Croatia Airlines has reported a net loss of €13.1 million during the first three quarters of the year as against a loss of €6.5 million during the same time in 2019. However, the airline reported a net profit of €8.6 million in the Q3 of 2022, marking the airline’s first profitable quarter since the start of the pandemic. The third quarter is typically the strongest for Croatia Airlines, as it is the flag carrier of popular summer destinations.
The airline said that its financial result was affected by the rising fuel prices that negatively impacted its balance sheets by €23 million. Also, the airline has slowly started to witness signs of recovery after a difficult 2021, but it is still far from reaching the pre-pandemic levels.
Between January and September, Croatia Airlines carried 1,087,997 passengers, an increase of 95.5% compared to the same period in 2021. However, the airline's traffic during the first three quarters is still 36.1% down compared to the pre-pandemic year. Of all passengers carried until September, 24%, or 263,896, flew domestic routes, whereas 72%, or 783,635, flew international flights. Furthermore, the carrier's operations are also fed by charter flights, representing 4% of all Croatia Airlines flights in 2022 so far.
Going ahead, the airline is optimistic as it reported an increase of over 70% in flight bookings between November 2022 - April 2023 as compared to the same period in 2021.