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.

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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.

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easyJet to terminate Zagreb service

Low cost airline easyJet will discontinue its flights from London Gatwick to Zagreb at the end of the 2014 summer season. The airline announced its 2014/15 winter schedule earlier in the week with more than eleven million seats on sale on 324 routes. easyJet has confirmed there will be 100.000 more seats in 2014/15 compared to last year's winter schedule. However, the carrier has omitted Zagreb from its future network. The airline will operate its final service to the Croatian capital on October 24. Ticket sales for later dates have also been discontinued. This summer the airline is maintaining five weekly flights between London and Zagreb, as it faces direct competition from both Croatia Airlines and British Airways, though both operate their services to Heathrow Airport.

easyJet has been steadily reducing its operations to Zagreb since it first launched flights to the city in November 2010. It debuted with flights from London and shortly after launched services from Dortmund and Paris as well. However, they were short lived with both Dortmund and Paris cancelled in 2012. The news will be warmly welcomed by Croatia Airlines which launched a scathing attack on Zagreb Airport in 2010 for allowing easyJet to inaugurate flights from the British capital. At the time, the airline went as far as threatening to suspend some of its own flights if easyJet was issued permits. On the other hand, the news is a setback for Zagreb Airport’s operators which are looking to attract as many new carriers as possible. There is still a slight chance the management could persuade easyJet to maintain its flights.

Other airports in the former Yugoslavia will continue to be served by easyJet during the winter. The low cost airline will maintain all of its services from London Stansted to Ljubljana, from Basel and Geneva to Pristina and from Rome, Milan and Geneva to Belgrade. "With over eleven million seats available, we're offering an even wider choice of destinations on our easy and affordable flights spanning the UK, Europe and beyond”, the no frills airline said in a statement.

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ČSA launching Zagreb service in May

ČSA Czech Airlines will launch seasonal flights from Prague to Zagreb this summer season. Croatia’s busiest airport has confirmed the service will be inaugurated on May 30 and will run until September 28. Flights from the Czech capital will operate only once per week, with a Friday evening arrival in Zagreb and a Sunday morning departure back to Prague. On Saturdays, the aircraft will be used on behalf of the start-up airline Air Croatia which will run services to Stockholm and Gothenburg from June 14. Air Croatia has previously confirmed it will be using the Czech carrier’s Airbus A319 for its flights this summer.

ČSA will resume services to Zagreb after a two year absence. In early 2012 it relegated its flights to Zagreb to its regional partner Central Connect Airlines (CCA). However, shortly after, in the summer of 2012, CCA declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations. Since then there have been no direct flights between the Croatian and Czech capitals. Zagreb was ČSA’s first international destination, launched back in 1930 with services operating on and off until 2012. The airline is yet to put tickets on sale.

Zagreb Airport says a total of eighteen airlines will maintain flights to 31 destinations this summer, seven of which are domestic services and 24 international. Apart from ČSA, others such as Germanwings, KLM Cityliner and Vueling will also launch new seasonal flights to the Croatian capital, while Trade Air recently inaugurated its commuter domestic service, linking Zagreb with Rijeka. Korean Air will operate a total of seven summer charter flights (three more than last year) using a mix of Boeing 777 and 747 aircraft. Zagreb Airport is still negotiating with several airlines to launch services to the city. Alitalia has previously said it too will resume flights to Zagreb in the near future.

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Vueling to launch Rome - Zagreb service

Spanish low cost airline Vueling will launch seasonal flights from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Zagreb this summer season. Services will be inaugurated on Thursday, June 29, and will operate twice per week until September 14. As a result, Vueling will be the first airline to tap into the much discussed and underserved Rome - Zagreb market which currently has no direct flights. Etihad Regional’s earlier decision to drop the planned route will give Vueling an extra boost as it faces no direct

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Air Croatia to launch on June 2014

Newcomer Air Croatia is preparing to launch flights from Sweden to Croatia this June with ticket sales to begin next Monday. ČSA Czech Airlines will operate on behalf of Air Croatia this summer with flights to be launched from Gothenburg to Zagreb and Split with an Airbus A319. Services will operate on a regular basis, every Saturday, starting June 14.  Services

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Alitalia to launch Zagreb and Pristina service

Alitalia has confirmed it will launch services to both Zagreb and Pristina this year as the Italian carrier looks to put greater emphasis on the Eastern European and Balkan markets. “The Balkans and Eastern Europe play an increasingly important and strategic role in the Alitalia Group’s new industrial plan”, the airline said in a statement.

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Etihad Regional cancels Zagreb launch

Etihad Regional, which was to launch flights from Rome Fiumicino Airport to Zagreb Airport on March 30, has suspended ticket sales for the route. Flights were to operate four times per week, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with Etihad Regional being the only airline offering a nonstop service between the Italian and Croatian capitals. 

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