April 1, 2019 - Most of you are already aware by now that American Airlines will connect Croatia and the United States for the first time in 28 years. Namely, the Oneworld member will join Philadelphia and Dubrovnik seasonally, from June 7 to September 27, 2019.
As AvioRadar exclusively reports, in addition to the already announced three flights a week between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik, American Airlines has added yet another trip to operate on Sundays in September, set to depart and arrive at the same time as the other three weekly flights. You can see the timetable below.
Ex Yu Aviation previously reported that American Airlines is getting ready to launch its Dubrovnik service.
"Wherever we see opportunities and demand, we'll go. As with the opening of our Dubrovnik - Philadelphia line, we are very specific about demand. Central Europe has the greatest growth potential. We are preparing to add more and more new links. We want to continue to lead the market," American Airlines' Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Sales, Tom Lattig, said.
And there could even be additional flights next year.
"We will look closely at the results for the first year of operations. We are always looking at new opportunities to grow our network to ensure we offer service to where our customers wish to go,” Lattig added.
"This pilot project from American Airlines will grow over the coming years to include more American cities as well as new airlines. We have been working intensively on the US market for years and it seems that this work is starting to bear fruit,” Romana Vlašić of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board said.
And the connection to Philadelphia has already shown impressive bookings.
"We have been negotiating the Philadelphia service with American Airlines for years. Advanced bookings have so far been excellent and the Dubrovnik Tourism Board has launched a marketing campaign in the States,” Dubrovnik Tourist Board director Romana Vlašić added,
Recall, the American Airlines service will operate using a 209-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with a capacity of 28 high-class seats in business class and 181 seats in economy class, and Wi-Fi services will be available throughout the entire flight.
Airline company American Airlines currently owns 955 aircraft and employs 122,000 people. They operate 6,700 flights a day to 350 destinations. Philadelphia is the largest hub of American Airlines on the east coast.
Ex-Yu Aviation also reported March 25, 2019, that the newly formed organization VisitUSA Croatia hopes to expand operations between Croatia and the US.
"We are primarily looking to secure services between Zagreb and New York as this route would fuel travel between the two countries, however, at this point, we do not have any concrete announcements for a new year-round service. This will only happen if a number of stakeholders get involved in the project. Croatia is a regional tourism powerhouse and we must also use this advantage to position ourselves as a leader in outbound US travel for the entire region,” said VisitUSA Croatia.
Robert Kohorst, the US Ambassador to Croatia, is also a fan of the idea.
"This new nonstop service between the USA and Croatia sends a strong and positive message to the tourism sector. I am hopeful that all of the planned nonstop flights this summer will be full and that it will lead to the launch of new routes, which will, in turn, generate additional tourism and business exchange".
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