American Airlines confident new Croatia direct service will be a success

American Airlines

American Airlines, which is the largest carrier in the world, is confident that its new direct service to Croatia commencing in 2019 will be a success. 

For the first time in 28 years, a direct service will connect the United States and Dubrovnik on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast with American Airlines commencing seasonal summer flights from its Philadelphia hub to Dubrovnik in June.

The service, which will see three weekly flights operate between the two cities, will start on 7 June 2019 and run until 21 September 2019. 

American Airlines who will operate the route with their 209-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, is confident the new route will prove successful.

“We are pleased about the advanced bookings we have already received to Dubrovnik and we are looking forward to serving our customers on this new and exciting route. We will, in due course, consider prolonging the flying season to the coastal city. We always review the performance of our new routes and ensure we have the right schedule for our customers,” American Airlines said in a statement to EX-YU Aviation News. 

Dubrovnik

The carrier noted it opted for Dubrovnik over Zagreb and Split due to “popular request”, however, it added, “We are always looking at new opportunities to grow our network to ensure we offer service to where our customers wish to go”.

Dubrovnik Airport General Manager, Frano Luetić, expects the connection to be popular among the Croatian community in the U.S. 

“American Airlines chose Dubrovnik for several reasons. They have recognised us as a quality destination and our airport worked very hard during the negotiating process in order to secure these flights. Initially, this will be a seasonal service which will be maintained three times per week,” Luetić stated earlier. 

Philadelphia is American Airlines’ biggest hub in the northeast of America and it offers connections with the rest of the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.