Croatia Airlines eyes Macedonian expansion
Croatia Airlines is considering expanding its flight offering on the Macedonian market following this week’s talks with the operator of the country’s airports TAV Macedonia, as well as the Macedonian Chamber for Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, and the Croatian Tourism Association. The carrier’s CEO, Jasmin Bajić, said, “If there is interest from Macedonian tour operators and partners, we are ready to expand our cooperation onto routes other than Zagreb and Skopje, like perhaps Ohrid and Split”. Mr Bajić also noted that talks with Slovenian authorities could result in better connectivity between Skopje and Ljubljana as well.
TAV Macedonia’s Marketing and Revenue Manager, as well as the President of the Macedonian Chamber of Tourism, Vladimir Gramatikov, noted that talks with their Croatian counterparts began several months ago with the aim of improving connectivity between the two countries. “Road connectivity is not satisfactory, which is why new airline routes would be a big step forward. I believe flights between Ohrid and Split would be of interest to tourists, so they could visit both countries within a few days in one go”. Based on OAG data, over 3.000 passengers flew indirectly between Skopje and Split in the pre-pandemic 2019. The route was briefly served by Croatia Airlines in 2015 but was ultimately cancelled.
Croatia Airlines had a strong presence in Skopje up until the coronavirus pandemic and was the dominant carrier from the former Yugoslavia serving the Macedonian market. Contributing to its high passenger count and growth was capacity, a consistent product and Star Alliance membership. The carrier handled 74.590 passengers between Zagreb and Skopje in 2019, operating a total of 996 flights (both directions included). It deployed all aircraft types in its fleet on the route, including the Airbus A319 and A320, the Dash 8 turboprop and the Mitsubishi CRJ1000 jet, which it was wet-leasing at the time.
Zagreb - Skopje - Zagreb passenger performance
The Croatian carrier sees a notable number of transfer traffic on the route, primarily to and from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels and Zurich. Its Star Alliance membership also provides benefits for passengers connecting through Zagreb onto Germany for long haul flights. It is the Star Alliance membership that also saw a number of travellers migrate from Adria to Croatia Airlines following the Slovenian carrier’s collapse in late 2019. Passenger volumes decreased significantly in 2020 due to the pandemic, as well as Skopje Airport’s subsequent closure for commercial traffic and an entry ban into the European Union for the majority of Macedonian nationals. The airline was later forced to temporarily suspend operations to the Macedonian capital in the winter of 2020/2021 due to low demand, however, it remained a popular choice for transfer passengers once operations were restored this spring. The carrier currently plans on operating between two and three weekly flights between the two capital cities for the majority of the winter season, which begins on October 31, with all aircraft types in its fleet to be deployed.
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