Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness, held a press conference in Zagreb this morning outlining the low cost carrier’s plans for the upcoming summer season in Croatia. The airline announced two new routes from the country for the summer, linking Dubrovnik with Budapest and Katowice, alongside frequency increases on several existing services, primarily from its Zagreb base, which have all been previously disclosed. At the same time, the carrier will end seasonal services between Zagreb and Sofia this summer, with the last flight scheduled for May 30. The development will result in the end of nonstop connectivity between Zagreb and Bulgaria. It joins Hahn, Pisa and Marseille, which were previously announced to be concluding.
Mr McGuinness called on the Croatian Government to remove what it describes as the outdated Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) tax, arguing that it unnecessarily increases access costs for passengers. The airline suggests that this charge could be offset by reducing public service obligation (PSO) subsidies on a limited number of routes. According to Ryanair, such reforms would help maintain Croatia’s position as a competitive and attractive market for future aviation investment.. During the 2026 summer season, Ryanair is scheduled to offer 4.231.554 seats on the Croatian market, representing a 3.8% increase, or an additional 155.146 seats, compared to last year. The number of flight operations is set to grow by 3.3% to 22.662 movements.
The CCO said, “As Europe and Croatia’s number one airline, Ryanair is
pleased to announce our biggest‑ever Croatia summer schedule. This record
schedule is underpinned by nine based aircraft across our three bases in
Dubrovnik, Zadar and Zagreb, and delivers vital year-round connectivity for
Croatia’s citizens and visitors, while supporting over 3.500 jobs. Croatia
continues to achieve strong traffic and tourism growth thanks to its
competitive access, which have enabled Ryanair to expand low‑fare connectivity
for Croatian citizens and visitors and tackle the issue of seasonality across
the country. These competitive conditions have allowed Croatian airports to
benefit from the reallocation of capacity from high-cost markets such as
Austria, France and Germany”. He added, “However, to unlock further growth and
investment from airlines, Croatia must maintain this competitive advantage.
Ryanair calls on the Croatian government to stop wasting taxpayers’ money on a
handful of PSO routes and instead use the money to abolish the outdated CAA tax
which unnecessarily increases costs for airlines and passengers on all routes.
This measure would continue to strengthen Croatia’s position as an attractive,
pro‑growth market, supporting increased year-round connectivity, tourism,
employment and economic development across the country".
The Croatian National Tourist Board yesterday approved 3.3 million euros in marketing cooperation agreements with strategic partners, including airlines, tour operators and other transport providers. Among the beneficiaries are Ryanair, easyJet, Eurowings, the Lufthansa Group, United Airlines, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines, Jet2holidays and TUI. Funding allocated to airline partnerships has increased by 30% this year, resulting in the addition of five new airlines and the expansion of route networks aimed at strengthening year-round connectivity. One of the most significant developments is the enhanced cooperation with United Airlines, which will result in the launch of seasonal flights between Newark and Split, alongside the existing Dubrovnik route.
Just drinking my morning coffee, what are your predictions? :)
ReplyDeleteAn extra 737 to be based in Zagreb.
DeleteI think they will just announce the increases in frequencies that were already reported and the two new routes. Let's see.
DeleteLUX, HEL or RIX strangely make a lot of sense to me. In the region only LJU has flights to those cities so they would directly attack those routes, which could be problematic for them.
DeleteIs ZAG ready for routes like Marrakech or Porto?
DeleteIt probably is yes
DeleteWhy on earth would it not be ready for Porto?
DeleteMarrakesch could work too. I was running a half marathon in Marrakesch this year in January. I thought that I'll be the only Croat there. I was wrong. A group of runners from Zagreb was there too. Maybe some others as well.
DeleteAnd in the end not a single new routes from Zagreb except that they are ending Sofia as well.
DeleteThe boost largely goes to OU.
Deletedont cheer and remove that smile. for us its enough for time being..
DeleteWho is cheering or smiling? Are you crazy?
DeleteSince all new routes and increases in Budapest have already been announced prior to press conference, I guess it is the same case in Zagreb. Therefore, they might just announce fifth aircraft to operate flights previously operated by aircraft from another bases.
ReplyDeleteThat makes no sense.
DeleteVery nice.
ReplyDeleteOnly 3.8% capacity growth this summer feels quite modest compared to what we’ve seen in previous years. Quite contradictory to how they were announcing they would move capacity to Croatia.
ReplyDeletegrowth is more incremental than aggressive now.
DeleteEven with moderate growth, 22,662 movements is a serious operational footprint.
Delete09:55
DeleteTrue dat!
Looking forward to seeing what they announce
ReplyDeleteCompared to Wizz Air’s rapid expansion elsewhere in the region, Ryanair seems more cautious this year.
ReplyDeleteWizz has a lot of catching up to do.
Deletewhat you mean by that? Wizz is by far dominant in Balkan.
DeleteI don't think it's going to be anything special. He will just announce what has already been written in this article. 2 new routes, 200,000 additional seats and he will say how they are investing billions into Croatia.
ReplyDeleteWe will find out soon enough
DeleteFingers crossed.
DeleteWell @9.34 was right.
DeleteNot really. They also criticised the Croatian government, fully rightly, for spending loads of cash on failing Croatia Airlines.
DeleteThe Croatian government shouldn't be wasting money funding Ryanair. It should only be funding OU! Let the Irish government fund FR!
Delete@anon 10:30 i disagree. Ryanair is a private company, let them make profit on their own terms. they can, can't they?
Delete@anon 11:02 croatian government should not be funding FR, correct, but also, they should insist on making OU a functioning and profitable company.
Hopefully Zagreb announcements bring something genuinely new.
ReplyDeleteDid ZAG give them more incentives though?
DeleteWonder if Ryanair will push secondary airports more aggressively if Zagreb costs rise.
ReplyDeleteWow so nothing new from FR.
ReplyDeleteExcept that they are ending Zagreb-Sofia!
DeleteSometimes I really don't understand them. Before ending Sofia, which was one of the services with lowest LF from ZAG, they increased frequency from 2 or 3 before, to 5 weekly in April and May, including two flights on Saturdays. Anybody any idea why? It seems very unlogical to me, and also money wasting, which is not how FR normally functions
DeleteHere is a flavor of what's happening with Ryanair in Europe:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ogromne-promjene-u-ryanairu-ukidaju-desetke-letova-diljem-europe/2761978.aspx?index_ref=naslovnica_vijesti_ostalo_d_0
The funny subtext of this text is the attitude of Ryanair, where they remove literally millions of seats accross (western) Europe and present this as if these countries will suffer because of this and not Ryanair's business...
Ryanair's business does not "suffer" when they cut unprofitable routes and allocate seat capacity to more profitable routes or test out new markets.
DeleteMaybe you work for Croatia Airlines so you don't understand how a profitable business is run?
Well I guess adding over 200,000 seats can't be described as nothing but ending Sofia is a pity.
ReplyDeleteIt's not over 200,000 but 150,000.
DeleteNot good.
ReplyDeleteThe 3.3 million that the tourism board gives, what does it go for? Advertising?
ReplyDeleteYes, primarily advertising in various forms.
Delete^^ 3.5 million is peanuts these days on advertising tbh
DeleteThat was an anti climax.
ReplyDeleteSince he criticized PSO it seems FR is not interested in applying for them.
ReplyDeleteit is a clear hit on the subsidies that FR is hoping for. they do not need PSO, but would not mind cutting funding to their main competitor.
DeleteI really don't know why they held a press conference for this.
ReplyDeleteCould have been an email.
DeleteTermination of SOF is very good news for JU. Seems like the market just wasn't there, there were even ads for Zagreb next to Sveta Nedelya Church in downtown Sofia.
ReplyDeleteAm I reading this right or there was no announcement for growth?
Well there is some growth
Delete" During the 2026 summer season, Ryanair is scheduled to offer 4.231.554 seats on the Croatian market, representing a 3.8% increase, or an additional 155.146 seats, compared to last year. The number of flight operations is set to grow by 3.3% to 22.662 movements."
I knew there would be nothing major announced because if there was one of the speakers at the conference would be CEO from Zagreb Airport.
ReplyDeleteGood catch. So he wasn't present and FR basically scolded the government over taxes. Seems like the relationship is very tense.
DeleteBut can someone help me understand what's going on at Zagreb? OU announces no new routes and now FR announces no new routes. Both have more than enough capacity.
ReplyDeleteObviously the operator does not want to grow this year.
DeleteConspiracy theory.
Delete^ Ok, do you not think it is odd that there is 1 new route from Zagreb this whole summer while all other airports in the region have a significant number of new routes? Don't you think it's odd that Croatia Airlines, which will have more planes at its disposal and talked about having 20 routes ready to launch from Zagreb will not start a single new route from Zagreb this summer? And don't you think it is odd that Ryanair, which said how they will move capacity from Spain to Croatia is launching 0 new routes from Zagreb and actually ending four?
DeleteI highly doubt it's pure coincidence. Especially for an airport that has been growing nicely over the past 5 years.
Good points! Agree, it's all quite odd. Seems to me like Zagreb airport is not ready to put some money on the table for investments.
DeleteMaybe demand reached its peak?
DeleteWeren't they just saying how much better taxes are in Croatia when they cancelled and complained about Spain?
ReplyDeleteProbably a negotiating tactic for Zagreb incentives.
DeleteOverall steady but not spectacular growth. The post incentive era will be the real story.
ReplyDeleteMeet for what? For suspended route with high LF and previously announced destinations. Lol
ReplyDeleteI am from Sofia. I have an acquaintance who has access to a database with data in the reservation system and SOF-ZAG in July last year, LF was in most cases over 90%. I don't think that every route operated by low-cost airlines is based on real demand.
DeletePassengers were there but yields obviously weren't. Tickets were always very cheap.
DeleteLot of noise over nothing. Typical Ryanair.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI'm sure the ministry is going to listen to him 😂
ReplyDeleteThe people in the ministry can't even be bothered to start the PSO tender. They are already late half a year.
DeleteThat's all folks
ReplyDeleteTime for Zagreb to get Wizz.
ReplyDeleteWill only happen if Ryanair threatens to leave
DeleteNot gonna happen.
DeleteWet dreams that W6 comes to ZAG.
DeleteSo it seems new incentive policy at ZAG still hasn't been finalised. Will be interesting to see how that turns out. Hoping for the best. We need FR!
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't been finalized completely but there will be one and it will allow Ryanair to grow even more.
Delete@admin, how many routes did Ryanair had in summer 2025?
ReplyDelete118 (August 2025)
DeleteSo called expert refuses to publish that FR canceled SOF.
ReplyDeletePriceless!
he also changed the time of his article from 10.30 when he published it to 8.50 so it would look like he wrote it before the conference even though there was no article before it haha. Priceless.
Delete