Ryanair eyes more regional routes from Zagreb
Low cost carrier Ryanair, which will station its second aircraft in Zagreb tomorrow, is considering the introduction of more regional routes from the Croatian capital to complement Podgorica and Sofia launching this week, as well as Thessaloniki in December. The airline has said, “These short flights enable us to have better utilisation of aircraft”. Destinations in the region which could be served by Ranair may include the likes of Bucharest, Athens and Budapest, although the airline has said it would also consider domestic flights within Croatia at a later date. The carrier’s simultaneous expansion of its regional and wider European network could prove troublesome for Croatia Airlines, which has said it is looking at redefining new market opportunities for connecting European destinations with the region of Southeast Europe in order to maximise future revenue potential and increase aircraft productivity.
Croatia Airlines has a limited presence in the region outside of Croatia. It maintains year-round flights to Skopje and Sarajevo, as well as seasonal operations to Bucharest, the latter having been suspended since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The airline has also suspended several other seasonal regional routes including Zagreb - Mostar, Split - Belgrade and Split - Athens. In late 2019 Croatia Airlines said it was looking at establishing a greater presence in the region following the collapse of Adria Airways, which had a developed regional network. Its bankruptcy opened up opportunities in several markets previously served by the Slovenian carrier. However, even though the Croatian airline said it would be “good to expand” as a result of Adria’s demise, it noted it was too early to react at that point in time.
The busiest unserved regional destination from Zagreb Airport in the pre-pandemic 2019 was Sofia, which will now be covered by Ryanair. With almost 15.000 passengers flying indirectly between the two cities under a single itinerary, Croatia Airlines initially recognised the opportunity and planned to launch a two weekly service between the two cities back in 2014, however, those were shelved as the company embarked on a restructuring process, barring it from introducing new routes at the time. In 2020, it revisited plans to introduce operations to Sofia and scheduled a seasonal three weekly service. The flights were ultimately cancelled as a result of Covid-19. Over its history, Croatia Airlines had also served Tirana, Podgorica, Budapest and Pristina. Unlike many other European carriers, which have launched a slew of new routes this summer where there are no travel restrictions in place, Croatia Airlines has, for the most part, been inert on the market.
Zagreb Airport's busiest unserved regional routes in pre-pandemic 2019
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