Croatia Airlines sees signs as recovery as winter looms

Croatia Airlines has said it is satisfied with its performance over the preceding peak summer months as it prepares for the upcoming winter season which begins on October 31. The airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Slaven Žabo, noted that together with the support of the state, the national carrier has navigated its way out of the first phase of the pandemic and is now preparing for its post-Covid strategy, which will primarily focus on development. “During this summer season we saw some recovery and we were pleased to have been able to increase our frequencies. Between June and September, we linked Croatia with eighteen international destinations, operated over 8.000 flights and carried almost 400.000 passengers”, Mr Žabo said.

Outlook for the coming winter season remains awash with uncertainty for European carriers. Continuing travel restrictions and the Delta variant of the coronavirus are expected to discourage travellers this winter. November is considered one of the slowest months for the aviation industry even at the best of times. Croatia Airlines plans to run 1.340 scheduled flights next month (return service included). It has put 148.840 seats up for sale on scheduled operations this November. It will primarily utilise its Dash 8 fleet, which will be deployed on 52.2% of all flights, followed by the Airbus A319s on 39.1% and the A320s on 8.7% of all scheduled services. The airline will maintain flights to fourteen destinations from Zagreb, of which ten are international, as well four destinations from Split, of which three are international. Furthermore, it will reduce a two weekly service between Osijek and Munich, which is scheduled to operate from mid-November.

Germany will remain Croatia Airlines’ largest foreign market, followed by Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. The table below displays the airline’s planned scheduled destinations and frequencies for the month of November, which is correct at the time of publication. Further changes may occur in the weeks ahead. Destinations with daily or more flights are marked in blue.

Planned Croatia Airlines November network departing Zagreb