United Airlines recently held discussions with Zadar Airport in New York, with both sides exploring potential opportunities for future cooperation. The talks come as Zadar Airport progresses with a multi-million-euro expansion and overhaul project, which includes the extension of its runway and apron to better accommodate wide-body aircraft.
United is set to expand its presence in Croatia next month with the launch of seasonal flights between Newark and Split at the end of this month, complementing its existing services to Dubrovnik. Based on indirect traffic flows, Zadar’s busiest unserved market in the United States is New York, followed by Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Boston.
United recently noted, “Demand for travel to Croatia continues to grow among US leisure travellers. We’ve really established ourselves as a leader by launching flights to bold, trendsetting destinations”. 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”.
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”.
The US is Croatia’s largest long-haul market and generates the highest volume of visitor traffic from distant regions. In 2025, Croatia recorded 850.000 arrivals and 2.4 million overnight stays by American tourists, marking a year-on-year increase of 9% in arrivals and 10% in overnight stays compared to 2024.
April Fool a day late?
ReplyDeleteUnited flies a lot of niche routes in Europe. They fly to Santiago de Compostela
DeleteIf Dubrovnik and Split can sustain US flights, Zadar could eventually follow. Especially with less congestion and strong luxury development nearby.
Delete^ Zadar still lacks the brand recognition internationally
DeleteThe airport should focus on improving year-round traffic instead of chasing unrealistic transatlantic dreams.
DeleteWhat are you talking about?
DeleteNo seaside holiday resort airport has year round flights because there aren't year round tourists to beach destinations.
@09:35 i agree. Secure flights to London with Ryanair in the winter please
Delete^ LOL, for whom exactly?
DeleteBritish tourists and Croats. Year round London links are a basic level thing Zadar should aim for.
DeleteBrac seems more reasonable
Delete@10:52
DeleteWhy would British tourists visit Zadar in winter?
They do not visit the Greek islands or Ibiza in winter.
Strong luxury development? Oh my word, have you been to that area?
DeleteWinter traffic could be a thing if Zadar had anything going for it besides just tourism
DeleteBritish tourists don't want Ryanair. We want more OU flights to Zagreb, Split, Pula and Dubrovnik.
DeleteIm British and i want Ryanair to Zadar in the winter as useful way or reaching Dalmatia. Most British tourists dont know or care that OU exists mate.
DeleteIn the end every airport in Croatia will get US flights except Zagreb.
ReplyDeleteCome to Zagreb please
ReplyDeleteIt will happen eventually. Hopefully.
DeleteGreat to see more US interest beyond Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeleteHope it works out better than those planned Hainan flights 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThat was only initiated so the management at the time could go to China for a trip.
Deletehaha I remember that. It was when that lady was running the airport. Forgot her name.
DeleteThis feels like another case of airports overestimating demand based on tourism hype.
DeleteMost likely outcome: nothing happens and this is forgotten in six months.
DeleteFree US trip requires at least some PR to justify the travel expenses.
DeleteHow come Detroit is the second busiest US destinations from Zadar? A bit of an odd one.
ReplyDeleteIsn't there quite a big ex-Yu diaspora there?
DeleteDetroit is/rather was the car making capital of the US. Many people from the Balkans emigrated there for work-gasto route as some call it here
Deletediaspora traffic
DeleteDetroit is a ghost city, after closure of car factories. Only crime and poverty left there
Deletelogical next step, even if still a few years away.
ReplyDeleteGood to see regional airports thinking long-term instead of relying only on LCC.
DeleteNot sure United would risk a smaller market like Zadar. Seems more like exploratory discussions than anything concrete.
ReplyDeleteEven so, good on ZAD. They held exploratory talks with them but not with ZAG.
DeleteThe numbers from the US market are impressive. Croatia has really become a premium destination for American tourists.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat!
DeleteI think it has more to do with a very active and patriotic diaspora there, then anything else.
DeleteI’ve been to Croatia many times, from Umag to Dubrovnik, and didn’t notice a lot of premium stuff about it, as a whole. Services are especially weak: any kind of flexibility, or a smile, are virtually non-existent.
DeleteIt takes two to dance. 22 million visitors to Croatia annually prove your impression being wrong
DeleteThis is exactly the kind of diversification Croatia needs. Spreading demand beyond Dubrovnik and Split will help ease overtourism.
ReplyDeleteBuilding sustainable demand is a completely different challenge.
DeleteUnited expanding further in Croatia wouldn’t surprise me. They’ve been very aggressive with niche European leisure markets.
ReplyDeleteGood strategic move by Zadar Airport to engage early with airlines. These things take years to develop.
ReplyDeletepositive signal.
DeleteOverall encouraging signs. But still very early-stage discussions.
ReplyDeleteDoes ZAD get cruise ships?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteZadar has potential
ReplyDeleteWould love to see data on how many US tourists actually visit the Zadar region versus Split/Dubrovnik.
DeleteLoads are visiting via cruise ships.
DeleteInteresting how much emphasis is being placed on premium tourism. That’s clearly the target audience for these routes.
ReplyDeleteCroatia is clearly moving upmarket
DeleteIsn't Ryanair Croatia's largest and busiest airline?
DeleteThe focus on luxury tourism feels disconnected from the broader reality of Zadar’s current offer.
DeleteSmart people do not spend twice as much as they have to an a two hour flight.
DeleteThat's why Ryanair is also Italy's and Spain's most popular carrier.
^ And soon Portugal's too.
DeleteAlmost all croatian national parks: Plitvice, Krka, Sj.Velebit, Kornati, really the most beautiful parts of the country that "cover" everything: sea, islabds, lakes, mountains, forests, are concentrated around Zadar. Gazenica port has ambitions to become cruise ships start point. I wouldn't be surprised if this initial talks come to realisation over couple of years
DeleteThis feels more like Croatia pitching Zadar rather than United actively planning anything.
ReplyDeleteSplit is already quite saturated in summer. Zadar could benefit from overflow demand if positioned correctly.
ReplyDeleteZadar has the advantage of being less congested which airlines might find attractive.
DeleteFeels crampt as hell to me. Hopefully the expansion will be cozy because its a bit of a hole of an airport during summer.
DeleteThis could also be a way for Zadar to strengthen its case for more European feeder routes first.
ReplyDeleteNot happening.
ReplyDeleteEven if United doesn’t launch flights, these talks could open doors with other airlines.
DeleteZadar’s catchment area is strong during summer
ReplyDeleteCroatia already has Split and Dubrovnik for US flights. Adding Zadar just risks spreading demand too thin.
DeleteDemand is huge for Dalmatia.
DeleteZadar is nowhere near ready for long haul operations despite the planned upgrades. This feels overly ambitious.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers from the US market are strong, but that doesn’t automatically justify a third Croatian long-haul gateway.
ReplyDeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteJasmineee!!!! Kaka je kahva? Dje ćemo za dugi vikend? Kako idju Minken i Vrankvurt?
Deletemaybe next year they will transfer the flights from split to zadar,
ReplyDeletewhich would be logical
Why? Not saying they shouldn't just wondering why
DeleteYou do not know garbage which is called Split Airport?
DeleteThis would be fantastic
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see secondary airports in Croatia going after US flights. Shame ZAG does not.
ReplyDeleteGoing after and getting are not the same thing
DeleteZagreb is trying to get US flights
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2026/02/zagreb-aims-for-five-million-passengers.html