The Ryanair Group is continuing to expand its operations out of Croatia this summer and has said further growth can be expected in the “near future”. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, the Director of Operations of Ryanair’s subsidiary Lauda Europe, Tadej Notersberg, said the Group sees that Croatia has “huge potential”. “We can see that demand in Croatia is generally very high. We can also see that the Croatian market has huge potential. There were many routes missing and the whole potential of Croatia wasn’t utilised in the past. The Ryanair Group recognised this potential and we as Lauda Europe are very happy that we can operate these flights for the Ryanair Group. There is also further growth planned for the future. This year we will operate three aircraft, not only from Zagreb, but out of Zadar as well. We won’t stop with these six aircraft in Croatia”, Mr Notersberg said. He added, “Currently we are planning operations with three aircraft from Zagreb this year. However, future growth is planned, and we are quite sure and optimistic that we will be able to increase operations out of Zagreb and out of Croatia in general soon”.
The growth in operations has also led Ryanair to launch a recruitment drive in Croatia. Following last week’s successful recruitment days, the company has confirmed that its recruitment partner Crewlink will host two more open days in Zadar on March 5 and 7. Furthermore, there will also be a recruitment desk at Zagreb Airport in the arrival’s hall from March 3 until March 14, where walk-in applications and questions are welcome, with potential interviews taking place on the same day. The recruitment desk will be open daily from 09.00 until 12.00 and from 14.00 until 18.00. Crewlink is expecting to recruit over 35 new cabin crew. “We were so overwhelmed by the response of our recruitment open day last week, that we are very excited to offer another chance to join Lauda Europe’s expanding Croatian bases, where Lauda Europe will operate six A320s this summer. Over the coming years, the Ryanair Group and Lauda Europe will expand opportunities in Croatia that will deliver more traffic, new jobs and career benefits”, Mr Notersberg said, adding that there are also a number of Slovenian staff working for the company in Croatia, especially among pilots. Those interested in applying for the recruitment events can do so here.
Commenting on Ryanair’s existing operations out of Zagreb, Lauda Europe’s Director of Operations said, “Currently, we are really satisfied with the majority of the markets served out of Zagreb. For example, the UK market performs really well, as well as Ireland with the Dublin route, despite Croatia Airlines not operating the service in the winter. Then we see German markets, Swedish markets … so we are very happy with current demand. Of course, we are adding some new routes out of Zagreb in the summer like Bratislava and Corfu. There are some tourist destinations in the future that are of interest to us too. We really believe that Zagreb can be attractive all-year round, not just for families and the diaspora, but for tourists as well, so we want to use all these opportunities in the future”. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Ryanair has suspended its launch plans for the Zagreb - Lviv route for the time being. Mr Notersberg noted, “We see a lot of passengers from Slovenia on our Zagreb flights. Even if you go to Zagreb Airport, either in departures or arrivals, you will see that there are lot of Slovenians. At the airport’s parking one will notice many cars with Slovenian car plates. We know and we are sure that we are covering the Slovenian market well from Zagreb Airport”.
"There are some tourist destinations in the future that are of interest to us too."
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. After the likes of Paphos and Malaga, what other leisure destinations could be launched from ZAG?
I have a feeling Tenerife will be launched.
DeleteMorocco would be nice. Or maybe Amman.
Delete^ True. Wonder what the existing demand is for these routes from Zargeb.
DeleteTenerife/Las Palmas, Palma(deMallorca), Barcelona, Marrakesh/Agadir, Aqaba, Burgas, Krakow, Catania/Palermo...
DeleteI think they will stick with EU markets first.
DeleteWell they launched TGD which not in the EU.
DeleteTrue I forgot about that but it is much shorter route than say Amman.
DeleteNon EU routes are just Podgorica and Lviv (which is not happening now)
DeleteYou have non-EU routes to the UK, Switzerland and Norway.
DeleteAnd out of 8 destinations I listed, only 2 are non EU, Jordan and Morocco. And FR has significant presence in both
DeleteSo it does seem after all that their Zagreb operations get's quite a few Slovenian passengers, despite what some were writing here in the comments.
ReplyDeleteOf course it does. There was no doubt about it. I particularly think routes like Malaga get a lot of feed from Slovenian market.
DeleteOf course ZAG has plenty of Slovenian passengers. The same as LJU used to have plenty of Croatian passengers. We are close and were always using wider possibilities, not looking just in the "own yard". Same with Italy, at least for Istra and Rijeka. However there were people writing here that MAJORITY of passengers from ZAG, mostly on Ryanair and Flydubai /Emirates, were Slovenian. And I was "some", or one of those, who wrote it was not true. And I will write it again.
DeleteALOT is not the same like MAJORITY. But someone will never understand.
DeleteI assume these numbers will only increase once Croatia joins Schengen.
DeleteWell FZ did say that around 20% of their passengers in ZAG were from sLOVEnia. FZ seems to be doing well in LJU which I don't know how much is true about ZAG. I guess the main difference is that LJU relies on outbound demand while ZAG on inbound.
Delete@An.09.24
DeleteI think you are the one who doesn't understand. I wrote : of course ZAG has plenty of Slovenian passengers. Plenty and a lot means the same : plenty, lot, many, quite a few, or whatever other synonym you want to use. I don't know why you are so much hurt with my comment, because I confirmed what you said : ZAG has a lot of Slovenian pax, the same as LJU had Croatians while it had decent network. I personally flew from LJU to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Istanbul, Skopje, Belgrade, Paris and Frankfurt. And maybe you don't know, but there were posters writing here on this blog that majority of pax from ZAG on certain services are Slovenian. My post was not reply to you, it was comment on those writing majority lies. I am just sad of being accused not to understand, because after the entire my life spent working in aviation, I do understand things, and pretty well
Great news
ReplyDeleteI am sure they were encouraged to expand after seeing OU's financial performance the other day.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. They don't need to do much to get rid of them to be honest.
DeleteI don't think they care much about OU. They are a completely different league.
DeleteYes, different leagues. One is profitable and well-run while the other is a loss-making basket case.
DeleteCroatia Airlines is completely obsolete
DeleteIs it just me or did he work for Adria before?
ReplyDeleteYes he did :)
DeleteHe was Accountable Manager in Adria
DeleteGood so we will continue to see some diverse ZAG ops and not just diaspora.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteJust diaspora? Malta, Malaga, Paphos, Corfu, Rome, London, Naples...
DeleteRome, Malta and London are gasto routes.
DeleteMaybe in Serbia. Not in Croatia. Zero people from Croatia, or if not zero very very few live and work in Malta. Both Air Malta and Croatia Airlines had charters to Malta. Purely tourist/city break route. Italy : Again not that many Croatians working there, and those working are mostly from Rijeja/Istra and come home by car or commute daily or weekly. London and Rome are again not gasto routes. Gasto routes from ZAG, or mostly gasto are routes to Germany, Eindhoven, Dublin and Gothenburg. No single other route is purely or mostly gasto.
DeleteAnd as you pulled my tongue : Podgorica, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Bergamo, Beauvais, Brussels are also NOT gasto routes. So no matter of what you wish or think, FR in ZAG has much more non gasto than gasto routes
DeleteNice, I'm really happy with the way Rynaiar is expanding out of Zagreb.
ReplyDeletePity we won't get a fourth aircraft this year though.
ReplyDeleteThe year has not finished. Remember how they planned existing units last year ;)
DeleteWill they replace Lviv with another route.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure. Was this route operated by Ukraine based aircraft or Zagreb based plane?
DeleteZagreb based. It is highly possible that they will introduce new route.
DeleteIn my opinion they might replace Lviv with a Polish route. Let's wait and see.
DeleteOr Baltic route...
DeleteRecruitment desk at ZAG is an interesting concept. They are definitely becoming ZAG's main airline.
ReplyDeleteMarking their territory.
DeleteSo this summer they have 6 planes based in Croatia! Nice.
ReplyDeleteWish they flew to Zadar outside of summer.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do in Zadar in November or February.
DeleteNot a lot as tourist workers stop working between September and June
DeleteWell city could do more to extend season.
DeleteThey can try, but locals only work for a few months a year and charge high prices. FR have gone out of their way to operate from end of March to end of October, but if locals don't embrace the hand that feeds it is pointless. I've been in Zadar area lots of times in May, it has been 27c but nothing open on beaches etc... It's awful.
Delete? They do. You meant Zadar I guess
ReplyDeleteThis should be fun to watch. Looking forward to their new routes.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad Ryanair took the chance launched routes which are not pure gasto and are targeting leisure demand like Paphos, Malaga, Corfu and Naples. Glad they have worked out and I'm really interested to see what other such destinations they will launch.
ReplyDeleteI think it will definitely be one of the Spanish islands.
DeleteZAG is finally getting connected to many European markets thanks to them. Many of these routes should have been operated by Croatia Airlines.
ReplyDeleteAgree. Zagreb finally getting some much needed routes ignored by Croatia Airlines for years. Well done.
DeleteI really honestly wonder why Croatia Airlines never expanded its route network more significantly and seemed to be focused on central Europe most of the time.
DeleteThey could have at least done SKG with Dash.
DeleteTheir costs are much higher per passenger than Ryanair's so it is much more difficult for them to make a certain route profitable and successful.
DeleteI really don't think it is that difficult to make a profit on a short route on a Dash!
DeleteDoes Ryanair frequently change the aircraft that is based in Zagreb or there is a particular aircraft that is only allocated to ZAG?
ReplyDeleteThey rotate aircraft around, to meet operational requirements.
DeleteIt would be great if they added Porto, Stockholm, Riga or Tallinn
ReplyDeleteStill waiting for OU to respond...
ReplyDeleteWe will be waiting for a while.
DeleteThey have responded by playing PR games with new aircraft orders that will never come. Meanwhile, Ryanair has conquered the market.
DeleteVery true
DeleteWishing them good luck on the new routes.
ReplyDeleteFantastic news for Zagreb
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why they added Thessaloniki instead of Athens which is currently without a year-round service to Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteBecause they wouldn't have gotten subsidies from Zagreb Airport if they added Athens. They need to add routes that have not been served from Zagreb.
DeleteLauda is the best airline from the Ryanair group in my opinion Glad they have been given the Croatian market.
ReplyDeleteImagine the growth we will have by Ryanair from ZAG when Covid is finally eliminated. Remember all of these routes were introduced during the height of the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteZadar base is quite huge actually especially with 3 plane operation. Pity it's just not a permanent base.
ReplyDeleteSome Zadar flights are operated by aircraft from other bases. So not all destinations are served with just those 3 planes.
DeleteWould there be a point of Ryanair launching ZAG-BUD? Is it too close? Would there be demand?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. Who was it served by last? QR?
DeleteWhat are their fares now out of ZAG? I remember they were very cheap. Is that still the case or have fares slowly started going up?
ReplyDeleteAll of them are still very cheap. Only exception is Dublin. It wasn't expensive to begin with but fares have gone up a lot. I assume they are performing really well here.
DeleteThe gentleman in the article confirms that.
DeleteIt will be interesting to see which of their ZAG routes brings in the most profit.
ReplyDeleteFlew STN - ZAG - STN late February with return on 1 March and the plane was almost completely full both ways. Also, seemed like almost half of the passangers had purchased the priority tickets.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear. I guess most purchase priority to get baggage included?
DeleteDefinitely. I don't think anyone is silly enough to buy it just to board first and then gets stuck on the jet bridge in line with everyone else before they're let onboard.
DeleteDid you use this combination before? If not, wondering which airline you used in the past.
DeleteCroatia Airlines is still in deep sleep.
ReplyDeleteZagreb airport will need to expand soon.
ReplyDeleteI think under the concession agreement they need to expand when they hit 5 million passengers.
DeleteGood to see they have a mix of gasto and tourist routes.
ReplyDeleteAll these routes will take a way a lot of passengers from Croatia Airlines, particularly on their feeder German routes.
ReplyDeleteI think it could impact LH as well. Or at least LH Group is the one that has decreased frequencies to Zagreb.
DeleteSo what routes is FR competing directly against OU?
ReplyDeleteDublin, Rome and London.
DeleteTo London they operate at different airports.
DeleteThey still took a lot of P2P passengers away from Croatia Airlines.
DeleteReal time update : Just arrived from Paphos to ZAG on Lauda/Ryanair. There were 4 departures from Paphos 10-11 am LT : Tel Aviv, Vienna, Sofia and Zagreb, chronologically. The flight to TLV was around 80% full, VIE was disastrous, some 20-30%, SOF had around 50%, and ZAG was PACKED, with 5 empty seats, which I, frankly speaking didn't expect. Another interesting thing, majority of passengers, about 50 %, were Cypriot/Greek, mostly young, and other half about equal share of Croatian and Slovenian. Write this first to answer to those here asking : who the hell is going to fly to Paphos. Second, in line with today's topic, to say FR in ZAG is definitely to stay and grow. And the third, my regular : once again, bravo Croatia Airlines, bravo HR gvt, bravo for all wasted potentials and missed opportunities
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Tel Aviv is not such a big surprise as Eastern Europe and the Balkans have always been on Israeli interest. I checked that flights to SOF were resumed this week after a pause in February but 50% is still not bad. Paphos should be stronger in summer. ZAG definitely needs more leisure destinations similar to many other EU capitals. But, Kudos to FR for having such a good start in the heart of this stupid pandemic that apparently is only in Europe?
DeleteCome on man, just came back from Colombia and yes, people were wearing masks but everything was working and open, everything! Amazing BOG airport was packed and very busy and flights were 90% full in many occasions.
I hope 2022 will not be like 2020 and 2021 for Europe and obviously Zagreb.
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ReplyDeleteI will not fly from Zagreb anywhere. If Ryanair doesn't want to fly from Ljubljana, then why should I bother to go to Zagreb, spend the money to get to Zagreb. At the end, I will pay the same flying from Ljubljana. So, Ryanair enjoy your stay in Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteI paid return Paphos, with 2 cabin bags, big and small, and priority boarding, 64 euros. Ticket bought 25 days before the trip. The cheapest return option from LJU to Larnaca, Lufthansa, with luggage, 25 days from now, is 360 euro. Car, bus or train LJU to ZAG definitely don't cost 300 euros. But you are more than welcome either to stay in Ljubljana, or pay the Cartel 300 euros. They love it!
DeleteIgnore the troll, its just delusional Fraport fanboy.
Deleteflew today ZAG-Memmingen,~100% LF,packed
ReplyDeletei hope they introduce Nürnberg any time soon
Good to see so many people using the opportunity to travel with them and fly cheaply. This is going to be a great year for Zagreb Airport.
ReplyDeleteI think Prague would be reasonable destination because it is not that close by land transport and lot of people travel touristically between those two cities
ReplyDeleteNot sure two years passed since OK operated PRG-ZAG. Also, EW which announced PRG-ZAG and than "froze" it, complicates the situation as probably no incentives program could be applied. The market is there obviously, and if Dublin works without any "help", maybe Prague could as well
Delete