Ryanair mounts strong challenge to Croatia Airlines on home market
Low cost airline Ryanair will double in size on the Croatian market in 2024 compared to last year, adding an additional 2.098.576 seats with close to five million seats available in Croatia overall. Whereas the difference between the budget carrier and Croatia Airlines last year stood at just 124.000 seats, capacity-wise, the difference in 2024 will amount to over 2.8 million seats. The development comes as Ryanair plans to open a new base in Dubrovnik this summer and expand its existing bases in Zagreb and Zadar. This year, Ryanair will account for a significant 30% of Croatia’s total capacity, cementing its position as the country’s largest airline. This is in stark contrast to the pre-pandemic 2019, when it accounted for just 5.7% of Croatia’s total capacity.
Croatia Airlines lost its mantle as the country’s largest carrier last year. Ryanair noted, “Ryanair, Croatia’s largest airline, has delivered low fares, connectivity, and tourism to Croatia for over fifteen years and has single-handedly driven Croatia’s post-Covid traffic recovery. Since the pandemic, Ryanair has invested over 800 million US dollars in Croatia, with the opening of its new Dubrovnik (two aircraft) base and three aircraft bases at both Zagreb and Zadar. Ryanair also offers flights to four other Croatian airports - Osijek, Pula, Rijeka and Split. With the addition of Ryanair’s new base in Dubrovnik from April 2024, Ryanair will continue to deliver Europe’s lowest fares and greater connectivity for Croatian citizens”.
Ryanair will operate the most flights from Croatia to London Stansted this year, followed by Dublin, Charleroi, Bergamo an Weeze. In addition to surpassing Croatia Airlines as the country’s largest airline in 2023, Ryanair has also surpassed easyJet in recent years as the biggest budget carrier in the country. “We are the strongest company in Europe, and we don't get help from state funds, as is the case with other carriers, including Croatia Airlines. We do not receive such assistance, and we have the strongest balance sheets in Europe. We are the only European carrier that has achieved growth in air traffic over several years”, Ryanair noted.
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