Zagreb Airport has said that recent flight reductions by a select number of carriers for the upcoming summer season are unrelated to the planned increase in its passenger service fee and that it expects a full recovery from the coronavirus pandemic this year. In recent weeks, Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have reduced their planned operations to the Croatian capital for the 2023 summer season compared to their original schedule, while TAP Air Portugal has discontinued its service to Zagreb. The airport pointed out that Air France has cut its flights to the Croatian capital by around 10% compared to last year from 810 to 730 rotations, while British Airways will in fact boost its operations by 1%, from 634 in 2022 to 642. On the other hand, LOT Polish Airlines will grow its flights by 4.6% this year from 994 to 1.040.
Zagreb Airport started the year off strongly, by handling 221.747 passengers last month, representing an increase of 9.1% on the pre-pandemic January of 2020. Ryanair is fuelling the growth, with the budget carrier planning to increase operations from its Zagreb base by between ten to thirty weekly departures during the 2023 summer season when compared to last year. Low cost airlines are expected to account for 33% of all passengers at Croatia’s busiest airport this year, up from 22% last year. “Airlines make numerous changes to their schedule and network in order to adapt to passenger demand and certain changes that have occurred as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, route cancellations or changes in the number of frequencies are an internal and commercial decision made by the airline”, the airport said.
Commenting on the year ahead, Zagreb Airport noted, “By the end of the 2022/23 winter season, we expect continual growth due to solid demand and a return to pre-pandemic capacity levels by most airlines. Our network currently counts 22 airlines which link Zagreb to 59 destinations, which is a record for the airport”. It added, “If there are no unforeseen circumstances, we expect for 2023 to be a year of complete traffic recovery and, in line with the agreement with the state, the concessionaire will resume regular concession fee payments”. Concerning the planned increase in the passenger fee for airlines from April 1, the airport said the price has been adjusted due to inflation and increased for the first time since 2019. It pointed out that no other fees will be increased.
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So Ryanair is definitely not planning any expansion from ZAG this summer. If they say that FR will have 10 to 30 flights per week more than last summer that means they will just operate the same flights they planned to operate last year before they cancelled many flights. Pity.
ReplyDeleteThat second sentence is jam packed.
DeleteI’m sorry but something must be a problem if we only have 1 new route (Ryanair to Kos) for the entire summer. Every other airport has exponential increase in destinations.
ReplyDeleteAnd 2 routes lost.
DeleteEven LJU
DeleteYes LJU has two new routes this summer.
DeleteWhich two?
DeleteAthens and Helsinki.
DeleteAnd transavia is back with flights to paris
DeleteHEL is not a new route.
DeleteIt is because it has not been operational for 3 and a half years.
DeleteSo in 2020 we could say LJU got like 15 new routes because none were operated for 2 months? Thats not how it works.
DeleteThere is a big difference between route not operating for 2 months and not operating for over 3 years, as you are well aware. Aegean flew to Ljubljana 7 years ago, then you don't count that as new route either? Please
DeleteHEL has been operated from like 2008/09 to 2019, or until corona. And they had scheduled flights for each year since then but decided not to operate them because corona. Aegean operated for a single year in 2016 and not returned since then. So LJU-ATH is a new route, LJU-HEL is not.
DeleteNot true. The route was completely discontinued and was not on sale last year.
DeleteI am not. Anyway I don't really care. It is a dead race between Zagreb and Ljubljana which has less new flights this year.
DeleteOpsjednutost Zagrebom i Ljubljanom i tko ima više letova. Nije važno jesu li letovi profitabilni, već se broji tko ima većeg. Kompleksi su čudo.
DeleteА шта друго да се мери сем броја летова који доводе путнике од кога аеродром живи. Нема то везе са комплексима или опседнутошћу већ са суштином овог бизниса.
DeleteIt’s like poor people arguing who is poorer. Depressing. Look at the new Eurowings flight at Graz, or the new Ryanair destinations in KLU or TRS. Those are new routes, and useful too!
DeleteReminds me of comic Alan Ford dialogues
DeleteNeka se mjeri kvaliteta usluge, cijena usluge i zarada kompanije.
DeleteI wouldn't worry either if I had the Croatian government which is covering my losses.
ReplyDeleteBtw when are they going to expand the terminal. With roughly 4 milion passengers this year it will get rather tight.
They are required to start expanding the terminal when annual passenger numbers reach 5 million. Many believe this is the reason why they just seemed to have given up this year, so they wouldn't need to invest money.
DeleteI highly doubt they will have 4 million thsi year.
Delete@9:03 this is a lesson air serbia had to learn, they had to be taught by Etihad how to run a proffessional business.
DeleteSomeone just needs to do the same in Croatia. Buy in and re-structure the organisation from top to bottom.
Yes, please. Just someone capable to take charge of OU already.
DeleteIt's like a joke right now, soon they'll give up on coastal airports and move to seaplanes.
Would be interesting to read their comment on Croatia Airlines.
ReplyDeleteWhat is there to ready? OU missed their golden opportunity when they let Garuda slip through their fingers.
DeleteIt would be interesting to read what they think about Croatia Airlines not expanding from Zagreb since 2019 and if they might have had something to do with it by introducing a special stimulus package for Ryanair to open a base.
DeleteI remember years ago they gave an ultimatum to OU that they can either grow or they will have to find an alternative.
DeleteOU ignored them so now they have to share their living space with a 500 pound Irish gorilla.
It is not exactly correct that they ignored them. Croatia Airlines introduced around10 new routes from Zagreb between 2016-2019. Unfortunately, most of those are no longer in operation.
DeleteAnd what does that tell us? Also most of those operations were seasonal.
DeleteThank our Lord that Aegean is about to buy OU and all will be well once again.
Yes, sure it will.
DeleteAll is splendid! OU gets from the Govt peanuts compared to what they bring. It's called macroeconomics!
Delete@ 14:32
DeleteI don’t think many people are buying this.
Then why don’t the Gov give me money for free? I’ll spend it and return it back to the economy through wages for my cooks and cleaners and gardeners and through taxes and VAT. Same logic, right?
That is what it is, not trying to sell anything. The juice is worth the squeeze, very simple.
DeleteDisappointing that there is not more significant growth from ZAG in the year Croatia entered Schengen.
ReplyDeleteQuite the opposite, airlines from the Schengen area reduced flights: AF, AY, LH...
DeleteMoment for LJU to shine
DeleteAustrian Airlines also cut their ZAG flights. They were supposed to increase to 7 from 31.01 but they kept it as 6 and then in stead of 12 from 27.12 but they plan to have 10.
DeleteFor OU any regional or European expansion is meaningless unless on the expense of primarily LH Group frequency reductions. The only meaningful expansion would be to US and Canada but this OU management is I apt for and they cannot sell it to Plenković and his cabinet whose understanding of modern transportation stops at black Audis.
DeleteInapt
DeleteNot convinced.
ReplyDeleteOk they expect strong growth to continue until the end of winter but what about summer?
ReplyDeleteWhat about long haul? Have they given up on it? Only airline that is back is Air Transat.
ReplyDeleteWhat can they do? KE had a horrible LF (around 60%) and they are focusing on BUD and VIE right now. AC doesn't seem to be coming back so the only logical alternative is UA from EWR and ORD.
DeleteWell that's what I'm talking about. Why not try to get a US carrier to start flights? There are no more visas to the US even.
DeleteMaybe there is just not enough demand for US-Zagreb flights/ Seasonal flights to the coast, which already exist, are probably sufficient at this point.
DeleteWhat happened to T'way Air? They got permits to fly from Seoul to Zagreb? They could be a good replacement for Korean Air.
DeleteThey should start flying from mid June.
DeleteThey cancelled the flights
DeleteThings changed a lot at ZAG when management of airport was completely taken over by TAV from AdP.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTAV doesn't go out to try to attract airlines they expect for airlines to come to them. Same in SKP.
DeleteGreat strategy...
DeleteThat’s a good point actually. ADP seemed to be a much more professional operator. TAV is sleeping, zzZzzzZzzz
DeleteSeems that knowledge how to do business still lies mostly in the West. Isn’t ADP French and TAV Turkish?
More needs to be done to attract airlines and connect to several key European airports.
ReplyDeleteEasier said than done.
Delete*easier
DeleteAF 10% reduction on last year’s pandemic schedule in a non-pandemic year is significant. British Airways 1% increase is also significantly bad.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened with Ryanair? They were promising more routes, 7 aircraft in Zagreb etc. They have been flying for 2 years from Zagreb and nothing much has changed since December 2021.
ReplyDeleteO'Leary's fairytales.
DeleteOr perhaps they overestimated Zagreb’s potential. There isn’t that much local demand (with Slovenia combined) and the diaspora still mostly prefers to go back home with their cars. (To show them off we used to joke in the 90s - perhaps that’s still the case today.)
DeleteI told u, slovenians prefer venice.
DeleteEspecially in terms of financial results.
ReplyDeleteThis is another lie from Commercial department on head with Mr. Bradica, as they increased prices for office rentals as well. Check it. And yes, this is affecting expansion.
ReplyDeleteHas anyine thought they would actually admit that cancellations and reductions are the consequence of tax increasing?
ReplyDeleteOf course they won't although we all know it is the case.
Commercial department of this airport is one of worst in Europe, can be compared with Ljubljana.
DeleteThey are losing flights to Lisbon, Helsinki got downgraded, Paris, and Dubai as well, not to mention that seemingly they went all in with Ryanair, who promised to station 5-7 aircraft this summer, which is not happening (one route added, but frequencies removed on some). Croatia said that their relationship with the airport is bad, and even they - which are the dinosaurs of the industry, managed to move their focus to the other cities. We all love to hate Fraport, but I'm starting to think Zagreb is worse.
ReplyDeleteIt is worse.
DeleteForgot to add that LHR is going from 14x weekly to 6x
DeleteHEL is still above last year's levels when it operated just for 2-3 months.
DeleteQR is also up compared to last year.
DeleteAir Serbia and Aegean too.
DeleteAnon 9:46 +100
DeleteHow many passengers could Zagreb have this year?
ReplyDeleteMy prediction is 3.5 million passengers.
DeleteWould be nice if they got SAS to launch flights to ZAG.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if they kept the routes
DeleteHas SAS ever flown to ZAG? I mean post 1990.
DeleteI'm pretty sure their LCC flew to Zagreb. I think it was called Snowflake.
DeleteNo, Snowflake didn't fly to Zagreb. In Croatia they only flew to Split.. They operated to BEG, SKP and PRN in ex-Yu too.
DeleteOh I see, thank you
DeleteSAS flew ZAG to CPH for few years between1994 and 1998. I remember flying with them ZAG-CPH in March 1995
DeleteAnd it was SAS main fleet, not Snowflake. Plane was MD-80
DeleteSAS had flights. Can’t remember exactly but it was between 2005 and 2012, just seasonal to CPH and just one seasons
DeleteIt was not seasonal. I flew in March, winter timetable
DeleteSAS doesn't even fly to VIE!
DeleteI was hoping Ryanair would announce 4th aircraft in ZAG and around 5 new routes but that is looking unlikely now.
ReplyDeleteThere is more chance of them moving flights to Lju lol
DeleteI don't think they will move but their decision not to expand from ZAG could be related to developments at LJU. We will see soon enough.
DeleteI was also expecting more from Ryanair especially after all the hype when they came..
DeleteWhat were their financial results last year?
ReplyDeleteThey don't publish their financial results.
ReplyDeleteHow much will the new passenger tax be?
ReplyDelete€19,67
DeleteThank you. And do you know what it is at BEG and LJU. I can't find it.
DeleteBEG is €19,16 as if 1 January, 2023. Not sure about Ljubljana.
DeleteLjubljana is €16,75
DeleteSo Zagreb is the most expensive ex-Yu airport.
Deleteyes
DeleteNo wonder low yielding routes are being moved to Lju
Delete30%+of all passengers flying on LCCs is significant.
ReplyDelete-27,69 milion € is loss for 2021. 2022 results are not published yet.
ReplyDeleteAre those numbers for ZAIC or for the Zagreb Airport company which oversees the concession?
ReplyDeleteNow with Ryanair I am sure the flights they bring create a net positive outcome, just due to the sheer volume of people on those flights. Not too long ago I flew in from Malta at ZAG and the plane was full of Maltese tourists willing and ready to spend. At least that was how it seemed to me!
ReplyDeleteBravo Zagreb 😀
ReplyDeleteWTF why does Croatia crj have Iberia desgin?
ReplyDeleteThe prices from Zagreb to Frankfurt are a crime. I can fly to Malaga and back twice for the price of a one-way ticket to Frankfurt.
ReplyDeleteDisgusting