Emirates and Korean Air will resume their seasonal operations to Croatia in March following an almost five-month hiatus. The Dubai-based airline will return to Zagreb on March 29, taking the service over from its partner Flydubai. The Croatian capital was the first example of a route-sharing strategy implemented by the two airlines. Emirates’ Area Manager, Martin Gross, recently said, "Zagreb is an example of how much our cooperation with Flydubai managed to improve our results. We served the route in winter with our Boeing 777 aircraft. However, it emerged that this route is not as strong in winter, so now we can still continue serving Zagreb well through Flydubai”.
Emirates recently said it sees its Dubai - Zagreb service developing in the future. “Zagreb is corresponding with our development in Europe. We have wide coverage in Europe, and we understood that Croatia has big potential for two reasons. First, it is a destination that is really interesting for travel from Asia, Australia, China and Taiwan. Therefore, there is a lot of incoming traffic to Zagreb and the entire country in general. From Croatia it is a way to offer the local population a link to our Dubai hub. There is a lot of demand from Croatia to the world. This is primarily to Dubai but also beyond, for example, to destinations in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, such as Phuket in Thailand”, Emirates said.
Korean Air will resume flights to Zagreb on March 31 with extra capacity compared to last year. The airline will operate its 269-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its three weekly services between Seoul and the Croatian capital instead of the of 218-seat Airbus A330-200 jet it previously utilised. However, the carrier is still undecided whether the route, which was downgraded from year-round to seasonal operations in 2019, will continue to run in such a way. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said, “We have not yet decided whether suspending the flights during the winter season will be continued in the future”.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the corona virus and lower demand of travel from/to Asia could have an impact on any of these routes.
ReplyDeleteIt might have some impact on EK loads but it could have the positive affect on Korean Air. Fewer Koreans will go on holiday somewhere in Asia. Zagreb is a good and affordable alternative.
DeleteKorean tourism is dropping, they are not travelling as much this year due to massive risks.
Deletewell, at least Korean is finally cheap from Zagreb. I booked few days ago return ticket from Zagreb to Seoul for 600 euros. I remember that price was over 1000 euros just an year ago!
DeleteFlew on Dreamliner before, great aircraft, in comparation with EK B777, Dreamliner is really quite bird.
Yes it will be interesting how this virus will impact air travel in the region in general. Airlines depending on bringing Asian travelers to the region (like Emirates to Zagreb or Finnair to Ljubljana) might be hit.
Delete@ Anonymous 10.18 that is a good price. Thanks for the information. The Dreamliner is also a great improvement on Korean's A330 they used before.
DeleteYeah Anon 10.21, to be honest I would not book it if it's A332, don't like it, especially not for such a long flight, but Dreamliner is another thing :)
DeleteI dont understand you people. I used to travel with A330 and B787 on long haul, and there is no doubt, A330 is a way more comfortable with 2-4-2 than 3-3-3 in 787.
DeleteDreamliner is maybe better for airline, but I am not sure how it is better for passenger.
Anonymous19 February 2020 at 11:47
Delete+1
330 with 2-3-2 is much more confortable.
Don't know about you, but I'm always grabbing those emergency exit seats in aircraft, so the same with Dreamliner. You have huge space in front of you and on the other side Dreamliner has huge windows, better cabin pressure and other things. Or, if you are not in emergency row, always ask to block seat next to you and you are good, 3 seats for you! :D
DeleteYou can grab emergency seats in A330 too, there is nothing better in emergency seats in dreamliner than in A330. You will have huge space in both cases.
DeleteWindows are bigger but not "huge", in 10hr flight, there will be half of trip night - does not matter at all.
Cabin pressure? Come on... you have barometer or what?
Dreamliner is gret plane, but same or less comfortable than A330 in most often configuration (2-4-2 vs 3-3-3), that is the fact.
It'll have a huge impact given that travelers from both China and South Korea have to undergo a 2 week quarantine if they want to enter Croatia.
DeleteKorean is launching Budapest this summer too. They are expanding in the region.
ReplyDeleteThey are truly becoming a force to be reckoned with, nice to see them realize ZAG's potential so early, even before some other destinations. They are also launching Athens charters after launching ZAG!
DeleteDue to that reason there is a possibility this is the last summer season of KE in ZAG. Even Purger was talking about these rumours.
DeleteThe Corona virus will have a massive effect on Asian tourism industries.
DeleteTwo massive cruise ships who were scheduled to operate from Singapore are now coming to the Mediterranean and launching cruises from Athens instead,
Didn't he say it's because of high costs at ZAG? I wonder if ZAG might give a better deal to KE now that there are so many flights from Vienna and Budapest. By the way, it was announced yesterday that Alitalia is suspending ICN flights. :/
DeleteDemand is rapidly dropping. Even LO had a 80% LF to ICN from BUD.
@9.12 keep hoping....
DeleteKorean je svoj let za Seoul pretvorio iz cjelogodišnjeg u sezonski, a kompanija preispituje hoće li uopće ostati sa letovima u Zagrebu ili će sve operacije prebaciti na Budimpeštu koju liniju otvara ovog proljeća.
Deletehttps://tangosix.rs/2020/04/02/kolumna-alena-scurica-kakva-je-bila-2019-za-avio-saoracaj-u-regionu-bivse-jugoslavije/
And? He was obviously not correct. Not only have they not suspended Zagreb, they have increased capacity on the route and they are now thinking of whether they should extend the route into winter again.
DeleteWhat's your source that they are thinking about making it year-round? I am sorry but Purger has correctly predicted everything so far and he has inside sources. Remember how people on here said that KE was carrying 40 passengers in winter and they were attacked for being haters? Turns out they were not lying. We have to look at the situation beyond KE and EK and we will see that ZAG is indeed struggling this year, the only positive thing is AF going double daily. Besides that extra offering has been rather slim.
DeleteMy source is what the airline said in the article. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said, “We have not yet decided whether suspending the flights during the winter season will be continued in the future”. Also using Purger as some divine being is ironic since you usually don’t miss the opportunity to make fun of him because he said Emirates is the best thing that happened to the region and more important than relaunching your national airline but now that he said something you like he is the best thing on the internet. Jealousy is a terrible thing. You should be happy with what you have and try not to focus on others too much.
Delete^ You realize he didn't even read the article. He read the title and got triggered. Just let him be. It's sad but what can you do. My guess it's some kid.
DeleteKorean evaluate this route. There is possibility that route would fly in winter ICN-BUD-ZAG-BUD-ICN with 5th freedom on BUD-ZAG-BUG route. Also there is possibility to make 4th rotation to Zagreb in summer if corona crises will continue than (to put some extra capacity they have to Zagreb). But there is possibility that they cancel route totally if negotiation with Zagreb airport will not finish good.
DeleteSo that means they are negotiating with the airport for a better deal? Is that right?
DeleteThey will not cancel Zagreb, it will be served 3pw on seasonal base and that's it. No connection with BUD for winter since BUD is seasonal route as well. ZAG can not work year round for KE and that's it. In conclusion, 3pw during the summer season, that's everything what you will see from KE in the future. And, that is in connection with the airport (price) and bad situation in the company. Just google a bit about KE and u will see that they are struggling globally.
Delete"That's it" is for your conclusion. I am telling you information that are not my conclusion but fact that are negotiated.
DeleteSo Purger is not up to date. hehe.
DeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteWho needs non stop flights to Berlin or Dusseldorf, at least we have flights to Seoul.
ReplyDeleteLOOL
DeleteI have a feeling OU will be returning to Berlin this year when those new planes arrive.
DeleteThey won't. New routes have already been announced. You are missing the fact (it's been published here numerous times) that they will be flying a lot of charters this summer. That's the reason why there is such a small number of new destinations even though two planes are being leased..
DeleteHere is something interesting. In the system EK is supposed return on 23 MAR to Zagreb and have two flights that week (the rest operated by Flydubai) until the next week when they start daily. But when you go to book those flights it is not possible. System glitch maybe?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, very interesting
DeleteI hope Korean again extends these flights to year round. Maybe as a triangle with another route again.
ReplyDeleteHopefully with full traffic rights if it is a triangle.
DeleteWould be nice for them to add a tag to SJJ, there is a lot of tourism potential there as seen from Arab arrivals.
DeleteDoes any one know if the Emirates or flydubai are expanding anywhere else in the Balkans? What are still the missed markets in the region?
ReplyDeleteNot this year. EK seems to be happy with this arrangement with Flydubai
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/08/emirates-satisfied-with-ex-yu-market.html
My guess is that Tirana is the biggest hole in their network. The market is exploding the past few years. Albania has invested a lot of money in promoting itself as the next hotspot tourist destination. Emirates has surely looked into serving Tirana. Last year TIA welcomed 3.4 million passengers. Quite an achievement. They would be number 2 ex-YU airport.
DeleteFZ are having serious fleet issues because of the Max.
Delete@9.11 they wouldn't since they had fewer passengers than Zagreb last year.
Delete@9.12
DeleteThey certainly do. From what I read they are planning on wet leasing some planes this summer.
They already did this winter, they got some Smartwings B738 to fly for them. They even fly them to Prague from Dubai, that's quite a flight.
DeleteI don't think there will be more expansion to our region, demand is dropping rapidly. Wizz Air has discontinued flights from Sofia to Dubai and they are most likely not bringing back flights from Cluj. Dubai is a mirage, it's an artificial destination that's based on massive spending of its visitors. The moment an economic crisis comes, they feel it and they feel it good.
DeleteTIA is an gastarbeiter destination almost exclusively.
DeletePlease don't start with the usual BS about Albanian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Georgian Riviera...
EK won't be expanding in ex-Yu in terms of flying with its own metal.
DeleteEK's biggest issue with opening new market is its fleet structure. They themselves admitted that having only B777 and A380 was not the wisest of decisions.
DeleteI'm sure DBV is their next destination, seasonally
DeleteIs there any chance Flydubai may include Split in its network in the future?
DeleteI hope so. Flydubai should really consider starting Split as well seasonally during the summer.
DeleteThere is no market from Split, it's mostly there for northern and western Europeans going for cheap package holidays. There is a reason why Transat gave up on SPU. Even TK reduced DBV
Delete^ It reduced it for 2 months.
DeleteSo? It's still a reduction and that's what I said.
DeleteThere is a big difference whether the route is reduced for the entire season or a two month period. As you well know.
DeleteI agree with @Anon 10:15
DeleteSome people still can't get over these two are flying to ZAG. Amazing. Time to move on people.
ReplyDeleteYes, the anger about it is so obvious! Hopefully they are just a handful of kids.
DeleteSo true, EK has been a blessing in disguise for ZAG
DeleteAnd it is not? 156.240 seats per year on Dubai-Zagreb-Dubai, out of which 18.228 in business class and 3.472 in first class? That is not impressive?
DeleteThe issue with Korean in my opinion is that they are quite expensive on this route. It is more affordable to fly via DXB, DOH or even WAW.
ReplyDeleteI agree but it is normal that nonstop is more expensive than one stop. There were some good fares around the Tokyo Olympics some while ago.
DeleteThey area actually cheap now, but I agree with you, few months ago or year ago, they were crazy expensieve. But now you can book Seoul for around 4000 kn, that's quite good price for direct flight, new aircraft and return ticket...
Deletewhich is actually much less than Croatia airlines business class from London to Zagreb
DeleteGuys, today's announcements about KE and EK returning are just the beginning of many great things to come. Some months I told you there will be nice surprises and we got AF going double daily. Stay tuned there is going to be another 'bomb' announcement soon. :)
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteYou said many years ago there will be flights to US, China, Japan etc.
DeleteIt seems nothing happened but you do not give up!
My money is on UA from EWR or ORD. US arrivals are through the roof.
DeleteUA has already announced routes for this year. Maybe for next.
DeleteThings change, aviation is unpredictable, stay tuned for more information soon.
DeleteIt won't be UA... ;)
DeleteSeems like EK is in it for the long haul in ZAG.
ReplyDeleteEK obviously does well in Zagreb during summer but not so much in winter. It's good there is this route sharing system so Dubai can be kept year round.
ReplyDeleteProblem in winter among other things is double daily QR flights.
DeleteI think this is actually a really smart move by EK/FZ and I hope we see more destinations in ex-Yu shared like this between the two airlines.
DeleteI have a feeling that in summer on top of being full they have very good sales in premium but winter seems to be generally a problem in Zagreb and the airport has to address this. We see this with Korean Air too.
DeleteShame KE don't plan Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeletethat would cannibalize the ZAG route in my opinion.
DeleteHonestly I thought the first airport to likely receive a connection to Seoul would be DBV considering most Koreans go there in Croatia.
DeleteMost Koreans go to Zagreb actually. Based on stats.
DeleteKE should definitely go to Dubrovnik, but now is probably late since there is Turkish, Fly Dubai and soon Qatar. If they have DBV in the network, in my opinion, that would be great for Koreans since they travel from Zagreb all through our coast to Dubrovnik. In that case, you can arrive to Zagreb and go back to Korea from Dubrovnik, or opposite, or from Budapest or Vienna.
DeleteWouldn't it be great to see Emirates in DBV, seasonally, of course?
DeleteThere is a good chance Korean Air will make ZAG year round again once the ordered new A330s are introduced (first ones to be delivered in 2021)
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know how many passengers EK handled to/from ZAG last year?
ReplyDeleteDXB-ZAG
Delete2017: 98.301
2018: 147.157
Q1+Q2+Q3
2018: 116.178
2019: 101.800
All quarters saw a decrease in 2019. Q3 fell from 50.413 in 2018 to 47.663.
Thank you Nemje. do you have qatar or rouge?
DeleteInteresting, anyone know why there was a drop? Could SU from LJU affect them with not as many Slovenes going there to fly from ZAG?
DeleteThe decrease is because in winter 2017/18 Emirates flew this route with its own aircraft while in winter 18/19 they were flown by Flydubai (777 vs 737). So that's one of the biggest impacts.
DeleteAnother impact on numbers is that Korean Air started flying in September 2018. So this certainly has an impact on Emirates to some extent.
DeleteThere must be a reason why they decided to change from EK to FZ.
DeleteObviously the sales was much weaker in winter when they decided to so it
If you read the article, you would find the answer.
DeleteBut why the drop in Q3? That's July, August and September, the height of the season.
Delete^ Because of Korean Air.
DeleteIt should also be mentioned that Emirates operated fewer flights in 2019 compared to 2018 due to runway reconstruction in Dubai. For few months there were four not 7 weekly flights.
Toronto-Zagreb
DeleteQ2+Q3
2018: 53.669
2019: 61.386
Seoul-Zagreb
Q1 2019: 6.647
Q2+Q3: 28.528
Doha-Zagreb
Q1+Q2+Q3
2018: 90.208
2019: 110.344
Warsaw-Zagreb
Q1+Q+Q3
2018: 54.095
2019: 61.878
Moscow-Zagreb
Q1+Q2+Q3
2018: 48.101
2019: 47.969
Moscow-Ljubljana
Q1+Q2+Q3
2018: 35.556
2019: 58.339
Wow nice
DeleteGood news for ZAG.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame Korean couldn't get fifth freedom rights between Zagreb and Zurich. Maybe they would have kept it over winter. I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteSwiss are very rigid when it comes to giving permits to airlines from a third country to operate on an route from a European country to Switzerland.
DeleteAnd to add to my above comment, I don't think route would have been continued over winter even if they had fifth freedom. They would hardly be able to make a route profitable in winter with some cheap tickets between Zagreb and Zurich. Also I don't think there would be much demand for this sector in winter either. It's well covered by OU.
DeleteWould love to see Korean send the B747-8 to ZAG :D
ReplyDeleteThey send it to Prague if I'm not mistaken.
DeleteYes,they send it to Prague.B747-8 flew to Prague daily for like 3 years.One of the biggest Korean markets in Europe.
DeleteKorean Air is not flying daily to Prague.
DeleteDuring the winter they fly 3 per week with Dreamliner, and during summer with B747 4 times per week.
This upcoming summer they will even fly with B777 to PRG during the summer (not all, just one to two months).
Nice so we will have the Dreamliner on a regular basis :)
ReplyDeleteFlydubai must have gotten a nice boost this winter thanks to Korean Air withdrawal.
ReplyDeletejust wow, soo happy about ZAG.
ReplyDeleteI think there’s even more potential when it comes to boosting rotations, especially because of the tourism. City of Zagreb welcomed ca. 1,5 mil tourists last year (by far biggest number among ex yu capitals) so it‘s safe to say that Zagreb became a major tourist hub next to the coastal cities. How many Korean tourists actually visited Croatia last year?
Zagreb has really come a long way, they are really developing nicely
ReplyDeleteNicely?
Delete2.9% in 2019
When it comes to commercial aviation metrics, Croatia is really a thing.
ReplyDeleteA small country with 9 international airports showing no signs of decline, an extensive coastline with modern, new European airports. A very good domestic network and having its capital, which is smaller than many large capitals having a very nice ream of airlines is also impressive.
The fact that big worldwide players such as EK, KE and AA operating to Croatian soil is a remarkable milestone of its character.
Congratulations, Hrvatska for achieving this and working so hard. It paid off.