Low budget carriers present tough competition for Croatia Airlines

Low-budget companies flying out of Zagreb's Pleso Airport may affect Croatia Airlines' traffic with overlapping destinations, some critics have warned.EasyJet and Norwegian Air both serve destinations already covered by Croatia Airlines, the daily Vecernji List writes.Some critics have warned that the logic behind introducing low-cost airlines is flawed, with most thinking that they would attract a higher number of passengers. In reality, they only take clients from existing companies, they say.Croatia Airlines have already threatened to curb flights to Paris, London, and Copenhagen, or destinations that the other companies are now covering. The company's contributions make 65 per cent of Zagreb airport's revenue.The director of Zagreb's airport has come under sharp criticism from some observers. Just a month after he had been named the Honorary Consul of Norway, Norweigan Air started flying from Zagreb.Peovic says, however, that foreign companies are warned not damage the national air carrier. The airport, however, does not have the possibility to influence the company's choice of destinations as specified under the Open Sky agreement.Peovic says that he had spoken to EasyJet about six destinations, but they decided to start their services with Paris and London.  He adds that Norweigan Air last year carried 8,000 passengers from Zagreb to Copenhagen, or 1,000 more than Croatia Airlines."That is 7,000 more passengers in Zagreb's airport," said Peovic.Peovic says that low-budget airlines' contributions to both Split's and Dubrovnik's airport revenues have grown to 25 and 30 per cent, respectively. Research also shows that some 50 per cent of European passengers also prefer these carriers.The Croatian Ministry of Transport has said that airports must be careful to strike a good balance between the new carriers and the national airline, the daily writes.

Source: Croatian Times Online News