Croatia Airlines has seen both its flight numbers and available capacity decline following recent schedule revisions, leaving the airline with fewer flights and seats than last year despite the continued delivery of new Airbus A220 aircraft. The fleet renewal programme was originally expected to result in record flight and capacity levels. During the three peak summer months, when the carrier generates the bulk of its annual revenue, it will now operate fewer flights than in the same period last year. Available capacity is down 0.9% in June, 3.7% in July and 3.7% in August. The downward trend will continue into the shoulder season, with capacity set to decrease by 5.2% in September and 2.3% in October.
The reduction in available seats will also be accompanied by fewer flights year-on-year. The airline has scheduled 1.5% fewer services in June, 4.1% fewer in July, 3.9% fewer in August, 4.4% fewer in September and 2.4% fewer in October. In Zagreb alone, Croatia Airlines will no longer offer more capacity than last year from July onwards, with available seats declining by as much as 6.3% in October. The downturn follows a record first quarter for the carrier in terms of passenger numbers, available seats and flights. However, following the outbreak of the war in Iran and the subsequent surge in fuel prices, Croatia Airlines has cancelled around 5% of its scheduled operations. The carrier has discontinued six routes that were operated last summer while launching two new services, one of which has since been temporarily suspended. Some preliminary winter cuts have also been made for the coming winter season.
The airline recently said it expects a strong summer season despite the ongoing challenges. Fewer flights and reduced capacity do not necessarily mean Croatia Airlines will carry fewer passengers than last year during the aforementioned period. “In these negative geopolitical circumstances, the strong operational growth Croatia Airlines achieved during the first part of the year is encouraging. In the first four months, we recorded passenger growth of 23%, carrying almost 100.000 additional travellers. That growth made a significant contribution to the positive tourism results in the first part of the year. Looking at those figures, as well as current booking trends, we have reason to be optimistic and can expect a good season”, the airline recently noted.
So much for the A220 turnaround.
ReplyDeleteThe Euro is overinflated. I can't afford to come from Canada to visit.
DeleteLol it's not the Euro that is strong, it's just the Canadian Dollar is very weak against all other currencies.
DeleteCanada's economy is the worst in all of the G7...
Less capacity doesn't always mean weaker performance. If flights are fuller and fares are higher, the airline could actually end up in a better financial position.
DeleteA country that relies on tourism should not have a national airline like this
ReplyDeleteThe coast attracts tourists, but the national airline's hub is in ZAG. That alone makes the airline lose out on passengers to other airlines which fly directly to SPU, DBV, ZAD etc. However, the idea behind having a national airline is to connect the country to the world, not that much to fly leisure travellers. It's not that ski tourists going to the Alps are Austrian's main target group.
DeleteWell it is neither connecting well Zagreb with the rest of Europe, while completely ignoring the rest of the country.
DeleteIf ZAG is the hub why can't they operate wave systems and offer meaningful connections?
Delete@12.34 +1
DeleteProving that fleet was not the airline's main issue.
ReplyDeleteIt never crossed the government's mind that a professional management might be the key.
DeleteWho is protecting this "capabale" management?
DeleteOnce again: government is appointing incompetent aparatchiks deliberately in order for mafiosos who are tied with to continue getting benefits from surrendering domestic market and on lease contracts percentage. Growth and development, connectivity and profitability are irrelevant. Media is controlled and totally silent and tax payers pay without complaining. Showing disastrous situation not only in OU but overall in Croatia
DeleteOn some other sites we read how Croatia is extremely successful, there is no corruption, law and order are at highest level, there is no media control and public prosecutors perfectly perform their duties.
DeleteBut according to above post Government is directly connected with criminals who keep working on destroying OU.
Two totally different pictures.
Well ignore what you read elsewhere
DeleteMedia is not completely silent. Jutarnji is just having an article about OU being the government owned company with biggest losses. It's really sad how corruption and incompetent Management are destroying the company https://www.jutarnji.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/drzavne-tvrtke-2025-pad-prihoda-dobiti-rast-gubitaka-i-placa-15722774?cx_linkref=jl_home_vijesti_uz_najcitanije
Delete09.37
DeleteThe same thing I am writing here I try to write on that other sites, or more precisely, one site. But it never get published.
Current prime minister had to change 38 ministers, whom he personally selected, mostly after corruption scandals, but also for killing people driving drunk, home violence and similar. He is still PM, thanks to corruptive mindset created on the highest level, where power is kept by "žetončići". Such political corruption flows on to lover levels. Attorney General is part of the Organization (if I wrote Mafia I suppose it would be erased or not published here as well), country is pure Partytocracy where Party decides on everything, media are controlled, sport unions are controlled, justice is dependent and controlled, and overall we had more democratic collective mindset and social environment in the last years of Yugoslavia than today where unreformed wing of the Party with its bolschevik mindset set us back to 1950
@Mario
DeleteDid Jutarnji analize situation? Did they investigate corrupt deals like BCG, double Dash leases, sponsorships...? Did they mention surrendering domestic market, did they mention 13 % market share and 60 % LF? Did they mention Air Serbia operating what OU should have operated, and with profits? They did not. Therefore, media is silent and what Jutarnji published is pure cosmetics, in style "let's say something, without saying anything important"
Perhaps the strategy is simply to maximise yields instead of chasing market share. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
DeleteThis isn't a coherent strategy, and maximising yields would be achieved with a very different approach.
DeleteAn indication that sales are far from good is the constant sale they have going during peak summer.
ReplyDeleteThe A220s were supposed to fuel growth, not shrink the network. Something clearly hasn't gone according to plan.
ReplyDeleteMaybe management has become more realistic. Growing at any cost has never been a sustainable strategy.
DeleteThat also applies to growing the fleet.
DeleteIf you haven't got a plan then nothing can go out of plan.
Delete@15:46
Being realistic should of come before embarking on a fleet renewal program that doesn't suit their needs. New aircraft was never going to solve their problems, only make a bad a situation worse. With their aircraft order, their options are either growth or take on less aircraft. Since OU has a large aircraft order, growth is needed.
Passenger numbers can still grow with higher load factors but cutting flights in the peak season isn't exactly a sign of confidence.
ReplyDeleteThey've spent years talking about expansion, yet the network keeps getting smaller. That's disappointing.
ReplyDeleteFuel prices and the Iran situation affected every airline. Croatia Airlines isn't the only carrier adjusting its schedule
Delete^ they scheduled only 2 new routes for this summer even before the war.
DeleteAnd one of those routes, DBV-STR, seems to have failed spectacularly.
DeleteFleet renewal is expensive. Add higher fuel prices and it's easy to understand why management became more cautious.
DeleteIf you can't sustain Germany to coast flights in June, July, August, there is something big wrong with the airline.
DeleteI hope this is only a temporary setback. Croatia Airlines has invested too much in the A220 programme for it not to pay off in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIt is not.
DeleteTheir market share is constantly falling.
The temporary setbacks seem never ending.
DeleteThere is always something OU finds to blame for their results.
DeleteIt will pay off in the long run. This strategy will destroy this company faster than anyone expected so the new Croatian national carrier will have to be set up. That's good.
DeleteEvery year there's a different explanation - COVID, engine issues, geopolitics, fuel prices. Hopefully next year will finally be the year everything comes together.
DeleteThey said it will come togeather in 2028.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska?
ReplyDeleteEverybody wants to visit beautiful Dalmatia...or not?
ReplyDeleteTourism numbers are up. That it's not what's impacting Croatia Airlines.
DeleteMore tourists, less flights?
DeleteHmmmm...
You might be surprised to know that Croatia Airlines is not the only airline flying to and from Croatia.
Delete@09:34 fewer flights
DeleteThey were promising that as the new A220 arrive they will be launching new routes and that they have a list of 20 routes they plan to open. They have done the exact opposite and have cut 6 routes!
ReplyDeleteThe A220 programme is a long-term investment. Judging it based on one difficult summer would be unfair.
DeleteAirlines across Europe are cutting marginal routes. Croatia Airlines isn't an exception, but people expect more because the management, that has been failing badly for years, promised that everything would be solved when the A220s arrived.
DeleteMaybe the A220 transition has simply been more complicated than management expected. Introducing an entirely new fleet is never easy.
DeleteI'm very interested to see what their financial results will be like for Q2.
ReplyDeleteIt will be another loss
DeleteDidn't someone say yesterday how OU is the main driver of growth in Zagreb this year? So much for that.
ReplyDeleteOne can be the growth driver in Q1 and not in Q3. According to this article, that's exactly what's happening with OU and ZAG.
DeleteWill the loss at the end of the financial year reach 150 mio?
ReplyDeleteThe first quarter was bad, but the real money is made in summer. That's what will determine whether this year is successful.
DeleteQ2 won't be much better unfortunately.
DeleteI don't think this year's loss will reach 150 mil. I estimate it will be 70-80 mil
Delete@pir Not bad at all
Deletelol no, magificant
Deleteshame
ReplyDeleteIndeed
DeleteIt is really time for EC to react.
ReplyDeleteThe European Comission should react because Croatia Airlines reduced its flights and capacity compared to last year?
DeleteBecause of the way of financing eternal loss making airline.
DeleteIn the past, they've come down so hard on some airlines. Yet with OU, they just turn a blind eye to the rampant corruption and mismanagement that's on a whole different level.
DeleteThe only geopolitical situation is OU managment...
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahahaha, you made my day! Thanks! I would just add: and government that appoint such management 🙂
DeletePozdrav, everything for you :)
DeleteAnd the sad thing is they got 100 million at the start of the year from the government.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is another tranche scheduled for January 2027.
DeleteI have never seen a management team with so many poor results and wrong strategic moves face no penalty or accountability whatsoever.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteEvery article about these ones is agonising.
ReplyDeleteDissapointing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame because Croatia Airlines had the opportunity to significantly improve connectivity this summer.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether the cuts are also related to crew availability, not just fuel prices.
DeleteThe more it flies the more losses it produces. So this is acutally a positive development for their bottom line.
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to see who is profiting the most from their reduced capacity on the market since the demand is higher than last year.
ReplyDeleteFR most likely
DeleteCompetition is getting stronger every year.
DeleteThe biggest winner is probably Ryanair
DeleteThese figures don't look dramatic, but they certainly aren't what was promised when the fleet renewal programme was announced.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions winter cuts already being planned. That's the part I find most concerning.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's after they said they are going to reduce seasonality in Croatia.
DeleteI just hope this doesn't lead to even more route cancellations next summer.
DeleteThere is really not much left to cut...
DeleteThey should be wound down to just shuttling between Zagreb - Split and Dubrovnik using two aircraft and the rest of the Croatian aviation sector should be left to foreign companies who don't install their cousins in jobs they can't do. (That is a joke btw, but sadly what these fools seem to be on the path to)
Delete