Croatia Airlines is continuing to adjust its network, with a further two routes set to be discontinued this coming summer. The carrier will end operations from Zagreb to both Milan Malpensa and Bucharest, bringing the total number of discontinued services in its network this summer to five. Croatia Airlines introduced flights to Italy’s second largest city and Romania’s capital last July on a seasonal basis, with both routes operating three times per week. They were due to resume on May 11 and June 2 respecticely. The Croatian carrier faced indirect competition on the Milan route, where Ryanair serves nearby Bergamo Airport, while it remained the sole operator on the Bucharest service.
Croatia Airlines will also extend reduced frequencies on its Zagreb services to both Sarajevo and Skopje into the 2026 summer season. On the Sarajevo route, the airline will operate an average of ten weekly flights in April, twelve in May and eleven in June, down from thirteen weekly services maintained throughout the previous summer. Frequencies are set to be restored to thirteen per week from July. On the Zagreb - Skopje route, frequencies will decrease to an average of six weekly in April and seven in May, compared to nine weekly rotations last summer. Services are expected to return to nine weekly from June.
As a result of its latest network decision, Croatia Airlines will withdraw from the Romanian market, having also discontinued services from Split to Bucharest. The carrier has previously announced the termination of its seasonal Split - Skopje service, as well as Split - Amsterdam. The airline continues to maintain its presence in Italy with flights from Zagreb to Rome operated via either Split or Dubrovnik. The network adjustments come as Croatia Airlines transition to an all-Airbus A220 fleet, taking delivery of its eighth of fifteen A220s earlier this month.
Week OU
ReplyDeleteAnother round of cuts… hard to see where Croatia Airlines is actually growing apart from fleet renewal.
DeleteWhat to say for Malev, Adria.... Jasmin fight like a lion to save the company from bankruptcy. Survive in such LCC environment is magic! You will see, how long Montenegro Airlines will exist.
DeleteMontenegro Airlines is profitable while OU isn't.
DeleteSimilar strategy that Boštjančič (now Slovenian minister of finance) implemented in Adria in 2011, when Adria canceled some routes and frequencies and never really recovered. It was start of the end (of course he would claim that he solved the company from immediate bankruptcy, which is also true, but shrinking was only short term solution without long term perspective). I would suggest to our Croatian friends not to repeat the same mistake.
DeleteThis has got to be one of the worst executed "turnaround strategies" in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt also shows that most routes they launched last summer are a complete miss. Almost all of them are already gone.
DeleteMost of these routes can't work on an A220. That's why they are disappearing.
DeleteWhat can Milan work on? Milan is the perfect A220 route. It economics are much better than the old A320s of Lauda
DeleteMalpensa is almost as far away as Bergamo, and Ryanair prices were much more competitive.
DeleteNo, Milan is the perfect Dash route. Ryanair flies almost daily with 20 euro flight prices. Bergamo is as far away from Milan as Malpensa. Croatia Airlines had weak frequencies, weak connections, and so it stood not chance.
DeleteI'm sorry if as a European legacy carrier you can't make Milan work, what is there to say....
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMilan makes sense honestly. Bergamo is cheaper and Ryanair dominates that market anyway.
DeleteBucharest is more surprising. No competition and still couldn’t make it work?
DeleteWhy?? Ryan flies there. Country has little more than 3 million people.
DeleteLet's give them some time that they find new excuse for Bucharest.
DeleteThe competition is double daily from BEG and also OS/LH.
DeleteMilano doesn't have any sense for OU.
Delete@anon 12:17
DeleteAre you for real?
They don't even fly to FCO non stop. This airline is a shambles.
DeleteDuring ex-yu times, JAT operated up to daily Zagreb to Milano vv. Usually on DC-9, over some periods even on B727. Despite several US carriers and Alitalia operating multiple US destinations from Milano, and despite no commercial right to sell one stop/transfer tickets between Italy and the US, good portion of passengers on Zagreb-Milano vv flights were Italian/US passengers transferring in ZAG to/from JAT New York and Chicago flights, flying on two separate tickets, with perfect short and smooth transit. And today, with Buzin experts and their Središnjica Masters who totally destroyed OU and ruined all chances and potentials of the (now european) market with no administrative obstacles, it's something we can just remember instead living it again, triple stronger
DeleteBro I dont want to write here, where Jat flew in the past from Belgrade.. it doesnt make sense now. Different time, smaller market, stronger competition.
DeleteAnon 12:26
DeleteYes, I'm for real.
PIR
Sure man, people from Milano were transfering via JAT 🤣
Comparing JAT era with 2026.....
DeleteThe original JAT ended in 1991 with Yugoslavia.RIP.
16.43
DeleteYou can smile as much as you wish. You are probably one of those who believe we had one type of yoghurt in Yugoslavia. Not only Milan to US, passengers from Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Middle East were transferring in BEG for North America with JAT, Italians and French for Bangkok, Germans to China, passengers from UK to Singapore and Australia, North Africans to UK and Scandinavia, and many more. JAT had charters to Tahiti, Cuba, Korea, Vancouver, San Francisco...When JAT had 36 aircraft the, Emirates had 8. Turkish and Austrian did not operate long-haul. JAT was the only airline flying between Dubai and China, and along with KLM one of two connecting Dubai with Australia. It was the only european airline with scheduled traffic to Cleveland. Once again, you can cry out all your smiling tears, but it will not change the fact that JAT 1985-1990 was big, important, relevant, recognizable, market oriented, self sustaining and profitable airline, wellknown around the World
17.05
DeleteIt's not exactly comparison. It's strong criticism of OU, which despite huuuuge overall growth of civil aviation worldwide is not capable being even on the aviation levels from 40 or 50 years ago.
Instead is much lower, and going lower and lower. While all others grow and improve. It's not so difficult to understand, unless you write from Buzin
Some win, some lose. That's life, and every era has its rules. Croatia Airlines will survive no more than CSA, Malev, Adria, etc. Back in the days of Jat, TWA and Pan Am also flew there; all history now.
Delete18.39
DeleteOf course, every era has its rules. Of course, some win some lose. And according to what you have just said, and according to its results, at the moment, Croatia Airlines does belong to CSA, Malev, Adria etc. group. But there is another group, where Aegean, Air Baltic, Air Serbia, Finnair, TAP etc are. I want Croatia Airlines to join that group, and pointing out why it is not in that group and what it has to do and change to join that group. Which has nothing to do with an era and with its rules
With OU being run by the government it has no chance to develop.
DeleteAbsolutely agree. Just small addition: OU is being run by government and Mafia combined, hand by hand
DeleteThere is no market in Croatia to support such megalomaniac ideas without heavy state aid.
DeleteFinnair and TAP are comparable to the case of Croatia Airlines? Sure hahahah
Delete@22.21 OU already gets heavy state aid to discontinue routes.
Delete22.21
DeleteCroatia Airlines has 13 % market share. With 25-30 aircraft, and increased LF, that share could go up to 30-35 %. Unlike you, I give you numbers. Numbers which clearly show that THERE IS MARKET, which Croatia Airlines as it is, is not capable to exploit. And only totally ignorant and/or mean people can claim opposite
2nd 22.21
DeleteFinland has about 5 million inhabitants. Almost no tourism except for Santa over Xmass. Almost no diaspora. Portugal is not much bigger and not much richer than Croatia. Therefore both are totally comparable and that's preciseley why I listed those two and not SAS and Iberia, just to remain in vicinity, geographically
Finland has much higher standard of living, second much bigger country with much larger population and close St Petersburg, city with 2 times more people than Croatia. Lol Portugal was colonial superpower, and 30 million Portuguese lives only in Brasil.
DeleteThis only means the Q1 results are catastrophic.
ReplyDeleteMost likely. On top of it being their worst quarter in general there is also the rise in fuel prices.
DeleteNot only for them fuel got more expensive.
DeleteFuel is the excuse for Q2. Q1 was not affected much by it.
DeleteDid OU have any money to hedge fuel prices?
DeleteThis airline is a disaster.
ReplyDeleteThe airline is not a desaster- its management may be.
DeleteAn airline is only as good as how its managed mate.
DeleteThe A220s will solve everything....
ReplyDeleteJasmin B in action.
DeleteJasmin did not buy A220. It was ordered by the government.
DeleteHe could have resigned.
DeleteUhljebs and aparatchiks don't resign. They obediently fulfill their Master's orders. That's why they are there after all
DeleteThey don't care. The government just gave them millions due to fantastic management and Jasmin is preparing for acting ceo post.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly the attitude they have.
DeleteMore to come probably.
ReplyDeleteNew lines are coming.
DeleteWhere? In Australia?
DeletePossible.
11.25
DeleteTo Minken and Vrankvurt
And to Reka
DeleteReka to Minken is operated by OU. Twice weekly. In the middle of the day. While hundreds of people from Rijeka and its region fly out every day from Zagreb, Pula, Ljubljana, Trieste, Venice, Treviso. Which clearly shows capacity of the third floor in Buzin. Thanks for giving me idea to comment on this one as well 🙂
DeleteOnly airlines as retarded as OU can operate something stupid like flights to Rijeka while their hub is 2h away.
DeleteOnly airlines as retarded as OU can operate something stupid like flights to Rijeka while their hub is 2h away.
DeleteVery good to know TAP is retarded operating from Lisbon and Porto. Or THY from IST and Sabiha. Or even Air Serbia from Belgrade and Niš.
DeleteWhat on earth are they going to do with all the planes they have?
ReplyDeleteWet-lease to Lufti is always an option
Delete^ this will most likely happen.
DeleteThat will make them more money than any new route.
DeleteCan you lease the already leased planes and how is it financialy viable?
DeleteYes, but you need to have good manager and finance team.
DeleteHonestly while the airline is a disaster this is a good move, better than to pile on more losses from these routes.
ReplyDeleteBut at the end of the day they will have losses anyway. I doubt they will turn profitable because of this.
DeleteThey will not turn profitable but losses will reduce. They need to optimise their network asap.
DeleteBut what was the point in launching all of these last year in the first place?
DeleteThese were a miss but Hamburg, Berlin and Stockholm aren't while Madrid I don't know. They need more feeding routes and some of the most underserved routes from Zagreb
DeleteWasn't the A220 meant to make routes like these work?
ReplyDeleteI think they mostly used Q400 and A319 on these routes last year. But this year they had A220 planned.
DeleteI am so disappointed in this airline. Croatia as a country deserved a better flag carrier.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThis is the maximum. Jasmin Lion knows that. You mean that OU beat LCC? Dont be funny
DeleteThe only thing that can save this airline is if they revert to an airbaltic model. Wet lease more than half of the fleet and keep the couple of profitable routes you have.
ReplyDeleteWhich routes are profitable?
DeleteAs far as I know, Amsterdam only
DeleteThis is hilarious. Why even go through the whole transition phase if at the end you operate the same routes with lower frequency and with a metal you need to pay for?!?
ReplyDeleteThey are going to end up with one airplane per route soon
ReplyDeleteDisappointing
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid it won't be a great year for ZAG either but I'm guessing the concessionaire is more than happy with that. No need for activating old terminal or expanding current one.
ReplyDeleteI doubt these routes had a high load factor so I don't think it will impact ZAG much.
DeleteExactly, I think Tel Aviv and higher loads on other routes should be the enough. It dosent mean much but since the Middle East war my family has counted as at least 20 extra pax
DeleteWill TLV even go ahead?
DeleteFeels like they launch routes just to cancel them a year later. Not a great strategy.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about the A220 transformation but network keeps shrinking.
ReplyDeleteIt is still bigger than last year.
DeleteHow exactly? Discontinued 5 routes, launched 2. Net loss of 3 routes.
DeleteOuch
DeleteWow... a friend of mine booked this service! Family of 5, Milan to Dubrovnik via Zagreb!!
ReplyDeleteHow else should he fly the route?
DeleteVia BEG
DeleteOU was actually good option for him. LCC leave early which meant he would have had to get his kids up a 2 to 3 am.
DeleteIf they now re-book via another Star hub he will lose an entire day to travel. Haven't asked him yet but will ask soon if they reached out to him
BEG is not a good option because of passport control and bad timings.
DeleteThe best option is ITA via Rome.
ITA does not fly to Dubrovnik.
DeleteProbably will....
DeleteLHG is reshuffling it's southern flank.
Croatia and ITA need to have integrated schedules in Star Alliance.
Malpensa should be changed for Linate to take advantage of ITA presence there.
13:50 transfering is very fast in BG
DeleteNo on is forcing Starr Alliance to have integrated schedules and members are independent. But LHG is now working on the integration of the group schedule and members of the LHG are loosing their schedule independent. As ITA is a new member we can expect a lot of integration alignment.
Deletethey are already in the LH system
Delete@13:50
DeleteEU citizens enter Serbia with ID cards so no passport needed. For Schengen to Schengen via BEG transit it really isn't a complicated process, you still need ID to travel either way.
haha I was joking this morning in the last post, and they really canceled more routes.
ReplyDeleteHaha, he read posts and make decisions after reading. 100%
DeleteYou gave him an excellent idea!
DeleteI am sure he wouldn't have come to that conclusion by himself! 🤣
Jasmin B Lion knows what is the best for OU. OU exists and keep working. He read every article here and listens what is the best for OU, like idea to close two lines. He can close one more line in summer and one more in winter.
DeleteBRAVO HRVATSKA!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have the best airline in the World with the best, the cheapest and for the market the most suitable Intergalactic Spaceship, bright and shiny single type fleet, and your management is consisted of pure aviation magicians, ultra top notch professionals, and the best experts available Worldwide. And not only network development and marketing, your financial results are also stellar. You are simply brilliant!!!
You are the airline that makes me proud being croatian national!!!!
Thank you!!!
Its HZ that really makes me proud!!
DeleteAgree. Great airline. 10 times beter than Tarom from 7 times bigger state. Ypu should be proud and realistic
Delete16.34
DeleteI agree as well. Only Tarom in entire Europe has management so incompetent and is so corrupt as Croatia Airlines. Ex-yu region, potential passenger pool for OU, is approximately size of Romania. Tourism in Croatia and Romania, the second pool, can't be compared. In favour of Croatia. Especially from distant markets. I like bots and uhljebs who pick one single bad, the worst airline, saying we should be happy we are equally bad or the worst. It's preciseley state of mind that keeps us at the bottom of Europe, not only in aviation. State of mind bots and uhljebs are proud of, realistically
Me above
Delete17.47 Include Bulgaria air in that list too. That airline is owned by company linked to one of the mafia circles in Bg. Plus, they haven’t gone bankrupt mainly due to their wet leases to Condor during summer and some tour agencies charters to south Asia during the winter. Their main scheduled services are to Paris, Ams,Varna, Ath, Ber. Almost 15 planes for such amount of routes is just not sustainable. Unless they wet lease, like they do…
DeleteSarajevo and Skopje cuts show demand is still there but they’re struggling with capacity planning.
ReplyDeleteA220 is big mistake for them, they should have smaller planes for non demands months....they are working with loss and government payes for them
DeleteAnd the funny thing, the Middle East war will drive capacity to Croatia. The only thing is it will be captured by foreign carriers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they are focusing too much on aircraft renewal and not enough on network development.
ReplyDeleteThe saga continues
ReplyDeleteit won't lasting long.
DeleteAnd all these routes were supposed to be extended this year
ReplyDeleteuntil 2 years ago I could fly MUC-SKP-MUC daily (even double daily on some days) now I have a connection only on 4 days.
ReplyDeleteCPH-SKP-CPH and LHR-SKP-LHR work only on two days (for the rest of the week OUs webpage is offering 2-stop options via VIE, BRU etc.) Thats how you loose transfer pax
Why don't you take JU?
DeleteMuch better flying network & connections and much better prices.
Of course that I meant on CPH and LHR.
DeleteThats why from what I dont have from SKP I am using BEG as connection point, cheaper , affordable and convinient option. I stop using OU two years ago. They just cuts and reducing routes
DeleteYou think they care? Small tooth cattle will pay for their losses anyhow
Delete@13.09 JU is not flying to MUC. Out of curiousity i looked for connections to some other destinations that are missing from SKP (like CPH or LHR) and was surprised
DeleteOS is the best one right now when it comes to MUC-SKP-MUC
Flying Skopje-Zagreb-Munch sounds like a pain.
Deleteno it doesnt
DeleteWell clearly it is becoming harder.
DeleteI always get annoyed for no reason when reading articles like this. OU has very poor management and that's where the story begins and ends. These people are simply not competent for the job. Unfortunately, it goes on and on... They are canceling the seasonal Split - Amsterdam route, but KLM can fill up to 3 daily flights in the season. And KLM is not an LCC. If you have incompetent management, then you lose to both LCCs and LCs. KLM has two full Embraers from Zagreb to Schiphol every day out of season, but OU barely fills one. There are so many bad assessments and decisions that it hurts your head. PIR keeps writing that they are an ordinary feeder. Well, they are not even a good feeder. If they were a good feeder, then they would take over the flights from Zagreb to Munich and Frankfurt, which are normally flown by Lufthansa. I read that Zagreb did not get the headquarters of the European Customs Agency. No surprise. Many people from all over the EU work in such agencies and one of the important conditions for getting a headquarters is good transport connections. How will some people go home from Zagreb on Friday, for example, to Lyon and back on Sunday? Zagreb Airport is a provincial airport, mostly thanks to a poor national carrier that has no strategy and has not managed to make Zagreb a true hub with a wide network of destinations.
ReplyDeleteBe real. Zagreb ix small city surrounded by Vienna and Budapest. Counrty with little more than 3 million people!!! OU has grrat managmemt making OU to survine with LCC. Maybe OU can beat Ryan??? Dont make me laugh. Small market, small demand and taht is reallity. Otherwise, in Zag you would have numerous other legacy carriers. So all of tjem have bad managment, right?
DeleteZagreb is not such a small city. Besides, it is the capital. There are many smaller cities that are not tourist destinations, and they have many more passengers than Zagreb. Zagreb is on a par with, for example, Wroclaw. Much worse than Eindhoven, from which you have an excellent train connection to the huge Schiphol. Riga, Katowice, Gdansk are much better. Krakow is the size of Zagreb and is not the capital, and it has almost 3 times more passengers. Pisa, which has several times fewer inhabitants than Zagreb, has 20% more passengers at the airport. I won't go on.
DeleteSurrounded by Vienna and Budapest when both cities are 4 hours away by car lol
DeleteFrom Krakow to Warsaw is a 3-hour drive. Warsaw airport is on par with Schwechat and much stronger than Budapest. From Eindhoven to Schiphol with excellent trains you can get there in an hour and a half, you don't even need a car. From Pisa to Milan is a 3-and-a-half-hour drive, and to Rome a little less than 4 hours. So, your "arguments" are just an excuse for someone's incompetence.
DeleteGood point 17:34. With Pisa you also have Florence and Bologna near-by.
DeleteWhy don't OU strengthen their presence on the German market? Düsseldorf or Cologne/Bonn would for sure make sense. Adding another destination in Scandinavia is worth considering too.
ReplyDeleteAre you for real? They operate 10 or 11 daily flights to Germany
Delete^ Germany is not Frankfurt and Munich only.
DeleteThey fly to Hamburg and Berlin as well. And yes, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf could be added. But, hey, com'n, it's too early 🙂
DeleteThey surely have to start something from Ljubljana now? Or wet lease in the summer already
ReplyDeleteLjubljana-Dubrovnik would be great, but sometimes I think they don't like good ideas. The moment they started to fly to Milan and Bucharest I knew they will fail on these destinations. Everbody who travels to Milan from Zagreb takes the car. It's sad but unfortunately nobody in Croatia is interested in traveling to Bucharest or Romania in general. There is also not much business travel between these cities.
DeleteMaybe they are one of the four applicants in the newest Slovenian tender. But then again, that would be too smart of them ...
DeleteAnd too early 🙂
DeleteSo OU's most eastern route is Skopje again?
ReplyDeleteI think they fly from Split aaaalll the way to Istanbul
Delete