Zagreb Airport handled 191.092 passengers this September, representing a decrease of 45.4% on the same month in the pre-pandemic 2019. Over the thirty-day period, low cost carrier Ryanair stationed its second aircraft in the city and launched nine new routes, while Flydubai restored operations from its hub. Although performance expectations were higher due to Ryanair’s expanded presence in the Croatian capital, Zagreb Airport did reduce the difference in passenger numbers between the months of August and September. In 2019 it stood at 25.888 travellers, while this year the difference was just 3.901. During September, Croatia Airlines accounted for the most flights to and from Zagreb, with a market share of 52%, followed by Ryanair with 14.2%, KLM with 4.6% and Eurowings with 4.3%. The most capacity was offered between Zagreb and Frankfurt, followed by Amsterdam, Split and Dubrovnik.
Airline market share at Zagreb Airport based on frequency in September
During the first three quarters of the year, Zagreb Airport welcomed 877.780 travellers through its doors. It is now at 33.4% of its pre-pandemic traffic. Aircraft movements stood at 20.076, down 41.5% on 2019. In the last quarter of this year, the airport is set to see the launch of ten new routes. Nine of them will be introduced by Ryanair, which will base its third aircraft in the city in December, while Eurowings will commence its new service from Prague in mid-December, “This year, Zagreb will be connected with 42 international destinations and six domestic ones. This is the largest number of destinations we have had in Zagreb history”, the airport said.
During the first half of the year, Frankfurt was Zagreb’s busiest route, operated by both Croatia Airlines and Lufthansa. It was followed by Amsterdam, run by the Croatian national carrier and KLM. Domestic destinations of Dubrovnik and Split ranked third and fourth, while Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul flights topped of the five busiest routes. Out of the five, Turkish Airlines had the highest average cabin load factor over the six-month period with the average cabin occupancy amounting to 68%, a high number during the pandemic. It was followed by Amsterdam, with a load factor of 58.3% and Frankfurt with a 52.8% cabin occupancy rate. Domestic flights to Dubrovnik and Split hovered at around 40%. It should be noted that the first quarter of the year was heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with many of Zagreb’s key markets having entry restrictions and requirements in place, as well as lockdowns and curfews.
Top five busiest Zagreb Airport routes, January - June
I was expecting for better results considering the amount of new routes launched.
ReplyDeleteHow many passengers could Zagreb have this year?
ReplyDeleteMy guess 1.2-1.3 million.
DeleteThey should celebrate if pass over 1 milion!
DeleteFunny how LH is slowly giving their flights to OU. They are reducing FRA-ZAG from 14 to 11 while OU increased to almost all Airbus. LH did not continue their MUC-ZAG but OU increased flights. Now Austrian Airlines is reducing ZAG to just 4 weekly but OU is increasing it to 14.
ReplyDeleteSwiss left ZAG long time ago and this market is now served by OU.
This is starting to remind me more and more of JP.
Interesting. I think LH won't come back on the MUC-ZAG route.
DeleteFR dumped too many seats too soon. They increased capacity before demand grew so someone had to reduce flights.
DeleteAnon @8:05, how does OU increasing flights remind you of JP?
DeleteRemember in LJU how Star Alliance was literally not present and all passengers were flown by JP for less money? Now it looks like they are doing the same in ZAG. Why would LH give flights to OU if they were profitable?
DeleteMaybe code sharing is better for LH group. That way they can better utilize aircraft.
DeleteNot sure, just a thought.
It's cheaper for LH to have OU deliver connecting traffic to their doorstep than flying their own metal and crew to ZAG. It's that simple.
DeleteHow come it doesn't work that way for other cities LH flies to in the region?
DeleteMaybe because OU is the only slave left, JP died and they tried with YM 2.0 but it didn't go as planned.
DeleteStill doesn't explain why LH flies to other cities in our and wider region.
DeleteLove LH in our region.
DeleteLove any airline in our region.
Delete@Anon 8:27
DeleteI don't really understand the question. LH flies where it has to in order to pick up connecting traffic. Where they can, they outsource much of the flying to a regional LH Group or Star Alliance member. JP did it from LJU before it died, OU is doing it from ZAG, Air Dolomiti is doing it in Italy. OU is of course their best deal because the losses are picked up by the Croatian state.
Considering load rate of 50% they should all half number of flights
DeleteI expect much better numbers in the next few months.
ReplyDeleteAnother early posting.
ReplyDeleteI love it.
haha yes, nice surprise
DeleteHere comes the 9:00 rush. Hahahaah
DeleteIs Skopje still ahead of Zagreb in terms of passenger numbers this year?
ReplyDeleteYup I think it iwll be ahead this year
DeleteHow times have changed. Unthinkble just a few years ago.
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteDon't forget that SKP relies on the Albanians and shares traffic with PRN.
DeleteSo?
DeleteLooks as if the FR flights didn't make any affect last month. My guess is load factor was relatively low which is understandable considering the situation. Things should improve next year when I expect we will see the real impact of FR in Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised at how popular ZAG-AMS-ZAG is. Second busiest route.
ReplyDeleteLots of transfers.
DeleteTo where? US/Canada or other European destinations?
DeleteN. America.
DeleteInteresting. Thanks
DeleteDisappointing
ReplyDeleteIt's not going to be a great year for any airport in 2021. They are still handling fraction of the traffic from two years ago
DeleteAnyone know how the FR routes are performing? Who is doing best?
ReplyDeleteI think Rome is doing well from what I've read.
DeleteIt will take a few months before we see Ryanair's impact
ReplyDeleteBut they started flights in June and have had 1 plane already based since the peak summer months.
Delete2022 will be boom year.
ReplyDeleteThat was said for 2021.
DeleteWe didn't know Ryanair would open a base in 2020. It is realistic to expect numbers will surge. Covid will probably be calming down and Ryanair will base anther two planes in Zagreb next year.
DeleteNevertheless. The pandemic is still going strong and with all the rules and testings and uncertainty, many people won't be flying. I'm one of them and I used to travel several times a year.
DeletePlus don't forget that Croatia is in top 4 EU states by people refusing the vaccine. That won't help with covid.
DeleteWell done to TK on the high load factor.
ReplyDeleteWhat equipment do they mostly use.
DeleteMostly planes.
DeleteHilarious...
DeleteA320. they've started sending A321s over the summer.
DeleteIt will take some time for people to get accustomed to Ryanair and for Zagreb resident's habits to change in regard to travel.
ReplyDeleteWhat you think they need an adjustment period? When people decide to fly they will search out the best prices, or best schedule.
DeletePeople can very quickly change their habits when something cheaper comes along.
Let's hope so
DeleteIt is not a norm for majority of Croats to even consider having a holiday abroad or weekend break in other European cities, let alone flying on a plane.
DeleteAnd that is the problem because going the other way someone will only come to Zagreb once or twice before checking out another city break destination.
DeleteSince ZAG is now having bigger and bigger LCC presence, they should try and attract Wizz and easyjet.
ReplyDeletenot sure Ryanair would be happy with that.
DeleteZAG and W6 were in talks but doesn't seem an agreement has been reached
DeleteI would be happy with easyjet too thoguh.
DeleteWith FR expanding so much so quickly in ZAG, there is little chance we will see another LCC come anytime soon. Also if they did it would put the final nail in OU's coffin.
DeleteNo more LCC's will come as the "sale" that Zagreb Airport did already expired in June so the airport costs are back to normal now
DeleteI hope ZAG will have a swift recovery
ReplyDeleteI think there are a few more European airlines that could start Zagreb. SAS, TAROM, Air Baltic and Finnair.
ReplyDeleteAirBaltuc better hurry up and start Riga otherwise FR will launch it next summer.
DeleteLuxair would be a good addition too.
Delete*airbaltic
DeleteI think Luxair will start Ljubljana instead of Zagreb. They already said they were looking at Ljubljana.
DeleteLJU is a bigger market from LUX than ZAG. So they will start LJU. Or maybe both.
DeleteNo chance for both I think. We will see
DeleteSAS stopped flying to Zagreb in 90s, would love to see them return
DeleteDid that SAS offshoot Snowflake fly to Zagreb in the 2000s?
DeleteNo, they flew to BEG and SJJ and were extremely expensive.
DeleteWhen will 2019 result be reached?
ReplyDeleteNext year or 2023
DeleteI'm sure that Croatia Airlines is also awaiting the Ryanair effect.
ReplyDeleteI think they are already feeling it.
DeleteWith the way covid is spiralling in a country where not that many people can be bothered to get vaccinated, it is going to be a long slow winter.
ReplyDeleteReally interested in knowing how FR's routes like Sofia and Podgorica are doing from Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Anyone know?
DeleteWhen I flew ZAG-TGD-ZAG last month both ways were about 60-70% load. Most of Pax were Montenegrians.
DeleteThat's not bad at all actually
DeleteWish them good luck
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't Iberia start year-round flights? There must be enough demand to sustain full year operations.
ReplyDeleteIts pandemic so demand is low. They flew year round 2 years ago.
DeleteSo the seasonal flights are just temporary? Good
DeleteWhen demand is restored, so will the flights.
DeleteToo early to judge FR's impact. We will see in a few months.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me on OU reaction when Adria went belly up.
DeleteSeems like FR just took passengers from others.
ReplyDeleteA good sign is that the difference between August and September has decreased by a lot. It means that FR certainly brought quite a few pax to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked that the Bravo Hrvatska guy has not written today.
ReplyDeleteNot so bad I would say.
ReplyDeleteThe neighbour who has currently the Presidency of the Council of the EU would be jumping with satisfaction with double monthly numbers ... in a year!
Croatia is bigger country with bigger population. It's logical to have more passengers.
DeletePlus continental Croatia has just one real airport so everyone has to fly from there.
DeleteA bit disappointed with the September numbers but hoping October will perform much better.
ReplyDeleteZAG could reach around 40% of 2019 traffic at the end of this year I think.
ReplyDeleteI think they're going to stay at 35% i dont see it going higher than that. But next year if covid calms down we could even see a surpass of the 2019 numbers
DeleteAs everyone knows, travel plans are usually made a few months in advance, so “RYR effect” will not be visible before somewhere next year. In addition to that, covid “passports” are precluding people who haven’t gotten the jab from traveling, so you need to count them as well. All in all, RYR can handle this without even blinking. Seems like they’re here for the long run, at least long enough to help finish CTN.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSo which airport will be busiest in Croatia this year? Zagreb or Split?
ReplyDeleteSplit without doubt.
DeleteBig surprise Frankfirt being the busiest route :D what are the current frequencies for LH and OU on this route?
ReplyDelete**Frankfurt
DeleteWhy such low load factors from Zagreb to Dubrovnik and Split? Do they mostly use Airbuses on these flights.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what FR expects from ZAG, locals do not travel much and when they do they love a bus. There are only so many people who will come for a city break in ZAG.
ReplyDeleteDespite their claims of coexistence, they are attacking OU. That is what they're expecting. Notice that the OU still has a wapping 52% share at the Zagreb airport. That is a huge pie, especially once the numbers go back up in the next couple of (hopefully) post-covid years.
DeleteFR wants and will almost certainly get a big piece of that pie.
Additionally, Ryanair's strategy is also creating demand, they explicitly state that. This happens once people realize they can fly for a similar or cheaper price than what they'd pay for a bus ticket or traveling by car.
I fully expect for OU's share to drop next year to below 50%, probably way below and if next year ZAG goes up from 1/3 to 2/3 of 2019. pax number, you can see how beneficial that'll be for FR.
Especially to Sweden and Netherlands.
DeleteGotta love these know-it-alls.