Croatia Airlines will bring forward the lease of two Bombardier CRJ1000 aircraft this summer, enabling the carrier to resume a number of its seasonal routes earlier when compared to previous years. It comes after the airline handled a record number of passengers in 2018. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Croatia Airlines said, "In 2019, we are planning the same number of additional units as in 2018. We started with seasonal wet-leases so as to respond to market demand during the peak period. The summer of 2019 will be the fourth year that we will be leasing additional units. However, we are also happy to announce that, year after year, we have been widening the period of seasonal ACMIs. The first aircraft will be joining our fleet on April 1, 2019, and the second one on April 18". It added, "Seasonal ACMIs have facilitated the introduction of ten new destinations during the last three years and increased our presence on the European market".

Over the past years, Croatia Airlines has wet-leased two CRJ1000s from Iberia Regional (Air Nostrum). As a result, it introduced four new routes in 2018 alone and boosted frequencies on a number of services. "In general, we are happy with the performance of the new routes, although not all of them performed equally well. Keeping in mind the seasonality of demand for flights to the Croatian coast, the Split - Copenhagen and the Dubrovnik - Munich routes will remain seasonal and will be operated until October", the carrier said. It also noted, "The Zagreb - Dublin route will be upgraded to three weekly services during the summer timetable, with the period of operation extended into the 2019/2020 winter with two weekly services operated on Thursdays and Sundays. We believe that this route will gradually be developed into a year-round service, although Croatia Airlines will continue to adjust its capacity carefully, responding to rising demand for the route. The Zagreb - Mostar route will continue to be operated as a twice weekly service throughout the year".

Croatia Airlines welcomed 2.168.863 passengers on board its aircraft in 2018, representing an increase of 2% on the year before. The figure represents the secpnd tme the company carried over two million travellers in a single year. Of those, 1.642.285 passengers were handled on international flights, up 3% on 2017, while 526.578 travelled on domestic services, which is on par with figures achieved the year before. "Despite the negative impact of the price of jet fuel, increased competition and the traditional seasonality of the Croatian market, Croatia Airlines' business achievements in 2018 were at a satisfactory level", the company concluded.