Korean Air terminates Zagreb operations


Korean Air has cancelled plans to resume seasonal summer flights between Seoul and Zagreb next year with ticket sales between the two cities discontinued this week. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, flights did not run this year, however, they were scheduled to resume on March 30, 2021 and operate three times per week, departing Seoul on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. They were to be maintained until October 30, 2021. A total of 50.034 seats were to be put on sale between the two cities and 93 (one-way) flights performed. Alternatives from Seoul to the Croatian capital are now being offered by Korean Air via other points in Europe, mainly Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich. 

Korean Air launched year-round operations between Seoul and Zagreb in September 2018. Services were maintained with a triangle routing - Seoul - Zagreb - Zurich - Seoul - during the winter of 2018/19, while the flights were downgraded to seasonal in 2019. Summer capacity was to be increased this year from the Airbus A330 to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. During 2019, Korean Air handled 43.123 passengers between the two cities. Korean low cost carrier T’Way Air confirmed earlier this month that it plans to launch flights to Croatia when conditions are met and has received necessary permits from the Korean Ministry for Land, Infrastructure and Transport to operate up to four weekly flights to the country. 

Korean Air has been hit hard by the pandemic, with its woes beginning earlier than most European airlines as the virus spread across Asia from January. Earlier this month, Korean Air announced it would merge with its biggest competitor Asiana Airlines in a deal worth 1.6 billion US dollars. “The new integrated Korean flag carrier will rise to one of the top ten most competitive players in the global aviation industry, laying the groundwork to cope with the coronavirus crisis with efficiency and to leap forward in the post-pandemic era”, the company said. The merger is expected to take two years to complete.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    It makes sense. Demand won't return by March even if vaccinations begin tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      I don’t see any airline returning to normal next year. It is easy to ground airlines and planes, destroy their network, but very difficult to get them flying back to normal.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:19

      Zürich is cancelled as well. Vienna will not be returning next year too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:41

      There won't be many resumptions next year either, i am surprised some airlines are doggedly sticking to their predetermined schedule, not realizing how bad things are. Vaccine won't be ready till late 2021 and even then it'll be half effective due to so many idiots around believing Covid is just glorified flu that killed 1.5 million ppl. Some Humans can be so toxic.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Pity although in my opinion this route should have launched years ago, not 2018.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      If we had a more proactive flag carrier maybe it would have happened earlier.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    Expected

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    Shame. It's a big loss after EK.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Great news for QR and TK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      I think Lufthansa will profit the most. Don't most Koreans arrive to Croatia from Europe anyway?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:27

      LO via WAW or to BUD and starting tour of the region from BUD.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:48

      BUD can cover the market, airport is already aggressive enough.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:02

      Travelled often WAW-ZAG before the pandemic. The planes always had at least 10 Koreans, sometimes much more.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:06

      Don´t understand these comments. How would QR or TK profit from no demand? KE suspends the flights because there is no demand..

      Delete
    6. Anonymous17:49

      My good Anon 11.06 friend, think about it like this. KE had 50 passengers that it carried and those people want to fly back but they can no longer do it on a non-stop flight so they have to fly via one of the other global hubs like DOH or IST.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:07

    I'm sure they will be back in 2022.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:43

      Not sure 2022, perhaps 2023/4, 2022 too early I think, it'll take a decade for airline sector to recover from this one.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:07

    Yep, no more non stop flights to ZAG on sale :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:17

      Yes they are completely removed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:21

      Like Zürich, Vienna and Budapest.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:31

      So a big withdrawal from Europe by Korean :(

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:44

      Which routes will they keep? London?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:44

      I mean in Europe

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:08

    And here I was hoping they would eventually launch Dubrovnik.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:09

    Hopefully when they consolidate with this merger they will be back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      Fingers crossed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:12

      But it says the merger will take two weeks to complete.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:10

    Now the T'way flights make sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:23

      They don't have the aircraft to do such flights...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:25

      They said they will get them.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:29

      They havent even placed any order... Going to take a while for sure

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:34

      It is possible to lease planes. You don't have to buy new ones. And there are plenty of planes on the market at the moment at a good price.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:20

      Zagreb should do everything they can now to get them to start flights.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:45

      Until this virus is over or under control globally, there will be no flights of this type.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:12

    Let's hope the Canadians stay next summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:14

      Air Transat is coming back. It was already reported here. But we don't know about Rouge and if the airline will even have widebodies. Currently it does not.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:20

      Officially AC Rouge also has flights scheduled for next summer to ZAG but I don't know how they will operate when they no longer have long haul planes.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:38

      A lot will depend on how Air Canada's acquisition of Air Transat plays out.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:40

      Like I said below there is always a possibility mainline will take the route over from Rouge.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:57

      Zero possibility.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:44

      Why do you think that?

      Delete
    7. Anonymous08:21

      Because Rouge no longer has widebodies and AC is expensive to operate.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:14

    This is sad

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:14

    Maybe it's time for ZAG to lower costs. They could attract more airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      ZAG already offers lower fees to new airlines and airlines willing to fly a full year for the first year of operations.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:43

      This is standard incentive policy at many airports.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:22

    It was good while it lasted.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous09:24

    I feared this would happen.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous09:29

    It's devastating what this virus has done to the aviation industry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:08

      Not just aviation, most travel industry is heavily effected.

      I'm surprised we haven't seen any big bankruptcies yet.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous20:44

      They will come very soon.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:33

    Wasn't there talk that they might combine Budapest-Zagreb?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:30

      Budapest is terminated too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:51

      KE might have ran away from BUD but LO has already resumed flights because of big demand.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:42

      Big demand? Are you for real?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:22

      Maintaining flights in winter during a raging pandemic is a good indication of the market size.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:33

    Shame would have been nice seeing these Dreamliner birds on a regular basis.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:35

    I hope Korean Air weathers the storm and we see them back in Zagreb :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:37

    The best thing ZAG should do in the short term is forget about these long haul flights and focus on the EU market. Those non-European pax who want to visit Croatia will be arriving from EU.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous09:37

    This route almost exclusively depends on tourists so its just question of whether there will demand for leisure travel next year.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous09:41

    So sad :(

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous09:42

    this is just bad

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous09:42

    It's a shame. This route was developing nicely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      No disrespect intended, but was it really? It went from all year round to seasonal.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:49

      Well capacity was to increase in summer from A330 to B787.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous09:42

    Many people predicated this would happen.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous09:43

    ZAG could never compete with BUD and VIE. Both of these airports are entry points for Koreans visiting the region. LO resumed ICN from BUD quite early and KE flies to Vienna, both scheduled and cargo flights. ZAG lost this important battle and it's time for management (and the government) to think how to proceed from here and how to stimulate demand and attract new airlines.

    ZAG must not lose FZ after losing EK and KE. This is a vital route for the airport to keep connections to the Asia, Oceania and Africa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:46

      I agree the airport should work to keep FZ but the vital links to Asia, Oceania and Africa are also maintained by Qatar Airways.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:51

      If you think about it, covid has thrown ZAG a decade or so. Just whipped out all the effort made over the years. TK reduced frequencies, QR not planning many flights, FZ uncertainty, SU down to a few weekly flights on SSJ (even before covid), loss of KE and so on.

      Lot's of work ahead for the management.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:55

      Much more worrying for ZAG than those airlines is OU and what will happen next year. They don't seem to be planing to resume a lot of routes. That will have the biggest impact.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:08

      Unlike most European airlines, OU didn't fire excess employees, they just cut the salaries. That was a major mistake. They could have used covid as a convenient excuse.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:14

      Well that is why October salaries were late. Official reason given was that the company is waiting for the approved aid from the government. Which basically means the airline did not have enough money. ie. is not liquid.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:15

      How much was the delay in salaries? That's not good, actually that's the worst you can do at a time like this as it depresses the workforce even more, demotivates them. Worst thing is that they have nowhere else to go, I really feel sorry for them that they have to go through this.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:39

      I think depends where you worked, mine was 13 days.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:23

      Could not compete with BUD or VIE? Why did KE then cancel those flights as well for next year?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:31

      KE did not even start BUD. It is LO that is still flying it. One weekly this winter.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous09:47

    The whole year has gone down the drain for aviation and next is not looking much more promising.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21

      Things will probably start improving next winter season.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous09:49

    The decision is not surprising.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous09:51

    Korean Air's ticket prices were crazy expensive both ways. And, on top of that, ZAG airport is crazy expensive. Not a good combination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      Tickets were expensive because most seats were bought by tour operators who had special access to lower fares.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      Didn't know that

      Delete
  30. Anonymous09:59

    Maybe we now see QR restore more frequencies to ZAG next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:03

      At the moment they are still planned as double daily (pre pandemic level).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:06

      Doubt that will happen.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08

      It would be great if they flew double daily but I also doubt this will happen. The timetable will probably be revised.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:36

      My guess is three weekly on the B788 next summer.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:38

      That wouldn't be bad at all.

      Delete
  31. Anonymous10:19

    Depressing.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous10:24

    First Emirates, now Korean... hopefully things will improve sooner rather than later.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous10:31

    Ac next

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:39

      Or maybe AC mainaline takes over the route from AC Rouge.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:55

      AC mainline is expensive to operate, they go where yields are high.

      Delete
  34. Anonymous11:51

    Well. KE suspended sales on maaany european routes, not just to ZAG, like BCN, VIE, BUD, PRG which does not mean that there will be no flights. I mean, chances for ZAG are reallz slim, but BCN could work for them.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous15:03

    Markets might not restore before 2023 or even 2024. By that time new generation of tourists might not have the same interest in flying to same destinations tourists flew in 2018 or 19. Covid will have lasting effect and new destinations will emerge. Zagreb is not likely to be a hot destination in a couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:06

      The latest prediction by IATA is that markets won't restore before 2025.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous15:43

      In the short-term, when things start calming down (probably next summer) people will not travel for leisure long haul. Most will visit neighboring or nearby countries. Scenes of being stuck in a foreign country as was the case in March will be the reason for this.

      Delete
  36. Anonymous15:41

    With this pandemic developing as it is, this is not surprising. Koreans can't travel anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous15:43

    Anyone know which European office covers (covered) Zagreb sales for KE?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:59

      Vienna I believe

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:55

      Prague.

      Delete
  38. Anonymous15:59

    Really unfortunate. Especially when you think that this year Air Asia X was to fly charters from Bangkok to Zagreb and KE increase capacity...

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous20:40

    South Korea had an 8 month high in covid cases today,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:24

      That's so sad, praying for their fast recovery.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09

      Should be noted that the 8 month high is 80 cases in 24 hours. Peanuts compared to Europe.

      Delete
  40. Anonymous08:41

    Croatian statistical institution announced yesterday that GDP in Q3 fell by 10% and that we are officially in a recession. This shows how much has to be done in order to reduce reliance on tourism and how we need to boost manufacturing.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous10:50

    Since I'm a Croat learning Korean, I looked forward to flying with them from Zagreb to Seoul maybe next year or the year after. But this just makes my 2020 mood even better. Thanks:)

    ReplyDelete

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