August 8, 2019 – Croatia Airlines celebrates 30 years!
Exactly three decades ago, on August 7, 1989, Zagreb Airlines (Zagal), an air transport company providing postal transport services, was born. About a year later on July 23, 1990, Zagal changed its name to Croatia Airlines, the national carrier for the transport of passengers, goods, and mail, announced Avio Radar.
The first passenger flight of Croatia Airlines took off on May 5, 1991, on the Zagreb-Split route, which established regular passenger traffic within Croatia. Croatia Airlines began connecting the country with the world on April 5, 1992, with the first international flight from Zagreb to Frankfurt. That same year, it began creating its fleet by purchasing a Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Soon, the ATR42 aircraft was introduced, and commercial momentum and refinement in all areas followed.
The first development phase of the company was completed by the mid-range fleet renewal cycle from 1998 to 2000, when the Boeing aircraft was replaced by six new Airbus aircraft (four A319s and two A320s). The new development chapter was represented by the renewal of the short-haul fleet (from 2008 to 2010, with the inclusion of six new Dash 8-Q400s instead of the ATR42s.
Over the past three decades, providing regular and charter passenger and cargo transportation services, Croatia Airlines has grown into a European airline recognized for its safety, professional staff, and quality of service. Since the first flight to date, the company has performed a total of 603,000 flights and has carried a total of 39,240,000 passengers. In doing so, the company became a member of the most important airline alliances – the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Star Alliance.s
The Croatia Airlines fleet consists of twelve aircraft: four A319 Airbuses, two 320 Airbuses, and six Dash 8-Q400 turboprops. The Airbus type aircraft feature the names of Croatian cities (Zagreb, Split, Zadar, Pula, Vukovar, Dubrovnik), while the Q400 type aircraft feature the names of Croatian regions (Slavonia, Lika, Dalmatia, Istria, Zagorje, Primorje). This season, Croatia Airlines’ planes fly to 8 domestic and 30 international destinations in scheduled traffic and directly connect Croatia with 24 countries.
In this celebratory year, the company and passengers have been flying under the slogan “Creating memories for 30 years,”, which was selected by company employees. Also, many activities have been carried out regarding improving the business processes and quality of service further. Thus, a visual refresh of the fleet took place in March, which makes Croatia Airlines’ aircraft even more recognizable. A new business class menu was introduced on the company’s international flights, where travelers are served meals using native Croatian recipes and ingredients, further strengthening Croatian gastronomy through taste, aroma, and color. Also new is Croatia Airlines’ redesigned mobile application for iOS and Android users, making it even easier to book a flight, with many other enhanced features.
To thank their passengers for 30 years of loyalty, the company is conducting several competitions this year where travelers can expect valuable prizes.
Croatia Airlines wishes to create memories for many more decades with its passengers, and sincerely thanks its users for their trust in the past 30 years.
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