Review: Croatia Airlines - A Young National Carrier
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We had our first Croatia Airlines experience from Helsinki to Split via Zagreb. We flew also a Split - Dubrovnik flight on the same vacation. Read our review to learn how we rated Croatia Airlines!
Covered in the Article
Croatia
Croatia has been independent since 1991. The country is located on the eastern coast of Adriatic Sea and less than 5 million people are living in this young country. Tourism has become a huge export product of Croatia. Every year there is an increasing number of travellers arriving in Croatia and enjoying the services of this fascinating country. Travelling in Croatia is rewarding as one will enjoy the country's comfortable climate and beautiful scenery.
National Carrier: Croatia Airlines
Croatia Airlines is the flag-carrier of Croatia and it is owned by the state. The airline was founded in 1989. It is still considered a small airline which operates multiple domestic routes in Croatia. The majority of the airline's international destinations are in Europe. Zabreb Airport is the airline's only hub. Croatia Airlines belongs to the world's biggest airline alliance: Star Alliance.
Fleet
Croatia Airlines has a modern but not so young fleet. It uses Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft to fly longer destinations and shorter routes are operated with Dash 8-400 turboprop. The airline has only 13 aircraft in the fleet which makes it a small airline. Croatia Airlines do not have wide-body aircraft.
Destinations
Almost all of Croatia Airlines' destinations lay inside Europe. The airline has multiple destinations in Croatia and its proximity. Croatia Airlines does not have any long-haul destinations. Many of the airline's European destinations are also seasonal.
Safety of Croatia Airlines
Airlineratings.com has given Croatia Airlines the best 7-star safety rating. The airline has not had any fatal accidents but some minor incidents.
Our Croatia Airlines Experiences
We flew a domestic route from Split to Dubrovnik with a 19 years old Airbus A319-112. The flight time was only a little more than 30 minutes while the same route by bus would have taken more than 4 hours. There was not much price difference between a flight and a bus ticket so we decided to fly this short hop.
One of us flew also an international route from Helsinki to Split via Zagreb. The flight from Helsinki to Zagreb was marketed by Croatia Airlines but it was operated by Air Nostrum's CRJ-1000 regional jet. This aircraft was surprisingly young. Air Nostrum is a Spanish Airline that does wet-leasing for Croatia Airlines and other airlines. The flight from Zagreb to Split was operated by Croatia Airlines itself.
This review is based on our experiences during these 3 flights.
Booking
We booked the flights via Skyscanner. Skyscanner compares prices of different booking sites and this time we found that Supersaver.fi was the best place to book the flights. The booking processes were eventless. The low-fare tickets didn't include anything else than the flights. After the bookings, we added our Star Alliance loyalty numbers on Croatia Airlines' website.
Check-in
Almost all airlines have internet check-in. So has Croatia Airlines too. We made the check-ins with our mobile phones and we were allowed to choose seats free of charge . A mobile boarding pass was provided and there was no need to print anything. Because we were travelling only with cabin luggage, we just proceeded directly to the gate via security check.
Fleet
Our Croatia Airlines flights were operated by Airbus A319. The first flight was operated by Air Nostrum and the aircraft type was CRJ-1000. Even though the fleet of Croatia Airlines is modern, the airline's Airbus aircraft are not young anymore. They were still in good condition so it was difficult to believe they were 19 years old. Air Nostrum's CRJ-1000 was brand new.
Rating
Friendliness of the Crew
We can surely say that the cabin crew were not rude but they were not friendly either. On the flight from Split to Dubrovnik, there was no welcome announcement and the crew didn't speak much at all. In contrast, a pilot of the flight gave a clear speech.
Cabins
The cabins of Airbus A319 were clean and looked newer than expected from its many years of operation. Seats were thin and spacious enough even in the economy class. There were also information screens but they were too small and quite far away from some of the seats and the display quality was poor. We didn't even see the full safety demonstration because the screens were not working properly.
Ticket Price
Our flight from Split to Dubrovnik was inexpensive. The flight from Helsinki to Split was also quite inexpensive because we bought it only a few hours before the departure after the denial of boarding by another airline. Croatia Airlines was the cheapest option to fly from Helsinki to Croatia with such short notice.
Onboard Services
On the domestic route, only water was served.
On the longer route, Croatia Airlines served a complimentary meal, prosciutto and cheese. While the prosciutto, a dry-cured pork leg was too salty, the cabin crew served water many minutes after serving the meal so it was quite an unpleasant experience during that waiting period. On the positive side, having complimentary snacks is nowadays a nice surprise.
Price-to-Quality Ratio
Croatia Airlines is not categorized as a low-cost airline. The price level is still moderate and the aircraft are spacious and comfortable. Complimentary snacks and drinks increase the airline's rating.
Overall Rating
Croatia Airlines is a good airline but not the best we have flown with. In its category, it performs well.
Common Questions
- Does Croatia Airlines serve complimentary meals?
- Yes, it does. In the Economy class, snacks and water are served.
- What is the luggage allowance of Croatia Airlines?
- A passenger can take cabin luggage max of 8 kg onboard. Not all ticket classes include free hold luggage. Its maximum weight is 23 kg without supplementary fees.
- Is there Wi-Fi onboard Croatia Airlines?
- No, there is not.
- Is there entertainment onboard Croatia Airlines?
- Croatia Airlines Airbus aircraft are equipped with video systems used to broadcast instructions for emergencies, as well as programmes intended for passenger entertainment..
- What kind of fleet does Croatia Airlines use?
- Croatia Airlines flies with narrow-body Airbus A319, A320 and Dash 8-Q400 aircraft.
- Does Croatia Airlines have long-haul routes?
- No, it does not.
- What are the hubs of Croatia Airlines?
- Croatia Airlines has a hub at Zagreb Airport.
- Where to book flights on Croatia Airlines?
- Head to Skycanner to compare prices. It finds quickly the cheapest schedules.
Bottom Line
Croatia is a destination which we can recommend to anyone. Even if you are a first-timer in Europe, Croatia is a good and inexpensive place to start exploring southern Europe. Flying to your destination on Croatia Airlines will surely be a nice experience too. Unfortunately, Croatia Airlines does not have long-haul destinations yet.
Have you flown with Croatia Airlines? How would you rate it? Comment below!
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Comments (1)
I never had worse experience. I had to cancel one ticket and reschedule three, the operator in a very rude way told me that they don"t reschdule and they refused to refund me like zero refund. They are the worst possible type of people and company to work with. Avoid them please
Thank you for the comment.
Airlines' cancellation terms are often strict. Quite often, it is not possible to get a refund or reschedule a ticket. If that is possible, the service fee may be high.