LOT sees Croatia success and potential for growth
LOT Polish Airlines is seeking to expand its presence in Croatia as it is becoming an important summer market for the carrier. The airline is maintaining eight routes between Poland and Croatia this summer, serving five cities in the country. LOT has 170.000 seats on sale between the two markets this season. “This summer we will fly 28 times per week between Poland and Croatia. Most Polish nationals come to Croatia by car. However, I hope that we will jointly develop solutions so that we can save our compatriots a car trip and that everyone can fly with LOT”, the carrier’s CEO, Rafał Milczarski, said. He added, “Last year, we transported over 33.000 Poles to Croatia, and we hope for a much better result this year. I also hope that Croats will visit Poland in greater numbers”.
This summer, the Polish national carrier is maintaining operations from Warsaw to Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Rijeka, from Krakow to Split, from Rzeszow to Zadar and from Zielona Gora to Rijeka. “Our performance in Croatia is the result of consistent work by our team as well as the growing popularity of Croatia in Poland and the increasing number of Poles who want to come to Croatia within two hours”, LOT’s Board Member for Commercial Affairs, Michal Fijoł, said. However, the Polish carrier also noted that the struggles faced by Croatia Airlines have enabled it to expand in the country. LOT’s main competitors on flights between the two markets are Wizz Air and Ryanair.
Zagreb Airport has seen growing air travel demand from secondary cities in Poland, some of which could be potentially served by LOT. Based on pre-pandemic 2019 data provided by OAG, Zagreb saw a notable number of indirect traffic from Poland’s second largest city of Krakow. Over 5.000 people travelled between the two that year on a single itinerary. It was followed by Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan and Katowice. LOT maintains bases in both Krakow and Katowice, which would enable the carrier to serve the Croatian capital with seventy to eighty-seater aircraft such as the Embraer E170, E175 and the Dash 8 turboprop. "Croatia is becoming more and more popular among our passengers each year and is becoming of interest for travellers outside of Warsaw as well. As we continue to increase our offer, both Zagreb and Croatia as a whole are becoming popular for short weekend breaks as well”, Mr Milczarski concluded.
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