The two North American carriers which maintain seasonal flights to Croatia – Air Transat and United Airlines – have registered a strong year on their respective services from Toronto to Zagreb and Newark to Dubrovnik. As a result, both plan to grow their capacity in the country next year. Air Transat handled 26.322 travellers on its Zagreb service this year, representing an increase of 28.1% on 2022. The overall figure on nonstop flights between the two cities is lower than in 2019 when it stood at 65.486, as Air Canada Rouge used to maintain operations alongside Air Transat on the route prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Air Canada subsidiary no longer has aircraft capable of reaching Zagreb, but its parent company has ruled out services to the Croatian capital for next year.
Air Transat maintained flights between Toronto and Zagreb between June 6 and October 7 this year with its 332-seat A330-200 aircraft. Its average cabin load factor for the duration of its summer operations stood at a high 80.9%. Next year, Air Transat plans to increase overall capacity on the route by 40.8%. It will do so by resuming flights a full month earlier, on May 4 and progressively increasing frequencies throughout the season to up to four weekly from late June until early September. It will mark the first time the carrier has scheduled four weekly flights on the Zagreb route instead of the usual three.
United Airlines handled 25.704 passengers on its Dubrovnik service based on data provided to EX-YU Aviation News by the United States Bureau of Air Transport Statistics. This is slightly lower on the previous year when it welcomed 27.628 travellers. However, the airline also had a 2.4% decrease in capacity on the route this year compared to last. The carrier’s average cabin load factor on the route this year, which ran from May 26 until September 20, stood at a high 86.6%. In 2024, the airline will increase capacity on the route by 10.4% by deploying its 231-seat Boeing 767-400 aircraft on all flights instead of the 214-seat B767-300ER utilised in 2023.
