Ryanair readies for Zagreb base opening
Ryanair is set to open its base in the Croatian capital this week with the airline to launch three new routes on Friday, complementing the existing two introduced last month. The airline will have two Airbus A320 aircraft stationed in the city, operated by its subsidiary Lauda Europe, with the second jet to arrive in early September, when it plans on adding a further nine new routes. The low cost carrier is satisfied with its performance in Zagreb so far, both in terms existing loads, as well as forward bookings. With the majority of sales for the flights being generated outside of Croatia, the airline launched an advertising campaign in the country recently in a bid to attract more local travellers. So far, Ryanair’s best performing markets for its Zagreb operations have been Belgium, Italy and Sweden.
The head of the Zagreb Tourist Board, Martina Bienenfeld, has said the opening of Ryanair’s base will contribute to strengthening the city’s position as a city break destination, while maintaining its arrival will not hurt Croatia Airlines. “We welcome all new airlines to Zagreb and are looking forward to Ryanair being among those already flying to our city. This will contribute to further positioning Zagreb as a city break destination and will make it more accessible to interested visitors”, Ms Bienenfeld said. She added, “As far as the national carrier is concerned, we must not forget that it was Croatia Airlines that connected us to the rest of the world when all other carriers discontinued flights during the height of the pandemic last year. Therefore, I wouldn’t compare these two airlines because their profiles and business models are vastly different”.
By the beginning of September, Ryanair will be operating 84 weekly Zagreb flights (return service included) with 15.147 seats on sale per week. The airline has said it plans to maintain between thirty and forty routes out of the Croatian capital by next summer season. “We will grow exponentially in the years to come. The key for Zagreb is going to be the number of airports we have on offer in Europe. We made a bold decision to launch a base straight away. This shows our confidence in Zagreb”, the budget carrier said. The General Manager of Zagreb Airport, Huseyin Bahadir Bedir, previously noted that becoming a Ryanair base was a strategic decision in order to elevate the airport into a regional hub and speed up its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
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