Croatia Airlines will be introducing several new destinations to its network next summer as it anticipates an onslaught of tourists from Western Europe. The Croatian carrier will be expanding its operations from Pula, Split and Dubrovnik. From Pula, the airline will introduce services to Frankfurt, Hamburg and Paris. Flights to Paris will operate as a triangle service via Zadar. Furthermore, Croatia Airlines will launch one weekly charter flights from Pula to Erfurt, in central Germany. The carrier will also inaugurate flights from Pula to Frankfurt on April 30, 2013 while services to Hamburg, which will operate as seasonal summer flights, will be launched on May 7. Passengers wishing to head to Erfurt can do so from May 7 to October 1.
Croatia Airlines will be the only national airline to serve Kassel in central Germany next summer when it launches flights to the city from Split on May 2. Services are currently scheduled to run year round, once per week. The carrier will top off its summer expansion by inaugurating charter flight from Dubrovnik to Dresden from May 5. The service will run alongside existing summer charters from Split to Dresden. Tickets for all the above mentioned flights are already on sale.
While Croatia Airlines prepares for a busy 2013, it also faces unprecedented competition. European Union accession, scheduled for July 1, could see low cost airlines set up bases in the country. However, it will be in the hands of the Croatian government to lay out the terms and conditions for potential no frills airlines seeking to base their jets at some of Croatia’s airports. Many low cost airlines have already announced new routes and frequency increases to Croatia for the summer of 2013, including Ryanair and easyJet.