May 16, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia as the highly anticipated seasonal United Airlines Dubrovnik flight from New York returns at the end of the month!

United Airlines is renewing its regular seasonal route between New York (Newark Airport) and Dubrovnik in a few weeks. The line started operating last year and has proven to be very successful for the American airline, reports Croatian Aviation. 

United Airlines will soon return to Croatia when the first wide-body aircraft from New York will land at Dubrovnik Airport. United introduced this line last summer, shortly after Croatia announced clear criteria for entry from the United States into Croatia. The American Delta Air Lines did the same, so the two airlines offered 8 weekly flights between New York (John F. Kennedy and Newark Airports) and Dubrovnik.

Delta gave up the line to Dubrovnik this winter, leaving room to return to southern Croatia next summer, but United took the opportunity to be the only airline to offer a direct connection between the United States and Croatia.

United Airlines B767-300ER aircraft will operate four times a week on the route between New York and Dubrovnik, departing from Dubrovnik every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, from May 29 to September 29 this year.

Last summer, United Airlines operated on a regular route from the beginning of July to the end of September, while this year the operations start at the end of May and remain in operation until the end of September. Thanks to a longer flight availability period, the airline is offering 8,000 more seats this summer season compared to last year (29,960 compared to 21,928 seats from the 2021 summer season).

Croatia Airlines and United Airlines, two Star Alliance Group members, have signed a code-share agreement, so it is possible to buy tickets on the website of the American carrier departing from Zagreb to New York with a transfer in Dubrovnik.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

April 20, 2021 - After the big announcement on Monday, the United Airlines New York-Dubrovnik flight details are here. 

TCN announced the big news on Monday that United Airlines will introduce the New York - Dubrovnik - New York route in July this year. 

Croatian Airlines reports that the United line to Dubrovnik Airport will operate from New York, or from Newark Liberty International Airport (IATA: EWR, ICAO: KEWR), one of the three airports in the service of New York (along with LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy). Technically, this airport is located in New Jersey, about 15 miles from Manhattan.

Newark has been one of the largest hubs of United Airlines for years, and this American airline returned to JFK a month ago, from where it operates on a smaller number of routes.

From Newark Airport, United and its regional airline, United Express, fly to more than 170 destinations in the US and the world!

United Airlines has several destinations in Europe, and it should be noted that there are currently no flights on certain routes solely due to reduced demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubrovnik is now one of several well-known European destinations from New York (in business or tourist terms).

The first flight to Dubrovnik will take off from New York to Dubrovnik on Thursday, July 8 (in 80 days) at 19:20 local time. The night overseas flight to Dubrovnik will take approximately 8 hours and 55 minutes, with the expected landing in Dubrovnik after 10 am. 

The B767-300ER aircraft, of which United Airlines has 38 in its fleet, will stay in Dubrovnik for two full hours. Departure from Dubrovnik is scheduled at 12:15 pm. The flight to New York will take a little over 10 hours, with the expected landing in New York at 16:25 local time.

Interestingly, the first departure from Dubrovnik is planned for Saturday, July 10, so the United Airlines plane will stay at Dubrovnik Airport for more than 24 hours.

From the beginning of July to the beginning of October, this well-known American carrier will land in Dubrovnik every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday morning (taking off the day before from the USA).

On 38 return flights between Dubrovnik and New York, United Airlines has 16,264 seats on sale, of which 2,280 seats are available in business class. The cabin configuration in economy class is 2-3-2, while in business class, the seat layout is 2-1-2.

A return ticket on a direct flight from Dubrovnik to New York can be purchased at a price slightly higher than 4,500 kuna in economy class on the airline's official website. 

There is no doubt that this route, despite the global pandemic, will be successful for the airline. The fact that American Airlines had an excellent load factor on the route from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik speaks for itself. In the summer of 2020, aircraft were to operate on this route daily.

Given the many American tourists visiting Dubrovnik, United's capacity to Dubrovnik should not be a problem to fill, even in these times of crisis.

United and Croatia Airlines are on the move, which should sign a code-share agreement before the start of operations and enable passengers from Zagreb to continue their journey to the USA with one stop in Dubrovnik.

United Airlines should offer another route to Croatia in the summer of 2022. Its finalization is currently underway, and the news is expected soon. The abolition of visas for Croatian citizens during tourist visits to the USA will certainly support this.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 19, 2021 - The latest flight news to Croatia as United Airlines flights to Croatia have been announced with a New York-Dubrovnik route this summer!

Croatian Aviation reports that United Airlines, one of the largest American airlines, is launching a direct route between the United States and Croatia!

The prestigious American airline based in Chicago announced the news today at a press conference.

United has 8 hubs in the US, with the largest one in Chicago, but the company will launch flights to Dubrovnik Airport from New York (Newark Airport, EWR), where the company has over 68% of the total traffic.

After American Airlines permanently canceled the Philadelphia-Dubrovnik route due to the global pandemic, Croatia will once again have a direct connection with the United States. Although direct flights to America have been talked about for years, there were no real flights to Zagreb, and the pandemic made the introduction of this line even more difficult. In the meantime, Croatia has met all the conditions for the abolition of tourist visas to enter the United States, and American guests can plan a vacation in Croatia this summer, so United decided to be the first to react and introduce a direct line to Dubrovnik from New York this summer!

In addition to a direct flight to New York, United will offer passengers from Dubrovnik several destinations in the rest of the United States and South America with one stop in New York.

The introduction of a regular direct flight between Croatia and the United States is no surprise. In 2019, there were more than 620 thousand American guests in Croatia, who spent over 1.5 million overnights, and Dubrovnik is definitely the most visited destination of American guests. Recall that in the summer of 2020, American Airlines planned to operate to Dubrovnik daily, but the plans were completely changed due to the global pandemic.

Trade is also essential, and in 2019 Croatia exported goods and services worth more than HRK 3 billion to the United States, while we imported goods worth more than HRK 1 billion. In addition to American tourists, it should be noted that about 1.2 million Croats and their descendants currently live in the United States, most of them in Chicago, about 150,000.

If we consider the Croatian emigration to the USA, the number of American tourists in Croatia, and the exchange of goods, the United Airlines line between Dubrovnik and New York has a great chance of success.

United will operate to Dubrovnik as early as July 8 this year with three flights per week. Departures from New York are planned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, with the return from Dubrovnik a day later.

B767-300 aircraft with 30 seats in business class, 49 in premium economy class, and 135 in economy class will operate on the flights to Dubrovnik.

Follow the latest on flights to Croatia HERE and the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

April 2, 2021 - "Tailored travel products and an airline for the globetrotters!" New Croatian start-up carrier Pragusa.One revealed its plans for launching premium economy long-haul flights from Dubrovnik to North America, Africa, and Asia.

Will there be flights from Dubrovnik to New York, Beijing, and more international destinations in the near future? According to Pragusa.One there will be, as the new Croatian start-up is looking to serve the United States, China, Japan, and more from bases in Dubrovnik and Prague.

You may recall us announcing the news at the beginning of March, and now, Ex Yu Aviation has even more details on the Pragusa.One network, fleet, and plans 

“We are going to start as a travel agency but in the next three years, we will make the transition towards becoming an airline, since AOC [Air Operator’s Certificate] certification will take some time. In Croatia, we are going to apply for an AOC which will take ten to twelve months. Until then, we will operate with our partner on a full charter basis. We expect to sign an agreement with them in the next couple of days. We will convert the wet-lease into a dry-lease by 2024. We expect to launch our booking and reservation system by the end of April, but the start of operations will depend on travel restrictions," said the Pragusa.One CEO, Krešimir Budinski.

Namely, Pragusa.One will sell seven and fourteen-day tour packages to Dubrovnik and Prague, while offering point-to-point flights through a wet-lease arrangement with a partner.

“We have hired a former CEO from one big airline. We will be releasing more information on that soon. We will initially start operations with wet-leased A330s and A350s. We are in advanced talks with Airbus to get brand new A350s in a single class all premium economy configuration by 2024. The A330s will be used for medium-haul destinations and the A350s will be utilized for long-haul flights. We decided to launch an all premium economy airline because there is a team of aviation and travel professionals behind Pragusa.One who have studied how airlines used this configuration in the past. We saw an opportunity, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, to offer point-to-point flights for premium passengers, which is why the A350s will have an all-economy layout”, Budinski said.

Fights from New York and Los Angeles to Dubrovnik could be the first to launch. 

“New York and LA to Croatia may be launched first. There is big demand from South Africa and China too. We also have partners in China supporting this project, among which are tour operators and the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority. At this point, fifteen people, mostly aviation and travel professionals, have been working on this project since last summer. It is backed by private investors from the aviation industry. Our investors have over twenty years of experience in aviation investments. We also conducted market research and saw a small niche of travelers who are keen to pay more to get premium service, which is what we are aiming to offer. We will provide seven and fourteen-day trips to Prague and Dubrovnik, which will be our main source of revenue, but we will also sell long-haul flights which will be available in major GDS systems," Budinski concluded.

You can follow Pragusa.One HERE.

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For the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia, CLICK HERE.

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