March 28, 2022 - The latest news on flights to Croatia as the return of Seoul-Zagreb flights this summer seems increasingly unlikely.
After Zagreb Airport published its summer flight schedule, there was a discussion about the available flights between Zagreb and Seoul, a line that was canceled in November 2019, reports Croatian Aviation.
The airline's summer flight schedule is available on the official website of Zagreb International Airport. Among others, the announcements of two Korean airlines, T'way and Korean Air to Zagreb, stand out. But will those flights really happen?
Namely, the Korean MOLIT issued a license to T'way Air to operate up to four flights a week to Zagreb, so Korean Air temporarily lost that right. If they wish, there is no doubt that this airline will also receive the necessary permits from the competent authorities.
Because part of the Croatian Aviation editorial board previously worked for this airline, they are continuously receiving information about the possible return of Korean Air to Zagreb. The original plan was to launch the line with the start of the summer flight schedule. However, it was decided to postpone the start to May 3, and due to the impact of the pandemic in that Asian country, bookings are far weaker than expected, and the new delay resulted in moving the first flight to July 2.
In addition, due to the war in Ukraine, the airline does not expect that the demand for European travel will grow significantly. Hence, the announced return of Korean Air to Zagreb may be canceled. Tickets have been on sale for ten days for flights from July 2, but in case of cancellation, the airline will redirect passengers to Air France flights to Paris and then to the Korean Air flight to Seoul.
The low-cost T'way has already announced its arrival in Zagreb several times, and they have finally taken over their first wide-body aircraft, type A330-300. This line has been planned for June 1 this year, the tickets are not yet on sale, and it seems that there will be several operational changes here as well.
Croatian Aviation also received an official response from Korean Air: "At this point, we do not have a confirmed plan to resume our regular flight between ICN and ZAG. To consider resuming our suspended routes, we closely monitor changes in regional demand, quarantine and entry policies, and other external factors, and Zagreb is just one of them."
T'way plans flights between Zagreb and Seoul on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, while Korean Air plans operations like before the pandemic - Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Will both carriers operate in this year's summer flight schedule? Croatian Aviation believes they could be overly optimistic.
If yes, there would be 165 return flights from two airlines (with T'way running nine more flights than Korean Air), and this low-cost airline would also offer more seats. Namely, the B787-9 Korean Air has a capacity of 269 seats, while the A330-300 T'way Airlines has a capacity of 347 seats. In total, according to the announcements of Zagreb Airport, these two airlines should offer 102,342 seats between Seoul and Zagreb, which seems too much for current demand.
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