Croatia Airlines will grow its network and frequencies during the 2025 summer season, which begins on March 30 and runs until October 25. Croatia Airlines will launch five new seasonal routes from Zagreb, to Hamburg, Bucharest, Milan, Prague and Madrid. The carrier plans to operate an additional 11 to 27 weekly departures from Croatia between April and October. This expansion is expected to add between 4.900 and 9.300 departing seats per week throughout the summer season, depending on the month.
Several summer routes will resume earlier than usual this summer. These include flights from Zagreb to Berlin and Stockholm, which launched on May 20 last year and will restart on April 1 and 2, respectively. Services between the Croatian capital and Tirana will resume on May 25, ahead of the previous June 14 schedule. Initially, flights to Tirana will operate once per week for two weeks before increasing to twice weekly, with plans to further expand to three weekly flights from the beginning of July. Split - Istanbul will resume on May 6 with five weekly rotations, up from three. Zagreb - Barcelona will increase from three to four weekly flights, while Split - Oslo and Split - Berlin will double from one to two weekly services. Additionally, Dubrovnik - Prague will expand from one to two weekly flights, and Dubrovnik - Zurich will increase from four to five weekly rotations.
During the upcoming summer, the carrier will reduce select operations in May, which is the result of another aircraft leaving the fleet before the arrival of an Airbus A220 jet. Similarly, a selection of routes will see growth on last year during the month of June due to reductions recorded the same month last in 2024 as a result of a fleet shortage. Croatia Airlines will run 17.925 scheduled flights, marking a 5.4% increase on the same period in 2024. This is still below the pre-pandemic 2019 when the carrier operated 19.090 operations. However, the airline will have more capacity than six years ago thanks to the addition of A220 jets with 2.225.000 seats on the market in the summer of 2025, up 16.1% on last year and an increase of 8.5% on 2019.
Please note that the frequencies listed below are preliminary and based on current availability in the Global Distribution System (GDS). They are subject to change. Furthermore, the tables below display the peak weekly frequency on each route per month during the course of the summer season. EX-YU Aviation News will also bring you the planned summer season operations for Air Serbia later this week, while Air Montenegro’s summer network can be viewed here.
Departing Zagreb
Departing Split
Departing Dubrovnik
From Pula, Croatia Airlines will operate to Zadar (8x per week) and Zagreb (3x per week) . From Osijek, the airline will fly to Munich (2x per week), as well as Split and Dubrovnik (1x per week). From Zadar, the carrier will operate to Pula (8x per week) and Zagreb (8x per week), although during May both routes will run seven times per week. Rijeka will see the Croatian national airline operate flights to Munich (3x per week) resuming May 11. Finally, Croatia Airlines will maintain scheduled services from Brač to Zagreb (2x per week).
Better than in the past but still way below its actual potential.
ReplyDeleteI don’t get that this summer they will still be below the number of flights operated before covid.
ReplyDeleteIt’s capacity that matters and in that metric they are well above.
DeleteCapacity is important but not at the expense of frequencies if you are operating a hub.
DeleteMain problem of OU is by far that they don't have waves at ZAG. They operate like a P2P airline. It's completely beyond me. They very obviously don't have a clue regarding their operating model, and their LF and profits couldn't show that any clearer.
DeleteSo the third A220 should arrive in June judging by this schedule?
ReplyDeleteBravo OU
DeleteWasn't one aircraft supposed to arrive in March?
DeleteThey surely don't know exactly yet. Probably somewhere in April or May? I guess they left some extra (spare) time in the schedule.
DeleteI would not book these first few June flights, could be they are either being canceled or replaced by short term wet leases which will further ruin their finances.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteVery nice development this summer! Let's just hope they somehow get slots in LIS for next summer, even though it in fact is very hard. That route would be a bummer.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLisbon plus 30 million pax, 1 runway. Slots will be difficult
DeleteLIS will be very difficult to obtain until the planned new airport in Lisbon is built.
DeleteIf these new Zagreb routes prove popular, will there be a chance they'll extend them into winter? Didn't they say they want to decrease seasonality?
ReplyDeleteIn the past they didn't have enough planes in winter. Now they do.
DeleteThey usually have at least 1-2 planes on the tarmac in winter time.
DeleteWhen can we expect them to announce the 2025/26 winter schedule?
DeleteSeptember/October.
DeleteWonder which plane will be leaving in May. Dash or Airbus?
ReplyDeleteJudging by the Sarajevo cut, it's a Dash
DeleteThey are decreasing Sarajevo because one of the weekly flights will operate with A220. This way they will make sure to kill the route. They are decreasing frequencies because capacity is increasing but this route depends on transfers so you are not doing its performance any favors by decreasing frequencies.
DeleteYes, not the brightest strategy.
DeleteThe lack of 80 seater will hurt them.
DeleteThey will wet lease props from next year
DeleteGood to see growth
ReplyDeleteNothing new from the coast this summer.
ReplyDeleteThey are adding frequencies, as you can see.
DeleteThat's not new destinations though.
DeleteThey were launching new destinations from the coast the last few years. It's now Zagreb's time.
DeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteThey really need to make those FCO and ATH flights from Zagreb nonstop.
ReplyDeleteI never understood why they don't reschedule their flights so as to operate ZAG-FCO-DBV/SPU-FCO-ZAG.
DeleteWith a W pattern Zagreb could also get direct flights to Rome. With ITA being part of Star Alliance it would make sense.
Old habits. I think the route was planned this way more than 20-30 years ago, perhaps during jugo times.. It should be considered a respect for those planners :)
DeleteYep. JAT operated this route with that routing.
DeleteYes and no. JAT operated BEG-SPU-FCO and BEG-DBV-FCO, with the same flight number, like "mixed" flight. Meaning all passengers had to disembark in SPU/DBV to go through passport and customs control. ZAG had multiple daily domestic flights (up to 5) to SPU and DBV with possibility to connect to FCO flights, but it was not the same flight. Today, with HR in Schengen, it's easier as the flight is basically domestic and passengers don't have to disembark in SPU/DBV for border control. Nevertheless, ZAG-FCO-SPU/DBV-FCO-ZAG is much much much more logical option, but only being opposite to logical is constant in Croatia Airlines
DeleteI fly often from FCO to ZAG. When SPU passengers disembark between 5 and 10 people stay on board before domestic passengers embark in SPU. I think there is no enough interest for non stop FCO-ZAG or opposite
DeleteYeah, right, there is no interest for nonstop ZAG FCO. That's why Ryanair operates it 5 weekly with 180 seater
DeleteThank you
ReplyDeleteSPU-IST seems to have performed really well.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteShould have started years ago.
Surprised TK hasn't.
DeleteRoute works thanks to TK. People are connecting via IST to get to Split.
DeleteAre they codesharing with TK on Split - Istanbul route?
DeleteYes
DeleteAt least we got something new.
ReplyDeleteGood to see some positive movement
DeleteBravo OU!
ReplyDeletewow Prague now served from ZAG, DBV and SPU.
ReplyDeleteCroatia is the most popular summer vacations spot from Czechs.
DeleteAnd CSA practically doesn't exist anymore
DeleteGreat for the new routes and frequency growth.
ReplyDeleteGood news for tourism.
DeleteThis is still very conservative. Key routes still missing from ZAG and generally low frequnecies across the board except to LH hubs.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, these changes are just the beginning of a bigger expansion plan in the next few years.
Delete^ that's what they've promised.
DeleteGreat to see Croatia Airlines expanding.
ReplyDeleteThis all sounds promising, but given the delays with aircraft deliveries that they already have, I wonder how much of this expansion actually happens as planned. They have already reduced summer network compared to a month ago when they first announced it.
ReplyDeleteDespite all the negative predictions, Tirana seems to have worked quite well.
ReplyDeleteThe negative predictions for this route were there because OU delayed its launch, cut down on its duration and reduced frequencies compared to original plan last year.
DeleteHow do you know Tirana is working well?
DeleteThey are increasing flights and extending the season.
DeleteAre they still wet-leasing a Trade Air A320 for the summer? And so they expect this summer to have 3 A220s after May?
ReplyDeleteThey are not leasing Trade Air. They leased it last year because their A220s were delayed.
DeleteWe will see if all their planes arrive as planned this summer.
DeleteDo we know what will Trade Air do with their A320 this summer since neither OU nor 4O will use them?
DeleteProbs just short term wet leases for the broken 320s from Croatia or a delayed 220s :)))))
DeleteThat will probably be very profitable. Croatia Airlines will pay anything for a last-minute lease.
DeleteI like this monthly overview!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLooking forward to the Air Serbia plans next.
DeleteGreat to see ZAG finally getting more connections! Hamburg and Madrid are long overdue. Excited for this summer season.
ReplyDeleteA220s can't arrive soon enough.
ReplyDeleteCan someone explain to me why some people think the A220 will solve all their problems? So far, financially it is a massive burden for such a small and financially weak company.
DeleteExactly, but the armchair CEO's on here know best
DeleteA220 will solve their capacity and image problems. More seats, newer planes.
DeleteIt will not solve their financial problems as they don't have to worry about that side of the business. Prime Minister said last year government will support the airline.
Will solve capacity problems? They have capacity problems? With 60 % LF?
DeleteIt will not solve image problems as well. 90 % of passengers don't even know and don't care which type they fly.
Mafia government using public money as ATM, I will not comment at all
Bravo OU!
ReplyDeleteStill behind 2019 in flights, but the added seats are impressive. Shows how much impact the A220 will have on capacity.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting is their growth on ZAG-BCN despite Ryanair flying to Girona. I checked the list from the other day and FR handled just 26.733 passengers. Would be interesting to know how many passengers OU carried.
ReplyDeleteMakes me wonder if Barcelona could become the first destination out there where OU stopped FR from running them over.
Malpensa vs Bergamo should be the next one to watch. Here we have Croatia Airlines, Ryanair and the highway all competing against each other.
VY's exit in 2024 still provides enough room for OU, nothing to do with FR. But I agree that MXP vs BGY would be interesting to observe.
DeleteWell, VY was the only carrier back then so everyone was forced to use them. Some of their passengers could have migrated to FR, especially if they were price conscious.
DeleteIt could be that OU might actually remain the dominant carrier on this market. BCN is definitely more convenient than GRO is.
Only if you are going to Barcelona. A lot of people go to Girona and the Pyrenees
DeleteYeah but FR GRO numbers are rather modest. That's why it would be good to compare them to OU's in BCN
DeleteKeep in mind FR launched Girona during last summer season, so it did not operate the full year. But the LF is 90%+
DeleteNice seeing a pic of the new bird. Things are slowly moving in the right direction, but it is naive to expect OU, a total uhljebistan, to become profitable. Too many sons and daughters who must get imaginary jobs and do nothing. It is as naive as it is to expect a politician to be honest and hard working.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteCurious why they’re cutting in May. Couldn’t they have delayed the aircraft phase-out until after summer peak?
ReplyDeleteProbably too expensive to operate old and new fleet at the same time.
DeleteThey need to add more flights to Eastern Europe.
ReplyDeleteThey need to add more flights in Western Europe too.
DeleteCroatia Airlines is FINALLY stepping it up but still a long way to go.
ReplyDeleteAn improvement but at the end of the day, they are still completely uncompetitive compared to Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteAns will fall asleep in the winter again. Everyone needs a break after the short tourist season.
DeleteTheir on board service needs to improve I would say even a complete overhaul. Water and a small snack for economy, old economy class meals served in business isn’t gonna cut it. Wi-Fi on board is a positive step with the new a220s though in my opinion
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more!
DeleteShort legs in Europe, food means nothing. They network and route planning needs a complete overhaul. Easier said than done with slot availability being a major hurdle for them.
Delete@Anon 01:44 I disagree, plenty of legacy carriers in europe offer a decent on board offering. OUs on board offering is quite weak, whilst it would make sense to offer a snack and water on shorter routes like domestic or international but any flights 2 hours or longer should provide or at least on demand food. I believe with their Current ticket prices and on board offering they aren’t gonna compete with other carriers especially on the routes where they go head to head against ryanair.
DeleteDespite five new routes by OU, Ryanair is likely to have more passengers in Zagreb this year.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure Ryanair already had more passengers last year.
DeleteProbably. I think Ryan will extend the lead this year.
DeleteYes, believe so too. Highly doubt OU had more than 1 million passengers in ZAG last year.
DeleteZAG-NYC
ReplyDeleteZAG-YYZ
ZAG-SYD
ZAG-JNB
ZAG-PVG
etc
etc
........................... banana airline .................
All 3x daily with A380
DeleteNo that's being uhljeb..you need at least 4.
DeleteUS, Canada, China, Japan and Korean market would make sense. They could have been operating these successfully for years.
DeleteNice.
ReplyDelete