Croatian Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković met in Beijing with Chinese Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng. According to information from the ministry, the two officials discussed the co-operation between the two countries in the area of transport, including the possibility of introducing direct flights to Beijing from Croatia, reports Večernji List on January 22, 2019.

Butković informed Xiaopeng with projects currently being implemented by Croatia. The meeting highlighted the importance of the arrival of the Chinese cargo to the port of Rijeka. Another topic which was discussed was the introduction of flights to Beijing from Zagreb.

The topic of direct flights between China and Croatia has been discussed for a long time. China's ambassador to Croatia, Hu Zhaoming, has already spoken about the need for their introduction, and the topic again came to the forefront after a Chinese consortium won the tender to build the Pelješac Bridge.

Hainan Airlines is often mentioned as an airline that would introduce the flights. That would be the only direct link between China and the wider region. Until the end of last year, Hainan had twice a week flights from Beijing to Belgrade, but after a little more than a year it discontinued them due to the low number of passengers. On the other hand, during the first ten months of last year, 216,000 Chinese tourists visited Croatia, which was 43 per cent more than in the same period of 2017.

The meeting with the Chinese Transport Minister was the first in a series of meetings that the delegation of the Croatian Ministry of Transport, led by Minister Oleg Butković, will hold in China, where he will stay on an official visit until 26 January.

The visit to China of the Croatian delegation comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Croatian Railways, Croatian Roads and the Rijeka Port Authority, is part of the process of intensifying relations between the two countries and preparations for the upcoming summit of 16 Eastern and Central European Countries and China (Initiative 16 + 1), which Croatia will host later this year.

The Ministry stated that Butković informed his Chinese counterpart about the geostrategic position of Croatia and projects in the area of railway infrastructure. Li Xiaopeng said that the Chinese side supported their companies in taking part in tenders and complying with Croatia's regulations. He also said that the cooperation of the two countries in the field of infrastructure was just starting, and will continue to deepen with projects which are part of the Belt and Road initiative and China + 16.

More news on the cooperation between Croatia and China can be found in the Business section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Josip Bohutinski).

The Agency for Coastal Liner Shipping has already prepared the schedules for the next year and presented them to partners at the World Travel Market in London. This means that all passengers travelling to Croatian islands in the upcoming season will soon be able to see all the details of the passenger shipping schedules, which have finally been aligned with flights coming to coastal airports, particularly in the evening, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on November 9, 2018.

For decades, one of the problems for the tourism partners was the late publication of the shipping schedules to the Croatian islands which were not known until the spring, which meant that partners sometimes had to cancel their already scheduled travel packages for the islands.

“Tourism Minister Cappelli wanted all tour operator and partners of our tourism to be provided with timely information on coastal and liner shipping for lines which link the mainland with the islands. This year, we have accepted all the remarks given by the public and private sectors and tried to be as fast as possible so that everyone would have the info on how to reach the Croatian islands. There are 51 state lines and 11 seasonal lines that have been established so far, and we can still receive and supplement the seasonal line requests,” said Paola Vidović, head of the Agency for Coastal Liner Shipping in London.

For example, this will solve a well-known problem for passengers landing at Split Airport in the evening, who until now had to wait until the next morning for the first ship to sail to the island of Hvar. “In about ten days, our schedule for the next season will be published on our website. We have already defined it, accepting suggestions and criticism and adapting to the demands of the islanders and tourists. From early May to late September, Jadrolinija will have a fast line from Split to Hvar at 8 pm, and a ferry half an hour later,” she said

“The shipping companies have accepted many of the tour operators’ demands. During the peak tourist season, there will be 16 lines connecting Hvar with the mainland, including to Dubrovnik and Korčula. The evening connections have been introduced as per passenger requests, and in about a month you will be able to buy the tickets on Jadrolinija’s webpage,” said Vidović, who attended the fair in London together with Minister Cappelli.

The seasonal lines will start from early April and last until late September. In 2019, some of the new seasonal lines will be the one from Split to Šibenik and Zadar, and a new line from Rijeka to Zadar that will visit the islands of Krk and Vir. These lines will be maintained by private shipping companies.

There is also talk about the possibility that guests could be transferred directly from Divulje to the islands on lines to be agreed with the shipping companies.

It is highly commendable that, for the first time ever, Croatia has done everything that its tourism partners in London were asking for.

For more on Jadrolinija, click here.

Translated from Slobodna Dalmacija (reported by Ružica Mikačić).

On Wednesday, the government again appointed an interim six-month CEO of Croatia Airlines. This is the fifth time in a row that has happened. “The Government proposes the appointment of Jasmin Bajić as a member of the management board – the managing director of Croatia Airlines d.d. – until the procedure for the appointment of the permanent management board is completed, and for a maximum period of six months,” said the government in its decision, reports Jutarnji List on November 5, 2018.

This has been going on for more than two years. The public competition for the position of CEO of Croatia Airlines was first launched in April 2017, while interim CEOs have been appointed since August 2016 when the government, after his full term expired, appointed Krešimir Kučko as the first interim CEO. Since then, the government has been trying to conclude the longest-running competition for the CEO of a state-owned company.

Kučko resigned before the end of his third six-month interim term and later became the CEO of Gulf Air. In November 2017, Jasmin Bajić was appointed to his position, and his term was now extended for the second time. Over the past year, the government has returned the company to the list of strategically-important companies and has launched another, third competition for board chairman and members. The selection procedure has been completed, but no decision has been announced.

The pressure on the government to finally choose the CEO was made over the summer by the trade unions as well, but with no results. Experts say that this approach to running a company is inexcusable because the temporary CEO is in no position to make long-term strategic decisions. The latest competition was published by the Ministry of State Property and the candidates who have sent their applications are Ranko Ilić, Zdravko Delić, Boško Matković and Jasmin Bajić. The selection procedure has been completed and a proposal has been sent to the government, but according to unofficial information, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has not yet made the decision.

It is not entirely clear why the government is refusing to finally appoint the CEO. Interestingly, the government has agreed to extend the term of Jasmin Bajić, who has also applied for the full term. It obviously considers him to be a good six-month solution, but not a long-term one.

In the meantime, Transportation Minister Oleg Butković has announced that Croatia Airlines cannot survive in the future without a strategic partner and that the company is going to search for a financial advisor which will help it find a strategic partner. According to sources, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers have applied to the international tender.

At the same time, it has never been revealed which strategic partners were found by the World Bank advisers, which were selected by the then government in 2015, which paid two million kuna for their services.

The company's latest financial report reveals that the selection of the strategic partner is still in the distant future. “By the end of 2018, initial activities related to the creation of a recapitalisation model and the identification and verification of potential investors with consultants-financial advisors are foreseen.” In other words, the search for the strategic partner will take at least another year. And it seems that the selection of the CEO will not happen any sooner.

For more on flight to and from Croatia, click here.

The Swiss company ch-aviation, which deals with business reporting for the aviation industry, will invest 14 million kuna in Croatia over the next five years and open new positions in Zagreb, reports Večernji List on October 29, 2018.

Since 2016, the Croatian branch of the company is headquartered in the centre of Zagreb and has been researching and updating data about fleets, schedules and financial results of commercial carriers. The parent company has made a decision to launch additional investments in operations in Croatia, which will enable significant further growth of the branch office in Zagreb, it has been announced.

“I am extremely pleased to say that we are delighted with the results of our recent investment that has enabled us to employ about a dozen highly qualified employees in Croatia. That is why we have decided to invest in further growth of our company in Croatia,” said Thomas Jaeger, CEO of ch-aviation.

Currently open positions in Croatia include data research positions, journalists, a digital marketing and content associate, and client relations manager.

“It is sad to see that a large number of well-educated people leaving Croatia and we are pleased to be able to offer an excellent alternative to those who remain. The aviation industry is expecting further growth over the next ten years, and I think we can build the largest aviation industry data centre in Croatia,” said Max Oldorf, executive director of ch-aviation in Croatia.

Established in 1998 as an airline business data company, ch-aviation manages one of the largest and most comprehensive B2B databases in the commercial aviation industry. They have more than 500 clients, including some of the industry's most prominent names, such as the world's largest airline lease company, AerCap, aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Embraer, as well as local companies such as Trade Air. They all rely on the expertise of the Swiss company with an office in Zagreb.

In addition to the global air fleets, the company provides information on addresses, contacts and flight schedules of carriers around the world.

Interested to know more about flights to and from Croatia? Click here.

ZAGREB, May 30, 2018 - Spain's Iberia Airlines has launched their seasonal flights to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik and its planes will continue to fly to Zagreb and Dubrovnik during the winter as well, the company said on Tuesday.

ZAGREB, May 19, 2018 - The largest Greek airline, Aegean Airlines, introduced direct seasonal flights from Athens to Zagreb, which will take place three times a week in the airline’s summer schedule, according to the authorities of Zagreb's International Airport. Aegean Airlines will fly the new route three times a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

ZAGREB, April 5, 2018 - Between March 25 and October 27, Croatia has over 70 new regular flights, while the total number is 15% higher than last year, over 34,400, the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said in a press release on Thursday.

Direct flights from Istria to Russia's second biggest urban hub will be operating once a week

As winter approaches, the season of new flight announcements is upon us in Croatia. Some early good news for Pula, Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb in this first weekly roundup on October 10, 2017.