Croatia Airlines will reduce frequencies on select routes over the next two months as it deploys larger aircraft, aiming to improve average load factors. The changes will affect services to Skopje, Sarajevo and Brussels. Flights between Zagreb and the Macedonian capital have been cut from eleven to five weekly in January, with the reduced schedule set to remain in place throughout February and March, compared to six and eleven weekly services respectively last year. Adjustments on other routes will be more limited. Operations to Sarajevo will be reduced to eleven weekly flights in both February and March, down from the initially planned fourteen and thirteen weekly rotations, and below last year’s levels.
Croatia Airlines will also reduce frequencies on its Zagreb – Brussels service, however, this will only impact the month of February where flights will run ten instead of eleven times per week. Despite these reductions, the carrier will still offer an average of an additional 5.000 seats per month in February and March compared to last year.
During the first quarter of 2025, Croatia Airlines exclusively deployed the 76-seat Dash 8 Q400 on its Sarajevo services. This year, however, the route sees a significantly higher proportion of larger aircraft, with fourteen flights operated by the Airbus A220 and 29 by the A319 during the first quarter, with the remaining services maintained by the Dash 8. As a result, despite operating fewer flights, total capacity between the two capitals is up 10.8% year-on-year. A similar upgauging trend is evident on services to Brussels. In the first quarter of 2025, the airline operated 53 flights with the Dash 8, one with the A319, and the remainder with the A220. This year, all flights are scheduled with the A220, except for five services operated by the A319. On flights to Skopje, the first quarter of last year comprised of 72 Dash 8 rotations, 34 operated by the A220 and nine by the A319. In contrast, this year’s first quarter schedule includes 72 flights with the A220 and a single service operated by the A320, with none on the Dash 8.
Croatia Airlines has introduced a number of measures aimed at improving load factors, particularly in light of the deployment of higher-capacity aircraft to replace its Dash 8 fleet. These initiatives have included flash sales, the introduction of a stopover program, a flying-with-pets option and the “Time to Think” choice on its website. In 2025, the airline’s average cabin load factor during the first quarter stood at 59.9%, down 8.7 points compared to the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019. Load factors improved in the second quarter to 63.5% and averaged 65.9% during the peak third quarter, although this still remained 7.7 points below 2019 levels. Results for the fourth quarter, as well as the full-year 2025 outcome, are expected by the end of February. Throughout the year, Croatia Airlines’ domestic services continued to outperform its international routes in terms of average load factors. The global airline passenger load factor for 2025 reached about 84%, a record high for the industry.
