Turkish Airlines sees record results in Zagreb and Ljubljana


Turkish Airlines has recorded its busiest first quarter on flights from Istanbul to both Zagreb and Ljubljana. On services to and from the Croatian capital, the carrier welcomed 41.733 passengers, representing an increase of 33.4% on the same period during the pre-pandemic 2019. The airline has been present on the Croatian market since 1998 when it launched a two weekly service from Istanbul to Zagreb, which has since increased to double daily. Turkish is also one of the busiest transfer airlines operating out of the Croatian capital, with domestic destinations in Turkey, as well as Tel Aviv and the Far East being among the most popular transfer markets.

Turkish Airlines' Zagreb route performance, Q1


Turkish Airlines’ General Manager for Croatia, Gurhan Sozen, met with Croatia’s Consul General for Turkey this week, where the two discussed cooperation. “During the meeting, we had fruitful discussions on exploring opportunities for collaboration which can have a positive impact on business and tourism traffic between Turkey and Croatia. As the only airline connecting these two countries, Turkish Airlines plays a crucial role and we recognise our responsibility to deliver exceptional service”, Mr Sozen said. Turkish Airlines faces no competition on its Zagreb route, with Croatia Airlines discontinuing operations to Turkey’s largest city in 2013.

Turkish Airlines handled 37.585 passengers on its Ljubljana flights during the first quarter, representing an increase of 16.7% on 2019. Last year, Istanbul was the busiest individual route from the Slovenian capital, ahead of Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle and London Gatwick. Similar to its operations in Zagreb, the airline sees a notable number of transfer traffic on its Ljubljana service. Top feeder routes include Turkish domestic destinations, as well as the likes of Bucharest, the Caucuses and Dubai. Turkish Airlines entered the Slovenian market in 2006 with three weekly services and now maintains double daily flights.

Turkish Airlines' Ljubljana route performance, Q1


Commenting on its Ljubljana operations, Turkish Airlines recently said, “Our services are particularly attractive to business travellers and tourists travelling to Asia, since Turkish Airlines has good connections with the Middle East and Far East and with the USA. The number of these passengers is growing from year to year. We also place considerable emphasis on promoting Slovenia in foreign markets and on persuading tourists who wish to visit Slovenia to choose our flights. Since we entered the Slovenian market, flights from Ljubljana have led to closer connections between Slovenia and Turkey in the fields of tourism, culture and the economy. This is an achievement of which we are rightly proud of”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Good results. Interesting to see both routes with relatively even passenger numbers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Well deserved. It is one of the best airlines out there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:04

      +1

      Delete
    2. JU520 BEGLAX12:02

      + 1

      Delete
    3. I agree as well about TK. I like them and fly them often. What I didn't like was the old airport which was too congested and poorly staffed. Today even that part is much much better than before and one more reason to continue flying TK

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    Any chance they could increase frequencies in near future?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:06

      Yes, they already increased Zagreb to 14pw next winter

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      Finally. This is a reintroduction of precovid winter frequencies.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Interesting numbers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    Which aircraft type is TK mostly using to ZAG and LJU?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      A321

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      That's good. Thanks

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:54

      Any chance we could see them send widebodies to ZAG?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:56

      No, other than some one off.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:04

    Turkish is impressive as usual

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous09:08

    What was the load factor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      Loads are quite good all around

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      We would need to know how much capacity they had in Q1 to calculate that.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:09

    I don't get that Croatia Airlines doesn't fly to Istanbul. As a Star Alliance carrier they could have a lot of transfer traffic through IST.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:23

      If the majority of passengers on the route are transfers, what is left for Croatia Airlines? They don't have any sort of developed network in the region to offer anything to passengers.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:23

      They can't compete against Turkish.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:27

      Croatia Airlines can codeshare with TK, and access their incredible network.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:30

      Don't they already codeshare with them?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:37

      Yes, they do

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:57

      At lest something

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:10

      TK and OU need to cooperate more. I don't see why they don't. Why doesn't OU have a codeshare on TK's routes from Istanbul? Especially to more distant markets.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:13

      Because they don't want to upset mutti.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:21

      :D

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:51

      OU can offer transfers on domestic flights.

      Delete
    11. Ceka se da Jasmin ispije kahvu

      Delete
    12. Anonymous12:50

      Once again : BORING !

      Delete
    13. Jasmineeeeeee!!! Pa jes'ti to meni? E, masala, bas ti hvala sto si se javio

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:10

    Good work by Turkish. It has hoovered up the market share that was abandoned by Qatar Airways, Korean and Emirates when they left Zagreb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      QR still flies to ZAG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      QR never stopped flying to Zagreb. I wish people would think before they type.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      They did stop for a short period during the height of Covid but they did come back relaticely quickly in 2020.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:09

      TK is definitely benefiting from fewer Gulf flights.

      Delete
    5. Maybe we can look at the situation the other way round, or at least from the different angle : with such a big increase on TK and further opening and revival of Far East and Australia markets, it's an indication that both Korean and Emirates might come back to ZAG soon. Worth mentioning Flydubai is increasing ZAG to 5 weekly this winter, 6 weekly over Christmas/New Year, and Qatar increasing frequencies despite TK, so....

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:01

      5 weekly you say? Groundbreaking

      Delete
    7. Yes, 5-6 weekly in winter, compared to 3-4 now. And it was 7 weekly in winter once Emirates flew in summer. You can make fun of it with groundbreaking or whatsoever, and your post is funny, because you gave no explanation or opinion why it shouldn't be the way I elaborated. So, nice try. Or : try harder

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:09

      I just meant that those are pretty mediocre frequencies, especially for crazy demand market such as Hrvatska.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous04:15

      Crazy demand market? I guess dome ppl up here are on heavy drugs

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:13

    No surprise

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:14

    Good. Some much needed balance to the Lufthansa dominance at both airports.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous09:15

    I like that TK still has country managers for each market. Maybe their good results are an indication that scrapping these positions at almost all other European airlines just to cut costs was not such a smart idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Croatia Airlines also has several managers for several markets. And their results are much more impressive than TK ones. In sucking public money and doing nothing in return

      Delete
  13. Anonymous09:22

    Well done TK!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:22

    Interesting. I wonder if the US transfers have shifted from Lufthansa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      Yes they did. Especially after the pandemic (at least in ZAG).

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:38

      It is interesting that more people are transferring through IST to get to the US. Shows how much people from the Balkans value price over comfort by adding several hours to their journey and going eastwards.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:42

      Comfort? TK is one of the best airlines in the world and certainly more comfortable than Lufthansa, while the transfer experience in Istanbul is much nicer than Frankfurt which is one of the worst major airports in Europe in my opinion.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:51

      A portion probably has. Turkish Airlines keeps expending its US network while Lufthansa has severely decreased the quality of service on board.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:51

      TK is one of the fewest or maybe the only one to offer full catering on their flights, they serve u food from ZAG to IST, while on Lufthansa u will only get snacks and water.

      Delete
    6. Vlad12:42

      Not snacks, but a piece of chocolate.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:19

      I've never flown TK to USA, but LH and OS have atrocious seat pitch in Y and AF and UA put me in a 10-abreast on 777. On UA I could at least pay more for Economy Plus so it had a reasonable seat pitch, although being next to an obese dude in 10 across 777 was still not fun. Bottom line, comfort is a long gone category in Y

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:28

    Would be nice to see Pgeasus in ZAG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      The majority of passengers flying between Istanbul and Zagreb are foreigners, with the rate of Turkish passengers being relatively low, so there is little room for success for Pegasus for now.

      Delete
    2. Disagree. Pegasus has an extensive network beyond Turkey, it offers transfer flights, has lower prices than TK, and last but by no means least, Croatians do travel abroad, by plane, and their numbers to Turkey are all but insignificant. So, I expect Pegasus in ZAG soon

      Delete
    3. Slav.Man18:18

      @pozdrav. Really think Pegasus can also fly yo zag?
      Yh it's cheaper but Turkish use the A321 to Zag someone said. Is there really enough demand to fill another plane?

      Delete
    4. When Ryanair /Lauda was to come finally to ZAG, people were saying : who would fly from ZAG to Paphos, Malta, Podgorica..... And planes are full. And it's P2P. And it's miniature destinations. Now compare it with over 20 million Istanbul, also famous tourist destination, and transfer options. I think I said everything. ZAG problem is not lack of demand, ZAG problem is lack of capable and effective flag carrier. And others will continue to fill the gaps, Pegasus included

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:30

    Well done! I hope we eventually see a third daily flight on some days to both cities.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:37

    I'm surprised at how close the passenger numbers are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:41

      Except in Ljubljana there is much less competition from other airlines.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:43

      Keep in mind that Ljubljana/Slovenia is also a much smaller market.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:09

      But it has much fewer airlines and options too.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:10

      Keep in mind ZAG is closer than LJU to most slovenes, while LJU is not closer than ZAG to any croat. It would be interesting to see numbers if slovenes didnt use TK flights from ZAG.

      Delete
    5. What are you talking about? My apartment is 20 min drive from Slovenia, an hour 45 min to Brnik and I use LJU even today and used it much more before while offer and connectivity were better

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:42

      Maribor is closer to ZAG than to LJU for example

      Delete
    7. Rijeka to Pleso, 170 km. Rijeka to Brnik, 140 km

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:55

      I live in Celje and I like to combine both of them as they are pretty much same distance from Celje. Lju usually for chartet flights in the summer or easy jet flights and Zag for Ryanair and Klm flights.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous14:55

      Charter flights*

      Delete
    10. Anonymous04:18

      Rijeka to brnik - not highway 100%
      Rijeka to pleso - highway 100%

      Delete
    11. Rijeka to Brnik is not highway for 30 km, Jelsane to Postojna, and if you take short cut Bistrica-Knezak, it takes 10-15 min more than if it were highway. But highway or not highway 100 %, it does not change the fact that people from Croatia use LJU for their flights. Last time I went to FRA with LH was from LJU because timing was more convenient from LJU than from ZAG.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:38

    Any airline growing in the region is good news. Hope they keep increasing frequencies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Slav.Man18:23

      No it's not good news for any airline to grow.

      Good news is for our flag carriers to grow. For Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines, Air Montenegro to grow.
      For those 3 to cooperate more.

      Because the only people benefiting are the Turkish, the Germans and the Irish. They benefiting from our money.

      We need to sort out our own maintenance centres and grow our fleets and routes to be self sufficient.

      You can't have a successful and independent country while relying on others. They just keep taking from us and taking control so we don't develop ourselves

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:40

    They should really start Split, at least seasonally

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:08

      They said several yeas ago that they would start Split but then covid happened.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:42

    Anyone know or care to guess how many passengers they carry on an annual basis from/to ex-Yu?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:56

      Probably around a million +. BEG should be their biggest market in ex-Yu with 3 daily flights. Difficult to find seats on them out of BEG.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:43

    Excellent. Any data on which other airlines from Zagreb/Ljubljana have seen full passenger recovery? Thanks and much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:22

      Lufthansa still hasn't recovered pre-Covid numbers in ZAG.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous09:47

    Good airline but their prices are on the climb recently. They are not the cheapest and often not even competitive anymore on certain routes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:55

      This is the case with most airlines lately.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:40

      The era of cheap Air fares are over!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:21

      Also, you're potentially competing with the Russians on TK flights

      Delete
  23. Anonymous09:56

    Hope the premium loads are good too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:11

      Considering they are most often using A321s on both routes, they probably have.

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:08

    Good results overall

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:10

    Could Croatia Airlines' Dash make it from Zagreb to Istanbul?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:11

      Why would any passenger choose to fly a Croatia Dash to Istanbul over TK's A321?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29

      That would be a nightmare. Plus OU does not have sufficient number of aircraft to send a Dash on such a long rotation.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:51

      They can't compete against Turkish, whatever aircraft they use.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:45

      OU used to have nearly full flights to Istanbul on their Airbus's. This route isn't strategically important for them though. People need to remember OU wasn't set up to become profitable.It was set up to promote Croatia in terms of Tourism and business. Profitability was never it's main objective.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:56

      Doesn't Croatia get a lot of tourists from Turkey?

      Delete
    6. @11.45
      "This route isn't strategically important for them". Of course, their strategy is feeding LH in MUC and FRA for peanuts, on expense of poor tax payers. OU and promotion of Croatia in terms of tourism and business? No matter if you are Uhljeb, Party bot, or just blinded nationalist, I thank you for giving me me a good laugh on this! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

      Delete
    7. Especially with "OU wasn't set to become profitable". It proves your role here ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

      Delete
  26. Anonymous10:22

    No Bravo Hrvatska guy? I'm worried.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:41

      Bravo Hrvatska ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:09

      Sorry, I had too much work today. Looks like someone else already did the honours ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Delete
  27. Anonymous10:28

    Would be nice to see TK send Anadolujet from some secondary Turkish city to either LJU or ZAG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think there are charters ZAG to Antalya, Tailwind I think

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:57

      Also Freebird sends a plane from Antalya to each Zag and Lju once a week.

      Delete
  28. Anonymous10:31

    Everything is much easier when you have unlimited access to money from your country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:38

      Other airlines have also gotten a lot of money from their government but chose to shrink and retreat.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:52

      Turkish Airlines is public company. Also they didnt get any money from government at pandemic process. They planned really smart way for end of pandemy. I'm watching really much flag carrier balcan airline company. They are creating airline for scamming.

      Delete
  29. Anonymous10:54

    Any news from Montenegro? Turkish Airlines started to boosting Montenegro tourism and country economy. With new frequancy

    ReplyDelete
  30. Very, very much deserved for TK. Incredible how much they grew and the quality level of on-board service they reached in the last 15 years.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:11

    What about Sarajevo?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Slav.Man16:19

    I don't get it. If Vienna/budapest/Rome and frankfurt are so close to Zagreb and all in the EU.

    Why are they using istanbul for anything?
    It seems that people from Slovenia are adding more time to their travels to be using istanbul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:15

      Well, not if they fly east?

      Delete
    2. Slav.Man17:55

      The article said they used istanbul and Turkish Airlines even when they fly west to North America.

      But Rome and Vienna are so close that it isn't that much difference. Plus they're in shengen so moving should be easier in those airports

      Delete
    3. Vlad19:45

      EU or non-EU makes no difference whatsoever if you're flying to North America. In fact, it's probably better to clear passport control in ZAG than at any of the major EU hubs. And if you're flying to the West Coast, the difference in flight duration is less than 10% between TK and LH for instance. If the price is the same, I would fly TK to the US rather than LH any day of the week, especially in J.

      Delete
    4. Slav.Man21:11

      @Vlad
      Doesn't lufthansa use the A380 to North America. That's a much nicer plane than what Turkish have. So it's surprising what would be better

      and well saves at least 1-2 hours of travel since Germany is in the correct direction.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous22:20

      Now i a have not anymore any doubt that Slav.Man is a child or a very childish teenager ..

      Delete
    6. Vlad22:26

      LH A380 is one of LH's worst J products. No direct aisle access, outdated IFE and a cabin the size of a football field, eliminating any sense of privacy. I flew it to PDG back in 2015 and came off the airplane very underwhelmed.

      TK has its fair share of ancient 777s flying around with the 2-2-2 config as well, but at least it offers ample space for feet and the catering is miles ahead of LH.

      Delete
    7. Slav.Man23:06

      @anon 22:20.

      And there's always those who will use their life to defend the corrupt regime and even turks.

      Even when there is zero logic to it.

      I have flown on Turkish Airlines several times this year but still not that beyond what I get on KLM or Lufthansa.

      And istanbul I'd too big an airport. When you're not a traveler who wants to spend endless time shopping. Jut want to go to next gate and go

      Delete

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