year round flights o Stockholm... Also this notion if you repeat a lie it becomes the truth is dumb - there are no flights between Zagreb and Montreal. There were 4 ONE WAY flights between the two cities in September which Air Transat explained (their spokesperson was quoted here) that it was done on a one off basis for a group. There are no flights scheduled to Montreal next year. So please stop with this "connections to 2 of Canada's biggest cities" because it is simply false.
11:47
Anonymous said…
"more passengers" :-)))

2017

BEG 5,343,420
ZAG 3,092,047

The level of "sophistication" :-)
11:50
Anonymous said…
Seasonality seems to be killing Ex Yu airports. Air Serbia goes to two weekly flights that they can barely fill. For Croatia I would prefer all airports to have 3 million combined passengers a year but not seasonally the 12 million passnegers they have now. Why would anyone produce chocolate Santa Clauses and earn millions with it when they can produce sth. that is not seasonal and only earn a friction. God has defined seasonal businesses to be bad by definition, and since many here are religious, they nicely obey in opinion. If seasonallity is bad for Wizzair, thank God there are many rational companies out there, that make good money in the season their services are most wanted. I suggest the producers of chocolate Santas to ask the government to reduce taxes on fuel in summer for the transportation of chocolate Santas to the coast, so the can be sold for 10 cents and the guys can make money, because they have just ordered 100million tons of chocolate in Brazil.
11:51
Anonymous said…
Can someone please explain to Anon 11.43 that Athens and Istanbul are both Balkan airports.
11:52
Anonymous said…
Did you understand now what means service kid?
11:53
Anonymous said…
It is better to eat a spoonful of caviar than ten kilos of tomatoes.
12:15
Anonymous said…
You are talking as if you were József Janos Váradi or Akbar Al Baker. Thank you for explaining what an airline service is. Ryanair will still exist whether you like it OR NOT, понимаешь?
12:19
Anonymous said…
You are very welcome.

Do not be afraid next time to ask something you do not understand
12:25
Anonymous said…
Why do you negotiate now with potatoes (they even grow underground) to mix up with yor "caviar"? :-)
12:28
Anonymous said…
@Anon 9:46 - I could not find the statistics you are referring to in the official statistics published by Zagreb airport, if you could share a valid link to the numbers you quoted, that would be great, otherwise don’t be surprised that others call you out for spreading fake news.
12:42
Anonymous said…
The level of "sophistication" comes from Croatian citizens being able to fly from different airports that suit them most. I remember times we all had to go to ZAG to fly even when you lived in ZAD or SPU.

@ anon. 11:50

BEG 5,343,420 ==> Serbia 5,7 million pax.
ZAG 3,092,047 ==> Croatia 12 million pax.
12:58
Anonymous said…
@anon 12:42
Don't be surprised when the official data get published.
Maybe you will remember my words then, but I am sure you will not be around to comment it.
12:59
Anonymous said…
You have 12 million pax not because of your population traveling but because of tourists. That's why Dubrovnik in winter has fewer passengers than a place like Nis.
13:01
Anonymous said…
Serbia landlocked
Croatia long sea coast

Incomparable

Try to calculate how many passengers Croatia has in continental part and then we can compare it with Serbia :-)
13:02
frishki said…
Let's try putting it this way:
Serbia - further from the western Europe, lots of gasterbaiter passengers.
Croatia - a bit closer to western Europe, more tourists.

If someone is trying to say that Croatia is more sophisticated destination is absolutely crazy. Just like if someone is trying to say that Serbs have more money to travel.

We're all in the more or less same s**t.
13:18
Anonymous said…
Haha, yes that is why almost any legacy carrier flies to both DBV and SPU with many also having flights to ZAD and PUY connecting them to the world with their hubs. SPU and DBV will both get flights to America next year. oh yes I forgot, this is seasonal so it is bad.
13:24
Anonymous said…
Incomparable- so why is then everyone comparing ZAG to BEG. It is obviously incomparable?

@ Anon13.01- yes a lot of tourists are coming to croatia, the same as to Iceland or Switzerland? Iranians and Chinese are no tourists?
13:32
Anonymous said…
@Anon 13.01

The Serbian population is also not travelling more. It is the gastarbeiters that travel home. Look at how many Serbs live in Switzerland and compare that to the flights you have. So only a few from Nis are flying to Zürich to spend there monthly income there in one day, but Serbs living in Switzerland fly back home. As simple as that.
13:38
Anonymous said…
What does any of this have to do with Wizz complaining about prices and seasonality in Croatia? Croatia Airlines in its statements completely agrees about seasonality with them (view quarterly reports on their website). Only internet soldiers here don't.
13:44
Anonymous said…
Oh Gosh, I thought you understood

Let's try once again.
BEG and ZAG are both continental airports and they can be compared.

BEG and DBV can't - different type of passengers totally.

Serbian diaspora is not bigger than Croatian, Serbs have less money to travel abroad, but still we have the fact that Belgrade, passenger wise, has been developed in last 15 years significantly better than ZAG.

Who can remember that 15 years ago the difference between BEG and ZAG was only approx. 400.000 passengers?

2002

BEG 1.621.798
ZAG 1.203.436

Difference 418.362

2017

BEG 5.343.420
ZAG 3.092.047

Difference
2.251.373


13:52
frishki said…
Are you 100% certain that Serbian diaspora isn't bigger than Croatian? I'd like to see official numbers.
13:53
Anonymous said…
That's not a problem because Croatia is the richest country in Europe and they don't need cheap LCCs, only premium carriers. Even if Wizz flew to ZAG, there would be no passengers, because Croats are so rich they can easily afford to fly business class in even the most expensive airlines. Tourist wouldn't use Wizz either, because Croatia is a premium holiday destination and as such attracting only wealthy tourists. I'm actually surprised that no airline is sending their widebodies in first and business class only configurations. Oh well, they will soon enough.
13:57
Anonymous said…
Haters and fanboys don't realize this is beyond the traditional ex-Yu rivalry. The fact is that most of major airports here are PRIVATELY owned or managed and all they care for is lower-costs-higher-profit. The airlines do the same. Yet Varadi is saying that this reluctance to lower airport fees is specific to the region so it would be very interesting to see how are TAV, ADP, FRAPORT, LIMAK and soon VINCI managing their other airports, are they more successful and why.
14:03
Anonymous said…
Official numbers are impossible to get, but close to it you can find this (not counting diaspora in ex-Yu):

https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0

http://www.hrvatiizvanrh.hr/hr/hmiu/stanje-hrvatskih-iseljenika-i-njihovih-potomaka-u-inozemstvu/15

In both cases around 3 million

14:12
Anonymous said…
In Switzerland there are 6 times more Serbs than Croats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_from_the_former_Yugoslavia_to_Switzerland

2,298,352 emigrants from Serbia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_diaspora

ca 900.000 emigrants from Croatia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_diaspora

So on top of the popoulation which is factor 1,75 bigger in Serbia than in Croatia, the emigration is factor 2,5 Serbia vs. Croatia.
14:12
Anonymous said…
LOOL!
+100
14:15
Anonymous said…
Troll
14:18
Anonymous said…
Have you heard for irony?
14:22
Anonymous said…
@ anon 13:52.

You might claim what you want but if you compare BEG vs ZAG and say that the difference grew bigger in the last years, ok, but then compare how the traffic in the country grew as well. In 2002 I as a Croat from the SPU/ ZAD area living in FRA had to fly to ZAG, whereas I can now travel to both SPU or ZAD direct without ever touching ZAG to visit my family. And I am no tourist.

In your world you do not want to see that many locals also make use of the flights from coastal airports at least at the time they are available, which is in summer. If there would only be ZAG, it would have over 6 million today.
14:22
frishki said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
14:23
frishki said…
You mean sarcasm?
14:23
Anonymous said…
@anon 14:22

Why the number of passengers in ZAG in 2002 was so low if you all had to fly through ZAG?

Number of passengers who fly to SPU or ZAD as locals can be clearly seen during the winter. Summer season would increase that number for certain percentage, but not dramatically.

Without sea coast and foreign tourists airports like SPU would be on INI level.
14:33
Anonymous said…
Zagreb Airport possibly keeps high prices to protect domestic airline from low cost competition. One journalist said: Normalno je da država štiti svog nacionalnog avioprevoznika, ali mora se znati gde su granice. Jedno je štititi, a drugo je raditi direktno protiv konkurencije
14:40
frishki said…
What are you talking about? The airport is privatized. Why would the French protect OU?
14:41
Anonymous said…
What is your argument? Probably because aviation is one of the biggest growth industries? So where where those pax in 2002 to BEG? Same question.

SPU and ZAD have no flights (yet) in winter. Look what happens in SPU when airlines add flights.. Pax numbers go up.

14:59
Anonymous said…
Because they are their biggest customer and biggest single source of income and passengers.
14:59
frishki said…
So? You think that other airlines wouldn't swoop in if OU goes belly up? And why would you protect a stagnating airline that has no vision?
15:00
Anonymous said…
Because regardless of vision they pay for their services. If Croatia went belly up, Ryan would request even bigger discounts.
15:02
frishki said…
And is Ryan the only airline?
15:02
Anonymous said…
@ anon13:57 .... you do realize that ZAG and other Croatian airports grow DESPITE having almost NO LCC. Although I do get your your Irony there is unfortunately some truth in it. ZAG for instance has 9% growth this year, unfortunately WITHOUT any LCC.

Btw. Croatia was one of the fastest growings markets in EU this year with 17%

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/9428738/7-06122018-AP-EN.pdf/50a52d8d-3f61-4517-ace3-d3f56ed5cd91
15:06
Anonymous said…
Re: frishki

Maybe because OU is their biggest customer having more than 50% of the passengers at ZAG?
15:14
frishki said…
So was Malev in BUD and BUD didn't go under once Malev did.
15:15
Anonymous said…
People are way too dramatic on here, I see that Aegean is also doing well as they will be flying 4 times per week this summer.
15:19
Anonymous said…
They did enplane that with cost of building new terminal.
15:19
Anonymous said…
Nice so Aegean will have as many flights to ATH as it does to BEG.

Btw what about LHR, will OU fly 3 times? That's what their website says.
15:26
Anonymous said…
Skopje Airport 17,50 EUR per passenger
= Wizz Air is satisfied

Zagreb Airport 17,00 EUR per passenger
= Wizz Air is not satisfied

only difference is in 5.000.000,00 subvention by Macedonian government
= bingo!!!!! how to make Wizz Air satisfied!!!!
15:29
Anonymous said…
Airport is not privatized, it continues to be owned by the government. If there are unpublished trade secret parts of concession contract they might have details on how government wants to protect its carrier. Losing OU would have great impact on tourism and airport itself as many routes would not be replaced by other airlines. Malev was replaced by Wizz and it took many years for BUD to recover from passenger and revenue loss. As there won't be a new Wizz started in ZAG or BEG if JU/OU go under, governments are right to protect them through concession contracts.
15:36
Anonymous said…
The difference being that they will fly with Dashes to Zagreb and A320 to Belgrade, on top of double daily Airr Serbia flights between Belgrade and Athens with A319.
15:37
frishki said…
So, what is the point of giving an airport under the concession if it is not up to the concessionaire to make decisions?
15:38
Anonymous said…
Anon @15:06, I'm not saying ZAG wouldn't grow without LCCs, but the growth could be a lot higher if ZAG attracted some LCCS. Of course a country with booming tourism and 20 million tourists will still attract a large number of passengers on more expensive airlines, but if they had a choice, many of them would much rather choose W6 over OU/LH/whatever. My comment was simply a reference to many people here that think LCCs are totally unnecessary for ZAG.
15:52
Anonymous said…
The point of concession from government point of view is to receive upfront cash payment plus some annual revenue plus major infrastructure investment such as new terminal or runway. From concessionaire perspective, they get to use synergies from operating and building network of airports around the world such as increasing non-aviation portion of the revenue, bring additional airlines that would not directly compete with national airline and in the long run recoup investment. In short: government doesn't have to invest $100's of millions and gets money right away, concessionaire invests right away but makes money over a long period.
16:09
Anonymous said…
Yes but Agean will be flying daily to DBV and SPU. SO the difference being that DBV will have Volotea, Croatia and Agean the last two daily, SPU 5 times a week on Agean and one weekly on OU.
16:10
Anonymous said…
As to the cancellation of TXl-ZAG. This is relatedt to the withdrawal of LGW ops from TXL on which EW relied. They will also reduce SPU from 3 times a week to Saturday only. Otherwise ZAG was performing well for EW since 2002.
16:12
Anonymous said…
here is the news (unfortunately only in German)

http://www.airliners.de/so-lgw-tegel-exit/47761
16:13
Anonymous said…
Whenever someone reduces flights to Croatia or cancels a route it's not because of a lack of demand but because of the airline. Of coutse LOL.
16:13
Anonymous said…
You are comparing Belgrade to three different cities in Croatia. I can also tell you there are 100 charter flights per year from Belgrade to Greece but what's the point. You are glorious. Anyone that complains about high airport costs in Croatia is an idiot. Any airline that drops routes to Croatia is because they are going bankrupt and Croats detest flying low cost as they want to burn the millions of euros they have in their pockets - that why there is one LCC which is also dropping flights at ZAG. Let's end it there.
16:18
Anonymous said…
trash talk which should be ignored, although I believe Zag could find it useful to have at least 10% of ULCC, and in term of them flying year round could give them proportional discount, like in other airports, nothing more
16:56
Anonymous said…
Both concessions are similar that way and Wizz complains about high prices at both airports but local media treat them differently. Even media with the same name operating in both cities treat them very differently.
16:59
Anonymous said…
In general Croatia enjoys a higher product of upper class airlines compared to Serbia.
Most of the bigger international airlines:
American Airlines
Air Canada
British Airways
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Korean Air
Emirates

And soon Singapore Airlines, Asiana & Cathay Pacific.

As for Japan Airlines, I think Slovenia will be quicker by securing LJU-NRT flights.
17:21
Anonymous said…
Norwegian flies to Belgrade and unlike in Croatia they fly year round. Air Canada does not fly to Croatia. You must have confused it with their low cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge.
17:24
Anonymous said…
Okay, but in the end I am right, isn't it?
Croatia has quality and its avioprestige is growing every single year.

Additionally, Serbia relies heavily on charter and transfer passengers which is not the case with Croatia. Charter is becoming extremely important.
17:44
Anonymous said…
Aegean flies FIVE times per week to Belgrade, not four. Also, JU flies double daily, daily A320 and daily A319 (night flight). Also if we are bringing DBV, SPU, ZAD... into the equation then let's also bring BEG-SKG (double daily) and BEG-HER (two weekly)? Shall we?
18:33
Anonymous said…
Yes BA and KL are so successful in ZAG they both cut flights this winter. Also don't forget LH Mainline doesn't even fly to ZAG in winter, they operate with their regional branch.
18:36
Anonymous said…
HAHAHAHAHAHA are you seriously comparing ZAG and SKP? Without subsidies ZAG will have 3.4 million. SKP WITH subsidies barely passes 2.1 million.

Without five million SKP would have 850.000 today.
18:42
Anonymous said…
Oh, will someone tell this boy he is right?
He desperately needs it.
21:30
Anonymous said…
Sad, but true.
SKP is a mono airline airport and simply cannot be compared to ZAG.
06:27
Anonymous said…
Anon 21.30

You are just admitting defeat!
08:05
Anonymous said…
Go play with Lego kid
08:41
Anonymous said…
In a free market "štititi" = "raditi protiv konkurencije"
13:41
Anonymous said…
Funny enough, nobody mentions the fact there is no Zagreb-Budapest flight, nor from any other Croatian town. With the demise of MALEV, Wizz Air practically became Hungarian national carrier
12:48
frishki said…
I don't find it funny since Zagreb and Budapest are 3 hours apart with the highway.
13:01
Post a Comment

VINTAGE EX-YU


Loading a JAT DC-9
London, 1971

POPULAR THIS WEEK

Image

Air Serbia prepares for “very dynamic” 2027, plans specialised charters

Image

Former Yugoslav airports handle 39 million passengers in 2025

Image

Podgorica aims to regain Tirana’s Montenegro passengers

Image

Belgrade Airport registers busiest year on record

Image

All EX-YU capital airports set for February growth as Wizz dominates

Powered by Blogger
© EX-YU Aviation News 2008 - 2026