Low cost carrier Ryanair has announced it is slashing one million seats from the Spanish market this coming winter in response to what it called a "shameless" fee hike announced by the airport operator Aena. Aena's CEO Maurici Lucena responded by accusing Ryanair of "self-righteousness", "rudeness", "blackmail" and greed, as the long-running conflict between the largest airline in Spain by passenger numbers and the operator of most of the country's commercial airports escalated. Ryanair has once again confirmed it will shift capacity from the Spanish market to Croatia. However, the carrier has yet to unveil any new routes from Croatia for the upcoming 2025/26 winter season or the 2026 summer schedule.
Over the past month, Ryanair officials have visited both Zagreb and Dubrovnik, following earlier visits to Rijeka this summer. For the upcoming 2025/26 winter season, which runs from October 26 to March 28, the airline has scheduled 690.282 seats on the Croatian market. This represents a 9.4% increase compared to last winter, or an additional 59.070 seats. The growth is primarily driven by frequency increases on existing routes.
Next year, Ryanair will enter the fifth and final year of the Growth Incentive Model it has benefited from at its Zagreb base. To maintain its incentives, the airline must add at least 75.000 departing passengers during the year, with the potential for further discounts if it surpasses 150.000 additional departing passengers per year. This provides Ryanair with a strong incentive to increase its traffic out of the Croatian capital each year.
Ryanair’s decision to reduce its operations in Spain over a 6.5% fee increase announced by Aena for 2026 will result in the closure of Valladolid and Jerez airports. The low cost carrier said it would cut capacity in regional airports in the peninsula by 600.000 seats and in the Canary Islands by 400.000 seats between late October and late March. That represents 16% of its traffic at regional airports.
I'm surprised they still haven't announced any new routes for Croatia for this winter. Hope we see something new.
ReplyDeleteIt is more likely we will see new destinations for next summer, not this winter.
DeleteWhich new routes could we see them add from Zagreb?
DeleteAs croatia will have a short break on zag-arn line it is not impossible that ryan jumps into that. Yes, starting a new line in january is suicide, yes, there are both gothenburg and malmo to zagreb, but still, not impossible.
DeleteBased on the incentive model Ryanair is operating on in Zagreb, they can't qualify for those incentives if they launch a route already served or served in the last year.
DeleteRyanair doesn't start new routes in January
Delete09.06
DeleteEdinburgh/Glasgow, Riga/Vilnius, Helsinki, Gdansk, Krakow, Wroclaw, Porto/Faro, Las Palmas/Tenerife, Ibiza, Sevilla, Valencia, Agadir/Marakesh, Dortmund, Nurnberg, Lyon, Chania, Rhodes, Dubrovnik, once situation stabilizes Kiev, Lvov and Amman/Aqaba
It doesn't look like there will be any new destinations this winter: https://putnikofer.hr/aktualnosti/ryanair-ove-zime-ukida-cak-11-linija-iz-zagreba/
Delete^ lol what a clickbait article that is. All those destinations were seasonal last year too.
DeleteYes, but also it seems there are no new destinations
Deleteyes, that's true. Let's see about next summer.
Delete@anon 09:10 yes, ryan does not like to start new lines in january, but ryan also does like to take advantage. Croatia made a solid step in opening zag-arn, so it wouldn't be entirely impossible if ryan takes the line then.
DeleteCan they use incentives if the route is already operated? I remember, at the beginning, they could get it only for unserved destinations...
DeleteThey can't. It's still the same agreement. The route must not have been served for at least a year. It does not apply if you are flying to another airport in the same city.
DeleteRyanair is such a drama queen.
ReplyDeleteThe AENA CEO described them the best.
Delete+1000
DeleteRyanair will once in the near future face a strong fee policy from many European airports which will put in question their business model. You can not blackmail everybody arround you for ever.
Delete"Shameless fee hikes" making it sound like Sephora made their fave eyeliner $2 more expensive lol
DeleteGood for Spain, they've discovered mass tourism has been ruining their environment and real estate market, hopefully we realise it was before it's too late
The AENA CEO increased fees by 6.5%
DeleteGuess who's paying for that.
The airline publicly portrays itself as a victim, while it itself has increased its ticket prices by an average of 21 percent
DeleteThey're not lying, just telling their side of the story which every company should. At least they know what they are paying on the invoices for public relations...
DeleteGood news for Croatia
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure how good the news are. That's a company focused on their own pocket only. Other companies and people in general don't benefit a lot from them.
DeleteAre you suggesting other companies focus on generating profits for someone other than themselves??
DeleteAll companies' main focus is profit by law so that's not surprising
DeleteIssue with FR and W6 is their business model makes them less than ideal for long-term organic growth, since they have the ability and tendency to effectively extort airports into paying smaller fees and kicking out competition. We've seen their demands for Skopje laid bare last week, for example
"All companies' main focus is profit by law so that's not surprising"
DeleteWhat???? Do you read what you write?
@Anon 09:14 - it's clear that other companies are focused on profit as well. I think you know what I meant, but anyway let me clarify it a bit more. Companies like Ryanair have a very aggressive business model. They blackmail other companies, governments, their employees etc. Some of them accept their rules because they think there is no other way. If everyone would do the same then the discrepancy between rich and poor would be even worse than it is now (and it's not very rosy anyway).
Delete@10:18
DeleteCompanies Act 2006 for the UK, Companies Act 2014 for Ireland.
@Mario
Delete"Companies like Ryanair"... Are you sure you are not mistaken? If there is a single company in Europe that entirely fits your description to blackmail other companies and governments and their employees that would be Deutsche Lufthansa Gmbh
This negotiation and extortion tactic will at sompe point bite Ryanair hard, maybe not this year, maybe not the next, but this is unbelievable and unacceptable way of making business... Too big to fail tactic that never works on long run
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI don’t like Ryanair’s methods, but Aena isn’t innocent either. A 6.5% fee hike in 2026 is huge and will hit all airlines. In the end, it’s passengers in smaller Spanish cities who will suffer.
DeleteExtortion is a criminal act. Ryanair is simply moving away from low-yielding routes over an increase in costs. Any company in any industry would do the same.
DeleteExtortion in business isn't illegal but it's heavily immoral. Ryanair for example has special treatment in Zagreb too, I'm no OU fan, but I bet that OU would be better off with fees that FR has, but if OU gets them, FR will want more cuts to what they pay, or they'll be out tomorrow. If that's not extortion I don't know what is
DeleteAt some point Ryanair will run out of airports willing to fulfill their demands.
DeleteOU could have applied for the incentives and launched new routes in the same way Ryan had, if they wanted.
DeleteI hope they focus more on Rijeka
ReplyDeleteThey’ve visited Rijeka twice this summer, so I’m hoping we might finally see some new routes here.
DeleteThat airport definitely needs an overhaul, though, it's so out-of-date and, I daresay, ugly
DeleteRijeka Airport is terrible. Flew out their last year., Has not changed one bit since the Yugoslav times. It's like a time capsule.
DeleteI actually really like it. Same with Zagreb Airport old terminal.
Delete@ last two anons
DeleteWell, if the ticket price is affordable to fly from A to B, than who cares about the Terminal aesthetics as long as it has clean toilets, chairs and a roof upon your head. Rijeka is not Singapore and Ryanair is not Qatar Airways. And you are not a Prince of Persia.
Even the absence of aesthetics is some aesthetic, and very telling one. The aesthetic is glued with ethics and I would defend opinion that everything here went south when we agreed on having ugly aesthetics of buildings, advertising and plastic bags all around us. But that's the topic for some other portal...
DeleteI like rijeka airport. Friendly staff short ways. It’s more than comfortable for me. The interior does t matter me.
DeleteNow Croatia should do the same and Ryanair would hardly have anybody else to blackmail
ReplyDeleteThere is no "Croatia", there is Zagreb Airport, Dubrovnik AirPort and Rijeka AirPort. And they all want Ryanair because it can generate more growth than all the other airlines combined.
DeleteBut do these destinations need growth in numbers or in value? Shouldn't it be more profitable for Croatia to premiumize tourism instead doing it backwards? More of United, less of Ryan, folks...
DeleteOU won't be happy.
ReplyDeleteDo they care? Until this year they sat back and couldn't be bothered launching new routes or being more competitive. They watched Ryanair expand in their home market and didn't lift a finger.
DeleteThis will further suffocate Croatia Airlines.
DeleteOU seats and soft product is superior to Ryanair. It's almost on par with JU.
DeleteThe funny thing is that behind the drama, Ryanair actually grew it's numbers in Spain by 3% during NS25
ReplyDeleteIt's just PR, Ryanair knows they can't leave Spain since it's one of their biggest and highest yielding markets by far. They've learned from their mistakes in Greece that big airport operators aren't desperate enough to want them
DeleteTrue dat BUT their growth in the future will be in other markets. They have a lot of aircraft coming from Boeing.
DeleteRyanair does not leave a whole country like Spain, it just leaves the small airports. And then they close. Look at Jerez.
DeleteI hope they base another plane in Zagreb and launch new routes.
ReplyDeleteTypical Ryanair blackmail.
ReplyDeleteWhatever people say, Croatia clearly benefits from Ryanair. More seats mean more tourists, cheaper fares and better connections for us locals.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteFR is driving so much growth out of Croatia.
DeleteWhen will people realize that more tourists doesn’t equal good?
DeleteIf your economy depends on them, then it does equal good.
DeleteAirport numbers look good, but living standards aren't. Mass tourism rarely leads to prosperity, usually the increase in wage is almost entirely matched by the increase in living costs. Florida, Balearics and Granada are prime examples.
DeleteSo much ignorance by some commenters about even the most basic economic principles. 🤪
DeleteFlorida, Balearics and Granada become so affluent and their population increased so much BECAUSE of tourism!
Exactly! Same for the Greek islands, Dalmatia, Capri etc. etc.
Delete@09:46 Croatia does not have mass tourism.
DeleteCroatia this year will be visited by 23 million people!
DeleteFor a country of 3.8 million people that is massive!
@10:24
DeleteDalmatia has quality tourism, not mass cheap tourism like Antalya, Benidorm, Albania or Varna.
Take some RA flight and learn something about tourism.
Delete^ We all have and so are doing another 200 million Europeans every year!
Delete@ anon 10:24
DeleteExcept Dubrovnik, Opatija and a couple of exotic islands, the rest of Croatia's coast is a mass tourism 1/1.
What are the conditions of the tender at ZAG, if the airline launches new rote that isn't served yet? For how many years does it receive reduced fee?
ReplyDeleteI think it has to do with how many passengers are added, but I am not sure. It would explain why Ryanair is not launching some obvious routes from Zagreb, because it is always saving some of them for later.
DeleteAnother huge year of growth for Croatian airports coming in 2026.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteI expect they will announce expansion from Dubrovnik for next year with another plane.
ReplyDeleteHope so
Deleteunbelievable that the huge portion of Croatian market is officially taken over by low cost airline
ReplyDeleteDon't be too upset, welcome to the 21st century aviation.
DeleteWhat huge portion? The percentage share of LCC traffic is higher in Italy and Spain than in Croatia.
DeleteAny chance they will ever have a meaningful network out of Split?
ReplyDeleteSplit Airport management continues to favour OU. But Split is also at full capacity in the summer.
DeleteNo, Split has gone to bed with Croatia Airlines and is giving them money.
DeleteNo.Split is crowded in the summer and too expensive for Ryanair. Pula and Rijeka desperately need growth and should follow Zadar's example.
DeleteSplit management are HDZ aligned and so they are funnelling money they earn from other airlines into the pockets of Croatia Airlines. It's like a scam. OU flies half-empty planes there in the winter to justify that it is getting money.
DeleteUnpopular opinion: OU should be flying half-empty planes in winter from Split for extra money. That's their prime role, or should be - connecting Croatia with Europe even when tourists go home...
DeleteThat opinion is beyond ridiculous. Croatia Airlines should be flying FULL planes. If it cannot do so profitably then it can do so at a loss. At the moment what Croatia Airlines is doing is flying half-empty planes at a loss. How does that make sense?
DeleteFor the 3rd floor in Buzin and Središnjica even nonsense make sense. They don't think of what they say and write. They obey orders. And orders are to say/write everything is perfect
DeleteIs Ryanair still interested in the old terminal at Zagreb? I think future Ryanair expansion will lead Zagreb management to reopen the old terminal if it is cheaper than expanding the current (new) terminal which they are required to do when they reach 5 million passengers. If they redirect all traffic to the old terminal they don't have to spend extra money in expanding current terminal.
ReplyDeleteThat would be fantastic but how would they stop other airlines from also coming to the old terminal? Everyone will want lower fees.
DeleteIt's not hard to calculate the cost of building the terminal to have the companies flying for regular fees vs. utilizing existing terminal for the cheaper fees for any willing airline... I mean, the building is there...
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a problem that now they have free 737s, but ZAG and ZAD bases consists
ReplyDeleteof a320s? Are we going to see more 737s in ZAG? Will they relocate Spanish pilots to Croatia?
They are eventually going to be all 737s once Lauda gets rid of the 320s. Perhaps it will be like VIE, where they have both 320s and 737s.
DeleteRyanair has A320 bases in Spain. Palma for example.
DeleteZAG-OHD could make perfect sense!
ReplyDeleteIt would be great actually but I doubt it would happen if they got rejected by the Macedonian government
DeleteI can't wait to see the day, airliners will have to pay tax for fuel. That will be the end of Ryanair. They are only mass poluters in all senses.
ReplyDeleteCalm down Greta and stop hating on people travelling and enjoying life! Try doing the same instead.
Delete"Don't do what's good for you to do; do what other people do" Weird life philosophy but why not...
DeleteOk, you go by horse and i go by air
DeleteI agree re Rijeka airport. It does not need to look like a glittering palace with endless shopping etc. Toilets are old but they are cleaned and they work, there is a cafe and a small bar after deoartures, tax free shop , car hire etc. Why waste money on tje building?
ReplyDelete+ 1000
DeleteAgreed. It's not terminal that's problem in RJK. It's total lack of flights, carriers, destinations, passengers... Just for comparison : July 2025 - SPU 787.000 pax, RJK 38.000. No other explanation needed
DeleteSo you are telling me they will cancel 1M seats in total, peninsula+canary islands 👀
ReplyDeleteThis might sound good for us as they will shift planes in Zag, but what stops them from pulling out of Zag lile this one day..
Pretty much nothing. They're privately owned enterprise, bounded only by the law, and law says this is free market, they can join or leave whenever they want.
DeleteRyanair is an airline who left alot of german cities , now spain and will left someone else , the only thing they are looking for is they dont want to pay any fee , they want the all profit just for them , what a miserable airline🤮
ReplyDeleteOpinions are divided when it comes to Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteMany are happy to get cheap tickets to interesting destinations, while others would never set foot on a Ryanair plane. I myself would rather not fly than fly with Ryanair, mainly because of the working conditions of the flight crews, but also because of all the extortion that goes on. I find Ryanair unsympathetic, but I also see its advantages, especially in the low-wage sector or in countries with low wages, where people can at least treat themselves to the occasional flight thanks to Ryanair.
As a passenger from a poor balkan country, I am more than happy to see them open new routes as they replace a 24 hour ride with a bus and give the opportunity for balkan paupers to see a little of the world. I am sorry for the crews and airports, but at least many more now get to be pilots. Personally I find their service very efficient.
Delete