Croatia Airlines to adapt and compete against Ryanair


Croatia Airlines has said it will adapt to new market conditions in order to remain competitive against budget carrier Ryanair, which will open a base in Zagreb this September. In its first comments on the matter, the company said, “Croatia Airlines will adapt its business to the new circumstances on the market as much as possible. It should be noted that some of the newly announced routes [by Ryanair] are to secondary airports at destinations served by the national airline which regularly flies to primary airports, i.e. major European hubs (Brussels, Frankfurt, Rome, London, Paris), throughout the year, thus continuously providing Croatia with connectivity with the rest of the world”.

Croatia Airlines recently selected RateGain to gather vital pricing insights and competitive intelligence data. "To remain the airline of choice for all travellers in Croatia, we must have an accurate understanding of fares that are offered and available to customers across all digital platforms. This tool gives us the required exhaustive and real-time insights about our market and competition, thus helping us take data-backed decisions to boost profits and plan for growth", the Croatian carrier said. The selected company further added that Croatia Airlines was looking to expand its destination network “after the pandemic”.

Croatia Airlines faces a tough challenge from Ryanair in the months to come. Of greater concern to the company is the budget carrier’s plans to more than double its operations from Zagreb in the coming years. Ryanair has said it aims to become the largest airline in both Zagreb and Croatia. The low cost carrier will serve alternative airports in London, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Rome and Oslo, which are all served by Croatia Airlines, although some have been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic. Furthermore, unlike the Croatian carrier, Ryanair will offer nonstop flights to Rome, and is also launching operations to Gothenburg, which in the pre-pandemic 2019 was Zagreb Airport’s third busiest unserved route in Europe.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    This does not sound convincing at all "Croatia Airlines will adapt its business to the new circumstances on the market as much as possible."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:33

      its similar with "wizzier then Wizz" from the other ExYu airline

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:37

      At least the other ex-Yu airline has made some concrete actions in competing against airlines and its home has been an LCC base from the start. Fare monitoring is constant. They drop prices when they have competition, they have adjusted their on board product, they have launched many new routes, they have completely unbundled their fares...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:38

      sorry but Ryanair announced the base only TWO DAYS AGO

      Delete
    4. Nemjee09:51

      Do you honestly think OU only found out two days ago? You think they don't have sources and people they know who work for the airport? These talks lasted at least a few months. It's literally impossible for OU not to have known.

      If they were truly serious about competing against FR then they would have done something months ago. Getting a software that let's them know what their competition is charging is far from enough to ensure their survival. Matching prices only works if they still make enough to cover their costs.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:52

      If OU was advised in advance of the public announcement, it would be a crime for them to act upon the leaked information.

      Delete
    6. Croatia Airlines been having losses for few years and didn't sort this mess... I don't think that now they gona sort themselves specially fighting Ryannair which means less money, more competition, less passengers... I can see only bankruptcy...

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:49

      Oh please anon @13.52. A "crime"

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:53

      In your opinion, only some crimes count? Only the ones where the perpetrator looks the victim in the eyes? If you think it's ok to violate competition law, perhaps you don't consider it a problem either that Croatia is one of the EU's most corrupt countries?

      Delete
  2. Nemjee09:02

    Hey OU, you are late, April 1st was yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Unfortunately, in the middle of the pandemic, I'm not sure OU has the strength to compete against Ryanair in any way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    It's their own fault. They literally had no competition from LCCs in Zagreb for years (Eurowings is their stepmother's child so I don't include them). They have been sleeping this entire time. Offering Rome via Dubrovnik/Split for almost 30 years, very slow in opening new routes and those that have opened are all seasonal. Little to no reaction to Adria going bankrupt. They just do nothing and wait for government support when it becomes tough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:08

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:17

      +100

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:00

      Completely agree. OU has had years to adapt and didn't. I don't see them around in 5 year's time

      Delete
    4. Yep, they had such a competitive edge in a country which in the pre-covid 2019. had almost 12 million air passengers and they did nothing about it.
      In a perfect world OU should be left to float or sink and if they survive - fine. Unfortunately, in the real world they'll probably get more tax money.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    Well that price monitoring software will come in handy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:05

    Good luck with that, you will need it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:06

    I'm really concerned about their future. I think it will be very difficult for the government to again give them financial support.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:06

    ZAG management has obviously turned their back on OU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      They gave them five years to do something.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:22

      They gave up on protecting the national airline.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      Well I hope Zagreb Airport understands they will loose a lot of money id Croatia Airlines shrinks or goes bankrupt.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:36

      not really because Ryanair is flying with huge discounts (forgot the percentage)

      its exact the same situation as in FRA. Lufthansa was stagnating (aka growing in MUC)
      => they made incentives for new airlines (and invited Ryanair)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:38

      What is managements current work experience and qualifications ?

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:09

      ZAG gave OU 7 years, not 5 (2014-2020). And I think ZAG did not gave up protecting the national airline, otherwise they wouldn't limit discounts with new routes. Besides, it is clever to conclude a deal with another carrier to launch a base, which'll ensure connectivity in case of flag carrier's bankruptcy.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:07

    Biggest challenge for Croatia Airlines certainly in the last 20 years. Let's see what happens.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:07

    At least the consumers will benefit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:08

    Hopefully Ryanair's arrival wakes Croatia Airlines up from its induced coma.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:10

    You snooze you loose

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:11

    Ryanair has entered other markets with weak national carriers and all have survived. I think the same will be the case here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:58

      Survived, sure. Alitalia is only 3rd largest airline in Italy, behind FR and EZY.

      And even that is only due to permanent life support.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous03:59

      @10:58
      Alitalia's situation is not a result of competition though. It's just a result of bad management. All the right elements are there, and Alitalia is just not taking advantage of it. A large country with a large and wealthy population, two great population centres which at the same time are major tourist and business destinations (Rome/Milan), Alitalia's market has all the ingredients to make Alitalia a major network carrier like Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM and Iberia and Rome has the potential to be a major hub. But where other European airports hit 70 million annual passengers, Rome is stuck at 45 million. And Alitalia's network performance is worse than TAP Portugal, Brussels Airlines or Austrian Airlines. And all airlines I mentioned here, have heavy competition from low-cost carriers, including Ryanair. But Alitalia is the only one performing so bad. And it's already the 5th or 6th version of Alitalia as it has gone bankrupt several times. Italians created some amazing companies and they know how to make money, but they don't know how to run an airline.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:13

    What response can we see from Croatia Airlines? New routes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Nothing as usual.

      Delete
    2. Step one :leasing at favourable prices more Q400's and opening new ex-yu regional routes. Leasing at favourable prices first 330 and opening 3 EWR and 2 YYZ or YUL, codesharing on main lines and feeding both ends with UA and AC. Starting these between this september and March 2022 latest.

      Step 2 : leasing more 319 /320 and starting more charters from the coast, and adding another 330 for increased frequencies on EWR and YYZ (YUL) and starting 3 BKK, with wide range TG codeshares to China, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Opening more Eastern Europe and Middle East destinations with part of newly leased 320F. Starting summer 2022 between July and August.

      Step 3 : converting order for 4 320 neo to 2 320 neo and 2 321XLR, starting another North America destination and BOM/DEL. Increasing frequencies on existing long-haul services. Starting its own LCC division (previously coastal charters). Starting 2024.

      Step 4 : switching Q400 fleet to Embraer family. switching 330 to 350, acquiring more 321XLR, starting 2025

      Nothing of these would of course happen but only introduction of long-haul, more transfer passengers, new markets in two words physical growth, together with reduction of seasonality (INDIA, BKK, LCC) can save them. And with all of the money thrown in the wind till now, it should have been done years ago

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:02

      Where would they get the money? HR Government can't give them more and I don't think LHR slots would be enough.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:35

      for your plan to happen you would need 400 mil :)

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:42

      I honestly don't get this delusion that starting longhaul will help. Where is the money to throw away on such a vanity project.

      Delete
    6. Yes, Qatar, Emirates, Korean Air, American, Transat, Air Canada and Asia X in announcement are all delusional for flying long-haul passengers to and from Croatia. Also all successful long-haul operators from not that big, rich or populated countries (TAP, Finnair, LOT, even Air Serbia lately) are delusional. And if Bulgaria, with almost no tourism from distant markets and almost no immigrant community on other continents can start Gullivair, private company with almost no feed, than I definitely wouldn't call my proposal vanity, or delusional. It is the only way to stay afloat, but you are absolutely entitled to your opinion

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:58

      Just throwing around '3 BKK', '4 EWR' etc like it is nothing and there is no competition anyway on long haul and over capacity that airline will need to take care of in upcoming years. Who is going to pay for that, why, with what returns and in what time frame is that even doable? You could have just as easily said they should buy 50-100 narrow body, achieve FR cost structure and attack Ryan Air or kill everyone in this part of Europe to survive. Yeah, it is that easy to throw stuff around as solutions. If FR delivers on their announcement in ZAG, realistically OU cannot do anything about it if we are talking about actual commercially logical things.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous12:14

      OU needs to start by offloading a load of there workforce, such an overstaffed bloated structure. Such an excess of cousins, brothers, mothers of party leaders is a joke, but I can assure you this will never happen. Probably more chance of them flying daily to Mumbai, Delhi and NYC.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous12:43

      Living in fantasy world i see...

      Delete
    10. @An.11.58
      I fully agree with you, OU realistically cannot do anything about FR in ZAG, and all other LCC's in CROATIA, and all other legacy and non-legacy competition in ZAG and Croatia. They cannot do anything because they are incompetent, corrupt, mismanaged and inert. That's why I said what I suggest as solution would actually never happen. And that's precisely, again hypothetically, in order to survive, why they have to do what FR is not doing in ZAG, and that is transfer, and long-haul. Of course my numbers of frequencies are not "carved in the stone" but I firmly believe are most conservative numbers, and could actually be bigger, based on existing traffic on the markets mentioned, with expected growth created by transfer traffic and post-covid changes. Again, there are examples of airlines from smaller countries operating long-haul successfully. If there is one potential candidate for that kind of operations between Austria/Italy and Greece/Turkey, that's Croatia. Unfortunately, people who insist of feeding LH and maintaining status quo, which I see in your text because you don't give any other suggestions, brought OU where it is, and that's why OU will sooner or later follow Adria to rest in peace.

      Delete
    11. Anonymous13:52

      In OU there are far more immportant things to do and to be changed then start to fly long haul. And there are far more profitabile things to do then flying long haul out of market smaller then Bucharest or Kiev. Lets first start with flying daily with A320s from SPU, DBV and ZAG, then try to make proper wawes out of ZAG, cancel international routes out of ZAD, PUY and RJK, establish bases in SPU and DBV, try to reach 6 million passeengers in 8 years period and then we can talk about long haul. Remember that number of year round long haul routes before pandemic was 0, that JU was losing money on JKF for years and that Croatia (country) is not Portugal, Poland or Finland.

      Delete
    12. Anonymous13:56

      "Starting its own LCC division"
      Give me an example of succesful LCC division of an airline with less then 20 mil. passengers in 2019. or before.

      Delete
    13. Agree with proper waves. Agree with cutting international from ZAD/PUY/RJK. Agree with concentrating on proper SPU and DBV networking. Disagree with market smaller than Kiev and Bucharest. City and country smaller, yes. Market, no. And think long-haul in market like Croatia, with much more developed regional and overall medium range network, which would feed it, is the only way to go, especially with current lease prices, and future start of 321XLR

      Delete
    14. @13.56
      Very conveniently you took from buffet table what you like. 2024 makes (small) difference :)

      Delete
    15. Anonymous14:10

      Ok then give me an example of LCC division which will be established in 2024.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous14:15

      "Disagree with market smaller than Kiev and Bucharest. City and country smaller, yes. Market, no."
      Both cities had more then 12 mil. passengers in 2019.
      "And think long-haul in market like Croatia, with much more developed regional and overall medium range network, which would feed it, is the only way to go, especially with current lease prices, and future start of 321XLR"
      Its not so easy as you think. In Europe you have a lot of airlines who are already in long haul, some are really large operating on big markets with a lot of resources some are losing moeny on it. Take an example of OS or Malev. They were or are still doing what you are proposing but they are getting destroyed by huge competition.

      Delete
    17. I will. When you are not Anonymous. And when you say please.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous14:24

      So, if i can understand you, after writing bunch of comments with different anonymous commetators, you want that i make a name to get your answer? So you want this from me because you do not have an example of succesulf LCC division of legacy airline under 20 mil. , right?

      Delete
    19. OS still exists. Hungary and Croatia are completely different markets. Malev didn't have India flights. 2008 crisis largely contributed to its demise too. Fleet was worse and less economical compared to my proposed for OU. Maybe they had issue with excess administrative workforce, which is number one OU should do, immediately. And, no I cannot give you guarantee overall operations I suggested would be successful and profitable immediately, and that's what someone is supposed to do. The problem is NOBODY EVER TRIED to do it in OU, and will highly likely not do it, and as long as we don't have such analysis neither me neither you can claim being right. I am just saying I cannot understand 6 airline companies from other continents fly to Croatia, all European legacies have half of long-haul transfer passengers on their flights from Croatia, and OU staying aside and doing nothing. If they remain to do so, they will disappear. If they try to do at least some calculations for what I suggest, that might be the way out. And that's it for today, have to do other stuff now. Ciao!

      Delete
    20. Anonymous14:44

      "OS still exists. "
      Yes. Is it succesul in its operations which you are proposing for OU? No.
      " Hungary and Croatia are completely different markets. "
      Yes. Hungary is larger. Why are then you giving me examples of Poland and Finland if you thing that "different" markets should not be compared?
      "Malev didn't have India flights."
      Ok, so whats your point with flights to India?
      "Fleet was worse and less economical compared to my proposed for OU. "
      Does not make a difference with failing on long haul. Your proposed fleet cost a lot and no one is going to invest so much money in OU anyway.
      "The problem is NOBODY EVER TRIED to do it in OU, and will highly likely not do it, and as long as we don't have such analysis neither me neither you can claim being right."
      So does it mean we should go for long haul just because "nobody ever tried" it?
      " I am just saying I cannot understand 6 airline companies from other continents fly to Croatia, all European legacies have half of long-haul transfer passengers on their flights from Croatia, and OU staying aside and doing nothing"
      Air Canada Rouge, Emirates, Korean, American, Transat=5 airlines tried it but only during the season. OU would need to do it all year round. And they have huge commpetition.

      Delete
    21. Anonymous04:28

      Your proposal would take a timeframe of at least 50 years. It's very simple: the economic/demographic structure of Croatia can currently not sustain the type of airline you propose. You're comparing countries that are either much larger and/or much richer than Croatia, while they also have a fair share of important companies (=business passengers) and/or a network of ex-colonies (=VFR+business passengers).

      Another issue is that OU is member of the wrong airline alliance. Star Alliance covers so much airlines in Europe, that Croatia Airlines just has nothing to offer to them, except feeder services. LH, LO, A3, TK, SK, TP, OS, LX, SN are all member of Star Alliance. So OU better joins OneWorld as the first Eastern European airline. That is the only opportunity to develop into a sizeable network carrier with, in the long run, a potential for a few long-haul destinations. OneWorld is literally only present on the edges of Europe (IB, BA, EI, AY, S7). Central and Eastern Europe are a huge blind spot for OneWorld and that could be covered by OU. Also, OneWorld would have only 4 transfer airlines to North America instead of 9 with Star Alliance. So instead of feeding, Croatia Airlines would be able to fly straight long-haul to a few AA and AC hubs. But I can tell you that if OU sticks to Star Alliance, there is zero perspective for development.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:15

    OU is as good as dead now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      OU management is already killing OU, Ryanair will just speed up the process.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:16

    Has Croatia Airlines reduced its fares on those markets that they will have Ryanair as competition?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:21

    Good luck to Croatia Airlines. Hope they manage to survive this.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:21

    Dead man walking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      LCCs coexist with national airlines at other airports.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:29

      Its not the problem to coexist. The problem is, OU is not profitable. And in the moment when they will need help from government Ryanair will do everything they can to block that help. Because they know if OU go bust they will benefit from that. And don't be naive, don't think they are there for Croatian people. They are in Zagreb to do business and make money. If they don't get what they want they will leave (discount airport fees etc.).

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:24

    Ryanair or Croatia Airlines? That's the question.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous09:29

    I'm all for Ryanair coming to Zagreb BUT government should first offload Croatia Airlines and have found a sustainable partner for the,.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nemjee09:58

      The government tried to find someone who wanted to buy them but there were no takers. I think this is the easiest way out of OU. They keep them alive for a bit longer and then when they eventually die the market will just switch to FR.
      It would be much worse if OU went bankrupt without a viable alternative for the local market. OU had very little transfers so they were mostly surviving on O&D and people who connected onto LH Group. FR will provide the market with many, many nonstop flights reducing the need to connect via Europe's main hubs. LH et al. will handle markets that are not served with non-stop flights, especially long-haul destinations.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:09

      Who would buy a company that clearly doesn't have a sustainable business model, other than to perhaps keep the AOC, the brand and start from scratch? No one.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:31

    Like one commentator said above, Ryanair will now be watching Croatia Airlines as a hawk. They will be complaining about state aid to them, reporting them to the European Commission and so on. Very difficult times ahead for Croatia Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous09:31

    It's nice they will adapt. Pity they didn't tell us how.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      I don't think even they know.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous09:35

    So Croatia airlines, flag carrier who uses differentiation (flag carrier) or focus strategy (Croatia) will go after Ryanair who uses cost leadership strategy.

    In what way do they think they can win this fight?
    Do they have a lower operational cost?
    Do they have economics of scale?

    If they go on this route, they will become a ‘hybrid’. Giving costumers below average level of service with above average price.

    Do recommend they study strategy development and market positioning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:39

      define bellow average level of service nowadays please

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:53

      Ticket sales to secondary network
      Customer support to solve routing do to network disruption
      Ticket reimbursements
      Baggage allocation included in the ticket price
      Lost baggage return service
      On-board services included in ticket price
      Network time schedule
      Customer support for missing connection flight
      .....

      Delete
  24. Anonymous09:44

    Firstly, OU should introduce 100-seaters, if not change the entire A320 familly fleet with them. That would make them more resiliant to the inevitable loss of pax on certain routes; it would also enable them to searc for new desinations.

    Secondly, they must develop their regional netwok asap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:10

      So now, under pressure they should change their whole fleet structure, and greatly expand their regional network.

      Sorry buddy but way too late for that.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous09:50

    And here I was told that ZAG does not need ultra LCCs and that the general travel public will never fly these airlines from Zagreb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:26

      Zagreb people are too posh and rich for sorry ass Ryanair anyways.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:27

      How yes no

      Delete
    3. If Zagreb people are too good to fly FR, there are plenty of us from RJK who will be using the services. So, don't worry :) But I am actually not sure it's complete true because I was seeing a looot of ZG plates at RJK airport catching FR flights to Skavsta, Stansted, Charleroi, Frankfurt, Oslo....

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:17

      Yes, cuz posh people like to throw money away without reason... give me a break!

      Delete
  26. Anonymous09:51

    What I find unfortunate is that several major LCCs used to fly to Zagreb but not anymore. Hope they come back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:13

      I don't think they'll be needed as the Beast has arrived!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:55

      True. Ryanair beat them to it.

      Delete
  27. Well... maybe until September they will go bankrupt and don't have to adapt at all!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous10:57

    To 'remain the airline of choice in Croatia', you need to have a NETWORK that people will want to fly ... staying on top of your pricing is a normal part of business that you need to do EVERYDAY - with or without software.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:07

      It was reported that right now there are 18.000 tourists in Croatia, 13.000 foreign and 5.000 local ones. This is a drop from 180.000 last year. This is a drop of 90%, OU was also affected by this. Unfortunately it will make them more weak when FR hits them.

      Delete
    2. What are you talking about? March and April last year was complete lock-down in Croatia. I couldn't go from Rijeka to Opatija. There were ZERO tourists. What 180.000?What 90%drop?

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:06

    I just love this secondary airport argument. There has been a major convergence of 'legacy' and LCC models.
    It will be a massive challenge for OU. The combination of incompetence, complacency and COVID will be the end of it.
    MALEV repeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:18

      Secondary airport argument is the most common one legacy airlines use :D

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:45

      Indeed. The argument holds as long as passengers perceive it as a benefit and are willing to splash a premium for it.
      When all of a sudden, the traffic to/from a destination is split between 'primary' and 'secondary' airport, I doubt that there will be enough demand for OU.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous11:07

    At least with Kucko at the helm of the airline, it was never dull and he actually made decisions - whether they were the right ones or not - he was doing things. I don;t even know the name of the current CEO ... he is never out in front being pro-active or even being visible. What a crying shame to see things develop like this ! We now expect action from a guy and a management team facing a behemoth - who were totally invisible during the good times.

    This does not look good at all ....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:34

      For Croatia Airlines just to start to think of competing they must send the Management away incl. CEO .stop the politics .They way this management is running Croatia Airlines in 6 month's time there won't be an airline over

      Delete
  31. Anonymous11:30

    Did somebody tell OU management that Ciampino is a perfect airport and it is at the same distance from Rome center as Fiumicino? The only difference is that from Fiumicino you have a dedicated train, Leonardo, while from Ciampino there are loads of buses. Time is the same. Plus Ciampino is a direct flight. I see this FR flight a success.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous11:36

    I live in London and I'm from Croatia. To get to Croatia in the winter is the most hardest thing compared to summer. The prices of the flights to get to Croatia are disgusting I really can't believe it. I'm really happy Ryan is starting Stansted. I don't care that it's cheap Ryan anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous11:53

    As much as I despise FR and the way in which they operate, they are a profitable company and have enabled many more people to travel. Ever since OU started flying 30 years ago they have achieved nothing. They have failed to flourish in ZAG despite for many years being protected from competition and have given the coast away to the likes of Easyjet. Many governmental officials have been complicit in the downfall of the national carrier, mainly through cronyism, incompetence and general Balkan mentality problems. Is it any surprise nobody wants to buy this feeble airline?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous12:37

    Right... as if Croatia Airlines is competent enough to do that...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous13:19

    With the 2021 summer season shaping up to be equally bad as 2020, and with FR starting flights in September, honestly I don't see OU surviving until summer 2022.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous14:42

    Looking forward for miracle in adapting and competing considering CA has almost similar sized staff as Ryanair, 2-3000, and around 20 times less planes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:51

      Ryanair has more than 3000 staff.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22:54

      As of the fiscal year ending March 2020, Ryanair employed 17,268 people. Cabin crew staff made up more than half of the total staff body, with 9,725 employees. Ryanair employed approximately 5,600 pilots, making them the second largest group within the staff body.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous21:47

    I think that Ryan Air has set it's sights on Croatia's coastal cities where there is real money to be made. Zagreb is inferior to Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar etc . For OU to survive, there needs to be less government control, direct routes that avoid Zagreb, & a whole new marketing strategy with younger minds. OU is at a pivotal point right now. The question is whether they understand the consequences should Ryan Air has a stranglehold on the Croatian travel scene.

    ReplyDelete
  38. To your point, for a few years now I have said that Croatian should first concentrate on point to point travel within Croatia!! A network of Q-400's flying out of a Zagreb hub, to Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, and Osijek, along with Ljublana, Budapest, Vienna, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Mostar, Posgorica, and Tirans and Ohrid would do fantastic in my mind. We know that the RyanAir clients after arriving in Zagreb, will in many cases take inland bus or train service, also most intl. Airlines like British, Lufthansa, Swiss, AirFrance etc feed the inland Croatian flights to the coast!! Finaly 2 major capitals Budapest and Ljubljana have zero direct flights to Zagreb, business travelers are completely overlooked!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:12

      What? LJU-ZAG? ZAG-RJK? That's less than 2h by car. It takes more time door-to-door flying than by taking a car.

      Delete
    2. Perfect, so I guess air routes like Budapest-Vienna, or Boston-New York City, should all be scrapped because they take 2 hours by car, obviously you have not thought about it. Arrive on any European RyanAir, or and European or international flight to Zagreb
      with Rijeka region as your final destination. I have only done this about a dozen times,since I lived in Opatija for two years and worked as a tour organizer for international groups and tourists!! Land in Zagreb, on a good day 30 to 45 minutes
      clearing customs and pick up your luggage, about 60 minutes with the airport bus to Zagreb central bus station, and give or take 3 hours to Rijeka bus station!! From June to early September as you know the travel time due to traffic can be much longer, winter time even worse when the Autostrada is closed due to high wind, and you inch your way through GorskiKotar, yes I do know what I"m talking about!!
      Compare that to landing in Zagreb, and arriving at Rijeka airport ( Krk island) and
      a 45 minute airport bus to Rijeka bus station!! The same with Ljubljana, crossing the border can take minutes, or hours, add to that a small to midsize group in a tour bus, where only one lane is open, and sometimes I have sat there waiting with my group for hours!! You did not mention Budapest..60 minute flight, or 5 hours by
      car, or Flixbus, and 6.5 hours by train, all three with border control delays !!!

      Delete
    3. notLufthansa09:15

      dude, do you really think that anything can land at Krk when bora is so strong, they have to close the traffic on the highway? And you have no idea how Slovenians operate - its all about cars....only suitable route LJU-RJK would be more trains.

      Delete
    4. My name is Peter not dude ( not )..and imagine I do have a very good idea as
      I lived in both Piran and Izola. It's all about cars for Slovenians, good the
      guys who founded GoOpti saw it another way, but you could be right, that
      must be the reason that Adria went belly-up!!

      Delete
    5. Ljubljana Zagreb flight is nonsense. Ljubljana is actually not Ljubljana but Kranj. My friend Marko Cvijin sometimes made ferry fights Ljubljana Zagreb asTAS his TRADE AIR replaced ADRIA AIRWAYS. FLIGHT ZAGREB BUDAPEST had sense when MALEV opérateur from Budapest further.

      Delete
  39. Every flight I ever took with Croatia Airlines in the last 20 years was late. I hope EasyJet opens Gatwick Zag corridor again!

    ReplyDelete

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