International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), which include Iberia, British Airways and Aer Lingus, plan to increase their operations to several cities across Croatia this summer season – EX-YU Aviation News reports.
Iberia will head the growth, by maintaining up to eight weekly flights from Madrid to Zagreb, which is an increase from five flights a week last year. Four flights will be added to Dubrovnik, while Split will also benefit with daily services to be maintained from Madrid this year, up from three per week in 2017. The resumption of its flights to both Dubrovnik and Split will also be brought forward. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said its capacity to Croatia will grow by over 30 percent inn 2018 for a second year in a row, noting that demand is being driven by leisure travellers wishing to visit the Adriatic coast.
British Airways will also increase its number of flights to Croatia this year after adding Pula as its fourth destination in 2017. The British carrier will operate twelve flights a week between London Gatwick and Dubrovnik this summer, which is an increase from nine last year. They will also strengthen its services from Heathrow to Split by introducing an extra flight a week, which will make it a total of five. The number of flights from London to Pula will stay at two per week. EX-YU Aviation News states that carrier is also considering adding flights between Heathrow and Zagreb to make up for Croatia Airlines' service reduction on the route. British Airways' leisure unit, British Airways Holidays, has listed Croatia in its top eighteen must-see destinations this summer. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the airline said, "We are pleased with the performance of our routes from Croatia to London, which has resulted in additional flights and capacity this year. Our customers on these routes range from passengers travelling point-to-point to those taking advantage of our extensive international network which serves 199 destinations".
Aer Lingus, the Irish carrier, will also boost its number of flights to three destinations in Croatia. They will add an extra flight from Dublin to Dubrovnik, so it will operate daily, while services to both Split and Pula will also be increased by one additional flight for a total of three and four per week "We are delighted to announce the further strengthening of our network to Croatia with these additional flights. The extra frequencies to Dubrovnik, Split and Pula will allow us to continue offering the choice, service and value that delivered our Skytrax four-star accreditation and we look forward to welcoming guests on board these services to Croatia in 2018", the airline said to EX-YU Aviation News. Asked whether it could add Zagreb to its network in the foreseeable future, the Irish carrier noted, "Flights could be introduced if we determine that this route matches our customers’ needs, is economically viable and makes a positive financial contribution to our business as a whole".
