Flydubai plans Zagreb and Sarajevo service

Low cost airline Flydubai is set to launch flights to both Zagreb and Sarajevo this winter season. According to the “Aviokarta” portal, flights from Dubai to the capitals of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be inaugurated at the start of the 2014/15 winter season in November, pending government approval. Services to Zagreb will run three times per week while flights to Sarajevo are planned to operate twice per week. Flydubai has previously announced plans to fly to both cities, however, these fell through on both occasions. The new flights will mark the first time Zagreb and Sarajevo have been linked with a scheduled service to the largest city in the United Arab Emirates.

Flydubai first announced plans to fly to Sarajevo from April 2013. At the time, the low cost airline said, “Flydubai is doing good business and we are planning on launching two weekly flights from Sarajevo”. However, only two months prior to the service launch the airline shelved its planned flights, explaining that crew duty times would have been exceeded on the return leg to Dubai. Thus, this would require a mandatory rest period for the crew in Sarajevo, which would increase costs for the no frills airline and make the route unprofitable from the outset. In addition, the airline also considered launching flights to Zagreb in 2012 but decided against the move due to the same reasons. It is unclear how the airline will bypass these technical obstacles this time around.

Flydubai has a solid presence in the former Yugoslavia as it maintains flights to both Belgrade and Skopje. During the peak of the summer season, the low cost airline will operate up to five weekly flights to the Serbian capital and a further two weekly flights to Skopje. Recent rumours that the airline’s service to the Macedonian capital will be suspended have been unfounded as Flydubai recently scheduled and put on sale flights to Skopje throughout the 2014/15 winter season. On the other hand, it will maintain three weekly flights to Belgrade over the coming winter.

Flydubai operates a fleet of 35 Boeing 737-800 jets to 68 destinations. Despite its low cost model, the airline offers a dedicated business class cabin on select routes. Flydubai is expected to put tickets for its planned new flights to Zagreb and Sarajevo on sale once it is granted all necessary permits.

Read More

Airline to link Zagreb with Belgrade and China

Chinese Southeast Europe Business Association (CSEBA) and its partners have announced plans to create a new airline which will launch direct flights between Zagreb and Belgrade, connecting the two cities for the first time in 23 years. In addition, the airline plans to provide charters between Croatia and China, as well as Central Asia. According to the Chinese Southeast Europe Business Association, “ticket prices are expected to be in the range of low cost airlines”. CSEBA President, Mario Rendulić, said in a statement, “There will be tourist air charters between Croatia and China. Chinese tourists are seeking new destinations, and due to recent initiatives by the Croatian Tourism Ministry, the Chinese are very interested in Croatia”.

Croatia has never had direct air links to China. Far off markets like China hold huge potential for Croatia's tourism industry. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Croatia has seen double digit growth for the past few years. In 2013, 43.000 Chinese tourists visited Croatia and spent 65.000 nights in the country, with numbers expected to rise even further this year. CSEBA is looking to tap into this mostly underserved market. On the other hand, flights between Zagreb and Belgrade would be warmly welcomed by the public. However, both Croatia Airlines and the former Jat Airways maintained that the service would be commercially unviable due to good road connections between the two capitals.

Recently, the Croatian Ministry for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure has been pitching Croatia Airlines to Chinese investors. The ministry held talks with Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines several months ago in an attempt to interest the carriers in a 49% stake in its national carrier. Furthermore, there have been efforts to lure Chinese airlines to Croatia. Last year, Dubrovnik Airport’s management announced they were in talks with Hainan Airlines in order for it to launch a seasonal service from the resort city of Sanya on Hainan Island in Southern China during the summer. However, the proposed service did not materialise.

Read More