New York – Zagreb flights to launch in summer 2020
The Croatian Minister for Tourism, Gari Cappelli, has said that nonstop flights between New York and Zagreb will likely commence during the 2020 summer season. Speaking to Croatia’s public broadcaster HRT, Mr Cappelli noted, “Following the arrangement with American Airlines between Philadelphia and Dubrovnik this summer, which will act as a trial run, we are already in advanced talks for the introduction of a nonstop service from New York to Zagreb. I hope that we will have this route operational next summer”. The Minister added, “The service to Zagreb will most likely be seasonal during its first year of operations, while year-round flights could commence as early as the second year. As a result, we would have seasonal flights from the United States to Dubrovnik and year-round operations to Zagreb”.
In April, Zagreb Airport’s General Manager also confirmed that talks were taking place over the introduction of flights from the Big Apple. General Manager Huseyin Bahadir Bedir said, “New York is a destination we are focusing on. We are in talks with airlines and we expect for the route to be launched. However, a bit more patience is required for a final agreement to be reached on when the flights will commence and who will be the operating carrier”. He added, “Long haul flights are very demanding for airlines, both operationally and financially, and therefore they must be carefully planned. There are some airports in Europe which are two or three times larger than ours but have no long haul flights operated by some of the world’s leading carriers. We have set the bar high in attracting some of the world’s best airlines to Zagreb, with nonstop services to North America and Asia. Our aim is to have a quality and long-term relationship with each airline we cooperate with”.
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