TRIP REPORT: Croatia Airlines, Frankfurt - Athens via Dubrovnik
Croatia Airlines’ seasonal flights (end in October) from Dubrovnik to Athens gave me the possibility to connect from Frankfurt to Athens. I have visited lovely Dubrovnik but never been at the airport. Buying the ticket through their site was easy and during the process you can select your business seat.
24 hours before departure I received a message that check-in was open, and I could get my boarding passes. I did as instructed (even though I knew my seats) because I wanted to get a print screen of the boarding card. Before getting my boarding pass, they informed me that only the FRA-DBV flight could be issued.
Arriving at the airport, all the handling is done by Lufthansa. Business customers are handled at Terminal A. I went to the counter to give them my suitcase. The person at the counter informed me that they could not issue me the boarding pass from DBV-ATH but could send the suitcase all the way to Athens (that was great).
Croatia Airlines uses the Lufthansa Lounge at Frankfurt. You can select the lounge which is closest to your gate (there are two). The lounge is spacious but there is no view of the tarmac.
There are plenty of drinks but limited selection of food (omelet and sausages) and fruit salad.
I arrived at the departure gate for flight OU419 at the appropriate time but there I realized that there was a 20-minute delay due to the late arrival of the aircraft. Boarding was done by bus. It was raining and I had to take out my raincoat.
Boarding began, first for families, then for people needing assistance and then Business / gold customers, etc. There was no point because everyone ended up on the same bus.
The aircraft was at a remote stand (a little further and you could reach the fence of the airport). The bus was riding for a long time.
We climbed the stairs and were greeted by the crew, typically no smiles bt friendly atmosphere and very professional.
Typically, business class on the A319 on Croatia Airline are the first three rows. However, in this particular aircraft there were five rows. There were 10 of us in business class, economy class was almost full.
The condition of the seats was not great. They were a little overused.
Legroom was typical with no extra space, typical Eurobusiness, with only a vacant seat between each two seats.
During taxi the captain apologized for the delay and wished us a pleasant flight. Safety procedures were done through the drop-down screens, but ours in the first row did not work.
About half an hour after departure, in-flight service commenced. A tray with a box was served with local produce from Slavonia and Baranya.
The male crew member was friendly offering drinks (there was sparkling wine) and extra bread if needed.
Food was tasty, especially the Slavonian kulen. Coffee was not great (made with couple of spoons of grains and water).
Before disembarking, I told the crew that I had a connection and I had no boarding pass. He assured me that it would take me a minute to reach the terminal (little did I know).
We disembarked by stairs and all together (business and economy class) arrived at the terminal
At the terminal, there was an arrivals advisor. I told her that I had a connection and she told me that I had to go through passport control then print my boarding pass and then go to departures. Lovely customer care!? I should not complain because it happened to me at Heraklion (HER) Airport as well, again arriving from Germany.
At the departure area, the security screening line was long and I waited in line for a while, there was no Fast Lane. There was a sign for the Fast Lane but everyone was going through there. The airport was busy, with a lot of vacationers returning home.
There is a Business Lounge on the second floor.
Access to the Lounge is only for Business customers. It is small but with great views of the tarmac.
The selection of food is limited, with refrigerated sandwiches.
Time passed quickly and departure time arrived.
Again, families were given priority for boarding, and then people needing assistance, after which Business / gold customers could board. Again, it made no difference as everyone was put on the same bus.
The DH4 was awaiting us to fly us to Athens as OU300. There were not a lot of people. I counted 25 passengers and I was the only business passenger.
The flight supposedly originated from Zagreb but I did not see any passengers on the plane. Do they disembark them and then board them with us?
Cabin is typical of a turboprop. What else could one expect of a small plane?
We departed on time, safety procedures were done physically, and very soon in-flight service started. Crew was very friendly; serving me the same box of goodies as the previous flight and asked if I needed something more. When I finished my sparkling wine, the crew member asked me if I needed a refill. Finally, when she collected the tray, I asked for coffee which she brought to me.
She was a friendly person and I thanked her for her assistance. Arrived in Athens on time, flying over Athens, I saw the Acropolis then Faliron bay and then we turned at Aegina island for final approach.
All good, well done. Till next flight!
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