United looks to build on Dubrovnik success

United Airlines resumed its seasonal service between Newark and Dubrovnik yesterday evening as the carrier looks to improve on its solid results achieved during its inaugural year in 2021. Over the four months of operations last year, the carrier handled 17.264 passengers on the route, registering an average cabin load factor of 77.9%, along with 405 tons of cargo. Unlike in 2021, United no longer faces competition from Delta Air Lines, which welcomed 18.204 travellers over the same period on its New York JFK - Dubrovnik service, recording an average cabin occupancy rate of 75.5%.

United Airlines Dubrovnik performance, 2021

The first flight of the year from Newark, which is due to land in the Croatian coastal city this morning, has been sold out in business class with a few seats remaining in economy. Similarly, the return service, which is scheduled for tomorrow, has a high load factor. United’s Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Nocella, has said the Dubrovnik flights were launched in response to Croatia maintaining open borders to American citizens and residents throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and has performed strongly as a result. “We started in a few new markets in Europe last year. In fact, we loaded those for sale very late. And those new markets were actually some of our top performing city fares, because Croatia and Greece in particular, made it clear to the world that they were open for business. And in fact, our customers responded to it immediately, and our new flights degrees did incredibly well”, Mr Nocella said.

The General Manager of Dubrovnik Airport, Frano Luetić, recently noted, “Flights from the US performed well above our expectations. These incoming tourists stay in Dubrovnik, which serves as a base for them to explore other places - nearby islands and Dalmatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, these flights are important as they have enabled cargo transport to the United States. As a result, each aircraft departs with around ten tons of exportable goods to the States”. United is maintaining four weekly flights to Dubrovnik this summer with its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, which has the capacity to seat 214 passengers, of which thirty are in business and the remaining 184 seats in the economy cabin. The service will run until September 28. This year, Brussels Airlines is codesharing on the route.