This summer, Croatia Airlines will expand its Zagreb network by launching five new routes, with most additions being the return of city connections that were in place before the COVID-19 pandemic. The new destinations include Milan Malpensa, Prague, Bucharest, Madrid, and Hamburg. Flights to Milan and Prague will start on June 2, with both routes operating three times a week, reports EX-YU Aviation. Services to Hamburg, Bucharest, and Madrid will begin in July, with Hamburg and Bucharest launching on July 1, and Madrid following on July 3. These three routes will also run three times weekly. All flights will be operated with Croatia Airlines’ Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
Launch Dates
- Milan: June 2
- Prague: June 2
- Hamburg: July 1
- Bucharest: July 1
- Madrid: July 3
This network expansion aligns with Croatia Airlines’ strategy to grow operations with the introduction of new A220 aircraft. The airline is scheduled to receive five A220-300s and one A220-100 in 2025, joining the two A220s delivered in 2024. Croatia Airlines last served Milan, Prague, and Bucharest from Zagreb in 2019, and had plans to resume them in 2020, but these were halted due to the pandemic. The airline last flew to Hamburg in 2012, though Eurowings operated the route from Split in recent years. Zagreb was linked to Hamburg in 2019 by Eurowings.
Competition and Market Landscape
Croatia Airlines will face direct competition on just one of its new routes: Zagreb to Madrid, where it will compete with Iberia, which plans to operate between three and nine weekly flights depending on the month. The frequencies will range from three weekly flights in the shoulder seasons (April, May, and October) to nine weekly flights during the peak summer period (August). On the Milan route, Ryanair indirectly competes, flying five times per week to Bergamo Airport during the summer.
The airline had also planned to add a route between Zagreb and Lisbon, but was unable to secure the necessary airport slots.
