United Airlines expects a strong performance from its upcoming seasonal summer service between Newark and Split, which will launch on April 30 next year. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier said, “United Airlines is confident our new Newark - Split service will perform strongly, building on the proven success of our Dubrovnik route. Demand for travel to Croatia continues to grow among US leisure travellers and Split offers excellent connectivity to the wider Dalmatian region. The city’s strong tourism infrastructure and appeal as both a cultural and coastal destination give us every reason to expect solid interest. This addition further strengthens United’s presence in the Adriatic and reflects our data-driven approach to expanding transatlantic operations”.
Split - New York is the third busiest unserved route between Croatia and the United States based on indirect traffic flows, behind only Zagreb - New York and Zagreb - Chicago. However, it generates more demand than the subsequent Zagreb - Los Angeles, Dubrovnik - Chicago, and Zagreb - San Francisco routes. Together with United’s existing Newark - Dubrovnik service, the carrier will operate ten weekly flights between the US and Croatia, offering 2.118 seats per week in each direction.
“We’ve really established ourselves as a leader by launching flights to bold, trendsetting destinations”, the airline said. Highlighting the importance of its transatlantic joint venture with Lufthansa on routes from its US hubs to Frankfurt and Munich, United added, “What we find is that our travellers prefer nonstop flights over connecting services. With more aircraft joining our fleet, we’re able to add an increasing number of unique destinations”.
United’s upcoming Split service will operate from Newark until September 5, using the Boeing 767-300ER. The route is primarily aimed at affluent US holidaymakers travelling to the Dalmatian coast. The aircraft configuration filed in the Global Distribution System features just 167 seats - United’s lowest-capacity wide-body - tailored for high-yield markets. It is the same layout used on premium routes such as from Newark to Zurich, Geneva, Nice and London Heathrow, with 46 seats in business class, 22 in premium economy and 99 in economy.
The Director of the Croatian National Tourist Board’s North America Office, Leila Krešić-Jurić, said, “The US market unquestionably remains our most promising long-haul market, particularly in the premium and luxury segments, which makes the growing number of major investments in Croatia’s high-end tourism offer all the more encouraging. These range from American brands such as Hyatt Regency and Curio by Hilton to the Materra wellness hotel near Osijek, while we are especially eager to see the upcoming investments announced by domestic groups like Maistra and Valamar”.
This will be a huge boost for tourism in central Dalmatia.
ReplyDeleteCome to Zagreb please
ReplyDeleteLow-capacity high-yield aircraft on a premium leisure route makes sense.
ReplyDeleteWith all the Americans visiting Hvar, Brač and Vis this route will be packed in summer. I hope it runs for many years to come!
DeleteWonder if Zagreb could be next in a few years?
ReplyDeleteUnited is the most likely to start it.
DeleteFingers crossed
DeletePremium leisure crowd is mostly drawn to the coastal destinations. Zagreb doesn't fit that narrative.
DeleteZagreb has higher business and diaspora demand
DeleteZagreb is more outbound ham inbound demand which is why United won't launch it as the yield isn't high enough.
DeleteMama Lufti does not approve this
DeleteGreat to see more US interest beyond Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteFantastic news! Split absolutely deserves a direct US connection. United seems to understand the market well after Dubrovnik’s success.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent, we'll see even more affluent tourists in Split and the islands.
ReplyDeleteJust what everyone needs...
DeleteWe need guests that buy and eat our domestically produced food and goods. They are also strong tippers that go on excursions and stay at hotels which stimulate our economy
DeleteAn American tourist has no idea of the fish is Italian, Croatian or Icelandic. If you want tourists to eat local food, you need to sell local food in supermarkets. Croatian supermarkets are full of imported food.
Delete@11:46 This observation is not the correct place for an aviation related forum.
DeleteTen weekly flights between Croatia and the US is impressive. Shows how strong the market has become post-COVID, especially for premium tourism.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt was supposed to be 7 weekly flights with American Airlines before Covid hit, so it's not actually that big of an increase. But I agree it's still a good number.
DeleteWould be great if they extended it into October. Late season demand is still strong, and Americans love visiting when it’s less crowded.
ReplyDeleteYeah but I don't think they like to visit when they have nowhere to eat and nothing to do.. I spent a few days in one of the picturesque towns in Makarska Riviera in the beginning of this October. I had a feeling I was teleported in a the Silent Hill videogame. All restaurants and other venues were closed. One of the days the weather was beautiful and the sea still resonably warm for swimming, I really couldn't figure out why was the season ended so early and so abruptly.
DeleteThe local tourist workers will have already started winter rest and it will be like this until next May. Tragic really.
DeleteWhy is it tragic? What's the problem with people resting after they earned enough money that they need? What is it with this capitalist obsession that everyone must serve tourists like they are some gods?
DeleteThe weather in October can be very variable. This year was terrible with rain, wind, cold sea water, very little sunshine days. Last two years were amazing but they were exceptions.
DeleteI was in Dubrovnik 5 nights from 24.10.-29.10 this year. The city is quite packed with tourists. It makes sense they choose to fly to Split and Dubrovnik. There is always something to do in those cities and nearby. I think they could extend flights to October easily.
DeleteIt is tragic because locals fleece tourists for three months, charging unrealistic prices for average food in restaurants and then rest for nine months before repeating the scam.
DeleteAmericans really don't care about crowds. They travel everywhere, all the time. I have spent half my life in the tourism industry and most people in the US are very ignorant about geography and seasonal travel.. The rest just don't care.
DeleteI wonder if American Airlines or Delta will follow with something similar?
ReplyDeleteBoth used to fly to Dubrovnik
DeleteI really hope they come back.
DeleteGood for Split Airport, but I hope some of this traffic spreads north and helps promote other airports too. Croatia has more to offer than just Split and Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeleteNot really. American tourists want big culture, great restaurants and an easy holiday with beautiful beaches. There is none of that outside of Dalmatia except in parts of Istria. Northern Adriatic is still very much specialised in catering for continental Europeans who are more frugal.
DeleteAnyone finds it interesting that Split Airport management has not said a single word about these flights? No info on their website, no media statements, nothing. It's the biggest route launch in their history.
ReplyDeleteTrue. It's odd
DeleteThey don't care.
DeleteThey used to be pretty hostile towards any mention of long haul flying to Split. Myabe they are not happy about this :D
DeleteThey are probably annoyed the B767 will take an additional parking space from Jet2 or someone like that.
DeleteFrom the perspective of the airport, that is true. The turnaround is longer, it's a non-Schengen flight, United has special requirements etc. The aircraft takes up a lot of space and needs a lot of workers to service it but the number of passengers is fairly low. They could rotate four Jet2 flights (so that's 1200 passengers) in the space that they rotate one United 767 (300 passengers). It's a huge difference.
Delete^ true that actually makes sense.
DeleteThis aircraft has only 167 seats.
DeleteTransatlantic JV morphed into defacto duopoly for key airlines. Passengers have less options and are being funneled through main airlines, with alliance airlines left to pick up crumbs by feeding them.
ReplyDeleteThis will help extend the tourist season. With premium travellers and better connectivity, Split could push into late September and even October in future.
ReplyDeleteHow will three weekly flights that end at the beginning of September help extend the tourist season?
DeleteI’m curious if the route might eventually go daily like Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeleteWhen does United plan to retire these B767s. These 767s are nearly 30 years old.
ReplyDelete2030.
DeleteThanks. I'm guessing they are being replaced by B787s?
DeleteThat 46 seat business class setup on a 767 is wild :D Shows how much money they expect to make from US travellers going to luxury resorts.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see a route from Chicago to Croatia too. There’s a big Croatian community in the Midwest and plenty of potential passengers.
ReplyDeleteWe need them to start either EWR-ZAG or ORD-ZAG.
DeleteBetter something from Dalmatia.
DeleteChicago-Zagreb would be great if Croatia Airlines could then feed Dubrovnik, Zadar, pula and split in both directions. That would complement direct flights to split and Dubrovnik very nicely. But Croatia Airlines is not competent for that.
DeleteSplit fits perfectly in their European leisure strategy.
ReplyDeleteYes with destinations like Bari
DeleteWhat are the fares like now to fly on this route? Is it expensive?
ReplyDeleteI did some random test bookings in June 2026, and direct New York to Split was giving me prices of between 978 and 1233 euros return in economy class. In Business this was 3999euros return.
DeleteThese prices compare quite favorably with 1-stop options via Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris which were all rather similar making United a really solid option based on my quick look.
Interestingly i found a slightly cheaper business class fare on Air France for the same days at United Airlines at 3397euros return which might personally tempt me if I was doing that route, however the transfer in Paris eats into the desirability of the fare for those willing to pay premium.
That's not a bad price on United in peak season to be honest for nonstop flight.
DeleteI know it won't happen but which city would me most likely to get US service after Split if we exclude Zagreb. Pula?
ReplyDeleteZadar?
DeleteZero chance for pula or Zadar to get direct flights to the US. Absolutely zero.
DeleteIndeed. Zadar is way to close to Split to ever need US flights. Its infrastructure also cannot handle it. The shed like extension for non-Schengen flights is also not the nicest. Pula is a different market and from my experience Americans who explore it are on longer trips in the region (maybe including Italy and Slovenia) or spending two weeks in Croatia and therefore fly in and out of somewhere else.
DeleteThis is a prestige route for Split and Croatia. The US market keeps growing.
ReplyDeleteIt shows Croatia’s tourism is moving upmarket.
DeleteVery nice.
ReplyDeleteBit of a stupid question. Does SPU have a premium lounge and what is it like?
ReplyDeleteIt does, only for business class passengers - no credit card schemes accepted. The lounge is nothing to write home about.
DeleteThanks. Pity they didn't use the opportunity to do something better in that beautiful new terminal building.
DeleteThe lounge is average and will be rammed with a high J UA flight. Those long life vacuum packed sandwiches won't feed everyone.
DeleteDubrovnik is a very established brand in the US. Split less so. Let's see how it performs.
ReplyDeleteYou can say what you want, but Americans LOVE Split. Every hotelier I know is already preparing for this.
DeleteThey don't fly to split to visit split, they fly to split to visit the Adriatic coast. I imagine most of them will go down to Dubrovnik as well, and also Greece or Rome etc
DeleteWhat are you talking about? Greece and Rome? Most Americans take holidays of 5-6 days at a time, a full week if you add the time spent on the plane to it. They will not do 3 countries in that timespan, hence the need for direct flights in the first place.
DeleteI hope they don’t forget about the diaspora. There’s huge potential for connections beyond tourism.
ReplyDeleteThe diaspora doesn't bring in the cash so of course they ignore it.
DeleteIt's articles like this that show how much JU is missing split schedule regional rotations to better connect to their long haul destinations, which also happen to be underserved destinations from several other regional cities in their network (in this example Chicago - Dubrovnik).
ReplyDeleteThe late afternoon ORD departure catches the DBV and regional arrivals but the 10:45 departure doesn't without long layover times or in DBV's case, not at all.
JU720 BEG DBV 0630 0740
JU721 DBV BEG 0810 0920
A schedule like this is also good for JFK and CAN arrivals.
+1 agreed. Its something JU should really work on going forward. in terms of regional connectivity.
DeleteI bet American Airlines regrets dropping Dubrovnik so quickly. United’s cleaning up the Adriatic market now.
ReplyDeleteActually by far the biggest airline serving the Adriatic from North America is Lufthansa. United doesn't come anywhere near Lufthansa alone, let alone SWISS, Austrian, Edelweiss, Air Dolomiti etc
DeleteHow can Air Dolomiti serve Adriatic from North America? Stop and think before you write.
DeleteTen weekly flights between Croatia and the US… that’s quite an achievement
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMore to come hopefully.
DeleteCan just imagine what Split passport control will look like next August.
ReplyDeleteI've never experienced anything other than really fast processing at Croatian Airports (although standing in the sun at Rijeka isn't much fun). Maybe I was lucky.
DeleteSplit was a mess before Schengen entry, now it's a lot better but still gets congested in the summer when several UK flights land at the same time.
DeleteCroatia Airlines should really use the opportunity and put their codes on these flights as well as domestic points in US. It is beyond me why they have not done this.
ReplyDeleteProbably because for that to happen the US DOT needs to approve it, and for them to approve it they need to receive an application. Can you imagine anyone at OU being bothered to submit an application to US authorities? Anyway it's Friday morning today. They will be out of the office in the next half hour done for the week.
DeleteThey probably don't even know about these flights
DeleteIt's far too early.
DeleteVery nice article. Thanks exYu
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOnly balanced aviation site in this region without an agenda.
100% true! Great work! Thanks
Delete+1
DeleteI am currious…. Where are they going to get catering in SPU? Which konoba would pack čevapi for the flight back to the USA?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point actually. I assume SPU does not have its own plane catering
DeleteAlso where do they get in DBV?
DeleteIt wouldn't be the first or last route to have return catering loaded from base. ZAG also didn't have a catering facility and probably still doesn't.
DeleteReally? ZAG used to have a catering facility back n the 80s. What did they do with it?
DeleteZagreb has a catering facility close to the old terminal
DeleteSplit Airport has catering. And it's the best food out of all croatian airports
DeleteCan they catter for the flight back in EWR? I don’t think so?
ReplyDeleteAs per specifications the 767-300 needs 2480m for a safe take off. the runway in SPU is 2550m. Will be most probably very much weight restricted?
ReplyDeleteYes its very very tight, can see refueling taking place somewhere.
DeletePremium-heavy configurations are much lighter than regular ones, so it should be fine.
DeleteEvery American I have talked to about travel to Croatia says the same thing: It is the most beautiful, wonderful place they’ve ever been. In fact, my friend took her daughter to Dubrovnik for her birthday and said they were shocked at how amazing the people are and how gorgeous it is. She said prices were reasonable and the local eateries are really good. Makes me want to get in the next flight to Croatia - and it is definitely on my list of places to visit as soon as I can. I’ve been saving vacation money for quite some time and will gladly invest that money in a beautiful, welcoming place like Croatia. I am reading some grumbly comments in this thread, but I remain undeterred. When I say friends, around 12 different friends, some with families and one who got married over there.
ReplyDelete