PREMIUM
Flights between Moscow and Zagreb resumed this week after a year-long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Services will be operated once per week by Aeroflot. The route will be strengthened as of next week when Nordwind Airlines inaugurates its brand new flights from the Russian to the Croatian capital. The Zagreb - Russia market has growth potential, with a notable number of passengers - 19.925 of them - flying indirectly between the Croatian capital and Russia in 2019. In addition to Aeroflot’s service, there were also seasonal operations from Zagreb to St Petersburg run by Croatia Airlines, which are not expected to be restored this year.
Zagreb - Moscow - Zagreb passenger performance by year
Despite Zagreb having flights to both Moscow and St Petersburg, in 2019, the two cities also had the most indirect traffic. They were followed by Kazan, Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport was most commonly used as a transfer point for reaching destinations in Russia from Zagreb and vice versa. It was proceeded by Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt and Belgrade. Aeroflot was the busiest connecting airline, followed by Lufthansa, Croatia Airlines and Air Serbia.
Busiest Zagreb - Russia market routes based on indirect passenger flow in 2019
Busiest connecting airports for Zagreb - Russia flights in 2019
Busiest connecting airlines for Zagreb - Russia flights in 2019
Commenting on the nature of the Russian market, Dario Guljelmović, from the Uniline travel company, said, "The Russian market is huge, and we really recognise its great potential. It is specific in that it doesn't actually include the middle class, unlike western markets. When it comes to Russia, they're either extremely high paying guests, or the total opposite. The biggest obstacle for strengthening cooperation with Russian partners is the current visa regime. With Croatia’s entry into the European Union, guests from Russia require a visa to enter the country”. He added, “We can see great potential on the Russian market and we're working intensively on this. Russians, just like the Croats, prefer to book late”.
At this point, a total of 438 commercial flights (both directions included) are planned between Zagreb and Russia this summer. This is if Aeroflot increases its operations to the Croatian capital to daily as planned from May 1. A total of 70.568 seats have been put on sale between the two markets for the upcoming summer season, with Aeroflot having 59.408 seats, while Nordwind will be offering 11.160 seats. The A320-family aircraft are scheduled to be exclusively utilised by Aeroflot on all of its Zagreb flights this summer, while Nordwind will deploy its Boeing 737-800 jet after initially using its partner’s Pegas Fly’s Embraer E190 aircraft for the first two rotations, up until the start of the 2021 summer season on March 28.
Zagreb - Moscow flight share by airline in summer 2021
Zagreb - Moscow capacity share by airline in summer 2021
Zagreb - Moscow aircraft type utilisation in summer 2021
