Dubrovnik Rudjer Bošković Airport is working on reducing its seasonality by negotiating with airlines to extend their seasonal summer operations into the winter. Ryanair, which opened a seasonal base in the coastal city this summer, will continue to run flights from Vienna, Charleroi, and London Stansted twice per week throughout the winter season, which begins on October 27 and runs until March 30 of next year.
LOT Polish Airlines has now confirmed it too will extend its seasonal summer flights between Warsaw and Dubrovnik for part of the upcoming winter season. The carrier will maintain operations on the route twice per week throughout November and December, with its last service scheduled for December 31. Flights will then be suspended until March 1, when they are due to resume twice per week. As previously reported back in January, LOT has also extended its flights between Warsaw and Sarajevo until the end of November.
Low cost carrier easyJet will also slightly extend operations on some of its Dubrovnik routes. Services from both London Gatwick and Manchester will operate until the end of November with two weekly rotations scheduled on each during the month. Flights will then resume on March 1 of next year. Similarly, Iberia will maintain services from Madrid until November 28, returning to the coastal city from March 2. Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus plans to restore its seasonal flights from Dublin earlier than in previous years, starting in the final weeks of the 2024/25 winter season. Operations will resume on March 16.
Dubrovnik Airport is continuing to perform strongly this year. In June alone it welcomed a record 431.771 passengers, representing an increase of 25.3% on last year and an improvement of 3.8% on its previous record in 2019. During the first half of 2024, it handled 1.093.059 travellers, up 25.6% on last year and 3.1% on 2019. Much of the growth so far this year has been attributed to Ryanair with the airport estimating it will welcome a record 3.2 million passengers this year.
Excellent news. Iberia seems to be doing really well in Croatia this year
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteWow over 3 million passengers this year. Well done
ReplyDeleteIt's good but if you compare to 2019 DBV is barely growing and that with all the incentives they gave to Ryanair to base planes there and fly year round. Split on the other hand is growing without all of that.
DeleteSo like almost every Ryanair destination base. What’s wrong? Yes it’s true, DBV gives incentive and why not? The result is that in the moment the airport joins fantastic grow
DeleteSplit is growing as a destination. Dubrovnik is at full capacity. Therefore, SPU is growing and DBV not so much. It's really simple actually.
DeleteThere will be partial dissapointment with LF in winter with some of the carriers….will talk about it in February ‘25.
DeleteDidn't OU say months ago how they will introduce winter routes from Dubrovnik? So much for that.
ReplyDeleteThe airport has finally had enough of waiting and is talking to other airlines. Airlines which actually bring passengers.
DeleteTrue, their loss.
DeleteI just find it funny how they keep talking about reducing seasonality but doing nothing about it.
DeleteYeah because OU from the coast flies empty. DBV stabbed OU in the back unlike SPU. That is why OU needs to focus their A220s on Split. DBV can enjoy their Laudas, Buzzs and Air Malta operated by Ryanair.
DeleteCan anyone explain to me the relationship between OU and DBV? From what I hear they are constantly at each others' throats about something.
DeleteDBV has a very high opinion of themselves so they expect OU to bend over backwards to make them happy. SPU is more realistic and a better partner to OU.
DeleteDBV is very arrogant and that is why it is difficult for OU to have a decent business cooperation with them.
Or maybe OU are just a really bad run airline?
DeleteCroatia Airlines is a bad airline, SPU is politically aligned with Croatia Airlines and so it runs a horrible money operation whereby it makes money from KLM, British Airways, easyJet and Lufthansa in the summer and then pays that money to Croatia Airlines for "advertising". Thank God DBV doesn't waste its money like that.
DeleteSplit Mayor is an independent, while the County prefect is HDZ. In Dubrovnik, both the Mayor and the County Prefect are HDZ. OU is HDZ. What on earth are you talking about, 2105??
DeleteOk, at least season seems to be extending until the end of November.
ReplyDeleteAnd starts from early March.
DeleteAnd that's plenty! Let's not forget, the locals don't want year round season, they want peace and quiet to rest and count their cash at the end of the season.
DeleteThe outrageous prices charged in Croatia now the locals really need 6 months off to count all the cash.
DeletePrices keep rising because tourists keep coming.
DeletePeople I know visit once, then never again, they then go to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece... for better value next time. The locals are bloodsuckers, work for minimal time, charge a small fortune, then shut up shop. OU saying they will do something about seasonality will never work as tourist workers don't work in winter.
DeleteIt's a public secret here in DBV that we are just waiting for JU keep flying in winter. Hopefully they make the annoucing soon.
ReplyDeleteWould be great
DeleteI don't think so, market is tiny in winter and Tivat is too close. Only destination that makes sense in winter are Zadar and Pula.
DeleteSplit is far above Zadar and Pula in P2P demand during winter.
DeleteJU may reduce frequencies to Tivat and start DBV
DeleteI'm guessing big subsidies/incentives involved.
ReplyDeleteOf course. How else do you get airlines to fly to a summer destination in the dead of winter?
DeleteIf all of this materializes it will be an amazing year for Dubrovnik. It already is...
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteCan DBV take over Split this year?
ReplyDeleteVery unlikely
DeleteNO
DeleteAny chance BA might come back in winter?
ReplyDeleteThey have cut everywhere in ex-Yu this winter. Not going to happen.
DeleteNow that easyJet and Ryanair both fly to Dubrovnik in the winter, there's no need for British Airways. British Airways will fly only to Zagreb in the winter this year.
DeleteBA tried flying in winter and soon realised DBV is not a winter destination.
Deletemy question why there is no connection between LJU and DBV in summer season? it would make sense!
ReplyDeleteLJU has zero demand.
DeleteThere used to be flights with Adria.
DeleteAlso had no demand for Dubai according to comments and now has 4-7 weekly flights
DeleteNot 0 demand. But not enough demand to profitably fill larger aircraft. But an A220...well that might work in summer if only an airline we knew had any on order...
DeleteI feel like 2 weekly in summer on an A220 could work, especially if they establish some sort of agreement with tour operators to use flights instead of buses
DeleteAnd what about Zag pax coming to Lju to fly to Dbv?
DeleteIf the demand is there and it seems like a big if, OU could have one or two planes based in Dubrovnik and Split during the winter months, could be one way to solve the seasonality issue.
ReplyDeleteCroatia Airlines doesn't even have a single plane in Dubrovnik in July and you expect it to have two planes there in January?
DeleteAnyway, what would be the point when Croatia Airlines flies half-empty planes. Dubrovnik needs tourists, and only Ryanair can generate passengers in the winter season.
Well done Dubrovnik
ReplyDeleteLOT should establish a route between Warsaw-Chopin and Mostar as well.
ReplyDeleteWow, great!
ReplyDeleteBtw, flights to Charleroi are on sale too in winter TT
ReplyDeleteWow, that's huge news!
DeleteJU should really think about starting winter operations. There is a lot of demand from Dubrovnik, Trebinje and Herceg Novi agglomeration. Please note in the winter HN to DBV is 35 minutes drive. While HN to TIV is 50 minutes if you catch the ferry at the correct time.
ReplyDeleteDubrovnik and Croatia should really do more to facilitate the creation of that agglomeration.
I am from Dubrovnik, and for me reading your comment is really funny. The 3 cities you mention don't have even 100000 people combined, together with their "metropolitan area" (in this case villages) they maybe make it to 100000.
DeleteOn the other hand, it would be nice to have winter flights to BEG, but I don't think they will happen anytime soon, JU is much smarter than that.