Eurowings continues Zagreb expansion with new routes


Lufthansa’s low cost subsidiary Eurowings is continuing to expand its presence in Zagreb, with the carrier to introduce flights from Prague to the Croatian capital this winter season. It comes after announcing new operations from Dusseldorf starting this August and Berlin from March next year. Eurowings is opening a base in the Czech capital, with services to Zagreb to be maintained once per week, each Saturday, starting November 6, increasing to two weekly during the holiday peak from December 16, 2021 until January 16, 2022. “Eurowings will offer non-stop connections to Czech business travellers and vacationers alike - just in time for the relaunch of air traffic after the long Corona crisis. We will focus on offering a local touch combined with top-notch customer-friendly services at our Prague base that will clearly distinguish Eurowings from low cost airlines”, the carrier said. It will deploy a 150-seat Airbus A319 aircraft on the route.

Route Launch date
Dusseldorf - Zagreb31.08.2021
Prague - Zagreb06.10.2021
Berlin - Zagreb28.03.2022

Flights between Zagreb and Prague were last operated by Croatia Airlines, which maintained services between the two cities on a seasonal basis with its Dash 8 turboprop. However, the carrier suspended flights at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and does not plan to restore operations this year either. Prior to that, Czech Airlines made another attempt at serving the city from 2016, initially launching year-round flights before downgrading the service to seasonal in 2017 and discontinuing operations at the end of summer 2019, noting it would not services in 2020.

Eurowings currently maintains flights from Stuttgart and Cologne to the Croatian capital, with Dusseldorf to commence at the end of August. This summer, it is operating a total of 460 flights from Zagreb (return service included), with 74.220 seats on sale. Based on the number of frequencies, it is Zagreb’s second largest low cost carrier this summer and the fifth largest airline overall, behind Croatia Airlines, Ryanair, KLM and its parent company Lufthansa. Capacity-wise it is the fourth largest airline in the Croatian capital, ahead of the German national carrier.


Comments

  1. Anonymous09:01

    Another route Croatia Airlines is getting pushed out of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:02

      At least they have BCG to advise them what to do....

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      ^ they are doing a great job so far for all that $$$

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:56

      I wonder if Zagreb can hit 8 million by 2030? With all these announcements.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:01

    Well let's hope it third time lucky for this route which somehow doesn't work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:02

      It's one weekly so maybe it can be successful this time.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:16

      Hope so

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:21

      HM, once per week, not sure about that being smart move, ideally you either go with twice weekly or trice, but not once a week. What one suppose to do for whole week in Zagreb/Croatia?

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:02

    Brave launching in winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:07

      When many predict a new corona wave. I would be cautious about buying tickets on this route but either way I'm glad Zagreb will get another route replaced.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:25

      So you can say that for every winter route everywhere. Nothing is sure, and no need to be so smart.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:05

    OMG, ZAG did wake up! And now it seems to be on fire!
    I'm sure FR will also launch BER and try competing with EW on the route. They have a solid presence there.
    For PRG, not sure about demand but still makes sense connecting 2 EU capitals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      BER is unserved, EW is only selling flights with a connection

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:16

      As you can see in the article nonstop flights start from 28th of March.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:05

    More and more LCC routes coming to ZAG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:25

      Finally.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:25

      Until Ryanair announced its base, there was bigger LCC presence in Zagreb 10 years ago.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:05

    Great news

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:05

    Always though they would be the one to open a base in Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:27

      They were supposed to a few years ago. Croatia Airlines complained to Lufthansa about Eurowings. Because Eurowings held direct talks with the government about opening a base in Zagreb. OU was very angry, but managed to lobby the government and airport not to give into Eurowings demands at the time. So nothing happened and they managed to delay the inevitable of an LCC opening a base by two years. They did nothing in those two years to prepare for the scenario.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:30

      Funny how it was also the same time that the airport held negotiations with Lauda but nothing came out of it. Ryanair/Lauda used ZAG's desperation to get them to accept their terms so here we are today.
      I know the airport was frustrated with OU but I think long-term they will lose out with FR as they are losing the potential for transfer passenger only OU could bring them.

      From this year ZAG will be an exclusively O&D airport.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:38

      Well it is good to have an alternative if your main customer is on the verge of the abyss. Look at what happened in Ljubljana. There was no one to pick up the pieces. I'm sure that if OU does go bankrupt, FR will announce another 10 new routes.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:54

      Will they? I mean OU is pathetic so I don't see what their bankruptcy will mean for FR in terms of new markets. Only DBV could make sense and maybe SKP.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:56

      There are a number of markets they can open, especially to German and take part of the Zagreb-Germany cake which is very large with multiple flights.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:07

    It looks to me as if ZAG airport management is looking at replacing Croatia Airlines on more and more routes. Do they know something we don't?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:12

      In case Croatia Airlines went bankrupt it would be easily replaced, much easier than Adria as Croatia Airlines has a Lufthansa feeder network. Basically those routes would be taken over by Lufthansa group airlines and that's it. OU does not fly to anything east of Zagreb except Athens so no problem.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:13

    Nice to see more and more new routes from Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous09:19

    Nice. For a European airport in the EU, Zagreb is missing a load of routes. I won't even mention Nordic countries. No flights to Norway, Sweden or Finland. Even before corona they were barely served by OU seasonally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For Finland only Finnair would have chance outside the season. Because they are strong in Asia especially Japan & China. And now without Korean and Emirates in Zagreb, they would have a chance.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:13

      But what about SAS? I would think ARN could work year-round no?

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:19

    The best news about this is that it is a year round route served in winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:12

      Yes, like all the new Ryanair routes. Really good news.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:19

    This is a clear sign that LH Group has given up on OU. They are rushing to preserve what market is good for them before Ryanair takes it from them. With OU being pushed out of Prague I wonder what they will do with extra capacity next summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      I think in this case it's a preemptive strike against Ryanair. FR has a big network and base from Prague and they probably foresaw that FR would likely launch flights from Prague to Zagreb sooner or later.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:18

      ^ What you say makes sense on paper but not in practice. Ryanair is ONLY launching flights that have not been served from Zagreb in the past two years. This way they qualify for the incentives.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:19

      I still stand by my belief. Next summer it would be 2 years and Ryanair could launch the route. That is why I think Eurowings made the decision to launch it in the dead of winter.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:20

    Interesting Eurowings went for a base in Prague.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:18

      CSA is dead so..

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:21

    Eurowings really stagnated in Croatia in 2019 so it is good to see they are making a comeback of a sorts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:32

      They had massive losses in 2019.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:46

      And now they don't

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:22

    I don't like this airline. It's basically LCC service with Lufthansa prices.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:25

      I notice that they sell "Business class" on their flights. Can someone explain to me what that means on an LCC?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:27

      There we go:
      https://www.eurowings.com/en/information/our-fares/bizclass/short-medium-haul-routes.html

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:28

      Thank you. Well it's a bit hilarious calling that business class. Wizz Air sells those perks as their most expensive economy fare.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:32

      That's why Eurowings is a scam, they have an identity crisis which they were struggling with for a few years now. The only reason why they opened a Prague base is because they are the only LCC that was willing to be ripped off by the airport.

      Prague is a notoriously expensive airport with a very complex tariff system.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:34

      But Ryanair has a base in Prague.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:37

      They do but it's one that has been rather modest compared to the size of the airport. Remember some years ago when Wizz opened Vienna they closed the Prague one because they complained about high fees.
      PRG has a monopoly so it can do what they want. Ryanair has enough yields to sustain the flights they currently offer at higher charges. Also many of FR flights are operated by non-PRG planes.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous14:57

      What do you mean PRG has a monopoly?

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:29

    Any plans for them to restart Hamburg-Zagreb?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      Highly doubt it. It was seasonal and operated for two months per year. Just 8 flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:31

      What was the point then?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:32

      Probably just for Croatians visiting in summer their families in Germany or Croatia for holidays.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:31

    Flights that operate once weekly are hardly profitable, unless charters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:17

      Not necessarily. Depends on a lot of factors.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:48

    The LCC offer from ZAG is getting bigger and bigger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02

      Hope we see Wizz Air or easyjet start flights too.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:28

      There was talk about Wizz Air coming back but still nothing.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:45

      We were told here that ZAG is prestige airport where LCC's have nothing to do there.

      LOOL

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:07

      The model was highly flawed. Which is why the airport took out loans and had losses during those years.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:51

    a lot has been done in ZAG over the last three-four years, especially in bringing in new airlines

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:08

      In my opinion, the job now is to keep airlines flying year round, which was a problem in the last few years.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:53

    Croatia Airlines should have used the opportunity to launch Dusseldorf with Q400 when Eurowings suspended these flights. Now it's too late.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:01

      When has OU ever used an opportunity in the last 10 years?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:05

      Do remember that in normal circumstances, Croatia Airlines' fleet was highly utilized in summer. Remember they had to wet lease additional planes, which isn't cheap. So in many cases they were unable to launch new routes as they had no aircraft.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:31

      @9.53 same about Berlin.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:01

    Bad news for Croatia Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous10:06

    Yesterday we were reading that is one of the top unserved routes in the region from Zagreb. Maybe Eurowings could start them from their base in PRN :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:07

      Most of Eurowings ops from Pristina are based on tour operator demands, which is mostly Germany.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:07

      Having said that it would be great if they started Vienna-Zagreb since they have a base in ZAG and so they can break up the OU+OS duopoly.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:08

      It's not going to happen. Especially since Austrian is Lufthansa owned and both operators on the route are Star members. I see Ryanair launching Vienna, rather than Eurowings.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:27

      I would be happy with anyone really. The prices are just too high at the moment on this route.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:16

    Why just one per week?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      Because two airlines failed on the route in the span of five years.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:26

      It will be 2 weekly in summer next year.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:26

    Well when you finally come to your senses and decrease your airport fees they will come :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:29

    Great news! Which airlines still have to come back to Zagreb that flew before the pandemic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:30

      Aegean, British Airways, Emirates, Korean Air and Air Transat.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous10:30

    With all them new Zagreb routes, what will happen with Ljubljana?? How will they secure new routes and fill their new terminal???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:07

      It will get more and more difficult for them.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:11

      I don't think LJU is even trying to attract airlines..

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:41

      Well they attracted 4 new ones this year - Iberia, Sun Express, Air Montenegro and Fly dubai.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:45

    Bravo Hrvatska!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:08

    Things are just getting worse for Croatia Airlines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:40

      Judging by their lakck of reaction, they don't seem to phased.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous11:08

    Will OU react in any way?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:11

      They haven't reacted to Ryanair opening 16 new routes and you expect to react to 1 weekly Prague flight?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:37

      One by one...

      Delete
  30. Ingvarsson12:16

    OU should open a base at LJU, since it is obviously being crowded out from ZAG. Think of the spin-off and/or rebranding for SI market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:37

      I believe that ship has sailed.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:42

      Why? Has anyone else established a base in Ljubljana since Adria went bust. Don't think so.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:09

      A few weeks ago, a representative of the Slovenian government explained on Radio Slovenia that the OU came up with a calculation of how much money it expects from the Slovenian government to base a couple of aircraft in LJU. She also explained that such an approach is not in line with EU laws. If the government wanted to co-finance the base in LJU, it could only do so on the basis of a public tender.

      Delete
  31. Why is everyone taking care about OU? What did they do for us? NOTHING. So let that airline just go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:37

      Who is taking care of OU?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:41

      ^ State otherwise they would be bankrupt long ago.

      Delete
  32. Anonymous17:39

    Guys, this bigger than what you see on surface. There are 2 dynamics happening:

    1) simple "race to the Bottom" between all European airlines, legacy and LCC, due to debt base financial economy over the 30 years (1980's) That is the reason Ljubljana can attract only minimum, and that is the reason LCC are racing to the bottom in Zagreb.

    2) Transatlantic routes, to Croatia, and Greece (from at least 10 years ago) and many other Mediterranean countries will be direct routes and in mostly seasonal. Dubrovnik, Athens, Zagreb, Barcelona, Lisboa etc

    As I said before Croatia Airlines did not recognised this on time. LH group will be a great looser as well in South East market.
    JU is has to see clearly what is happening because they are on the crossroad as well. I think explains their hesitancy with Toronto and Beijing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:25

      Please expand on the second dynamic. What is at stake with the transatlantic routes you list? And how does that relate to other transatlantic routes?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:10

      Second dynamic on transatlantic flights, in the next 2-3 years:

      It will be targeted flights based on very narrow criteria.
      For Europe leisure pax: Summer, Christmas period for dozen cities in Club Med part of the Europe

      For Business pax: 2 dynamics here will make very different then pre Covid era and that’s: 1) over the 100 US$ per barrel of oil in very near future, by year end;

      and 2) move towards digitization, roll out of 5G networks, Artificial Intelligence, and most likely proprietary use of Information hardware and software in the 2-3 year time frame – economic division of the global market in 2 separate blocks.

      Delete
  33. Anonymous00:13

    Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous00:14

    Hoping they announce some more new routes in the next couple of weeks.

    ReplyDelete

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