Seoul and Zagreb will be connected from September!
As we announced back in May, Korean Air confirmed they would begin a new route from Seoul to Zagreb beginning September 1, 2018. The airline will thus begin three weekly flights to Zagreb with an Airbus A330-200 jet. However, for the start of the 2018/19 winter season, which begins on October 28th, Korean Air will begin using its Boeing 777-200ER on the route, and from January 2, 2019, will switch to the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The new line will be able to carry between 248 and 269 passengers on the two aircraft, reports Ex Yu Aviation on August 16, 2018.
A return service from Zagreb to Seoul via Zurich will operate in the winter months, though Korean Air has yet to secure rights to sell tickets on the intra-European sector.
"For the time being, it is impossible to purchase tickets from Zagreb to Zurich. However, we will consider ways to make it work in the future,” Korean Air said to EX-YU Aviation.
Just two weeks away from the launch in September, the airline spoke about their current sales.
"Ticket sales and advanced booking numbers are in line with our expectations for this route and we are satisfied with its performance. We continue to promote Zagreb as our newest European gateway and are entirely focusing on commencing scheduled flights in September. After the route stabilizes, we may consider flying to destinations in Croatia other than Zagreb,” said Korean Air to Ex You Aviation.
It is no surprise that the new service will increase tourists to Croatia in the off-season months, which Croatia's Minister of Tourism Gari Capelli confirmed.
"We are strengthening our reach with new and emerging markets such as China, Japan and Korea, and I am delighted to note that over the past two years we have recorded growth of over 50% from these distant markets. Our wish is to further stimulate growth outside the summer months,” said Capelli.
We could also see flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Zagreb soon.
"We anticipate to finalize talks over the arrival of a Chinese carrier because Croatia is becoming of growing interest to Chinese tourists,” said Zagreb Airport's General Manager, Jacques Feron. The Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, also said the government is in negotiations for these new routes.
