Pragusa moves from words to deeds: connections with the U.S. kick off
The newly formed Pragusa airline today issued the official press release announcing the start of marketing of the [...]
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The newly formed Pragusa airline today issued the official press release announcing the start of marketing of tickets to fly from Dubrovnik in Croatia to the United States.
In the past few weeks we had already talked about this new airline that was coming to the market with the intention of connecting the other side of the Adriatic Sea with the U.S. by offering, on board its Airbuses, only premium economy seats.
With today's announcement comes the officiality of the dates.
Three weekly flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (EWR) to Dubrovnik (DBV) will be operated by Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. The inaugural flight from New York is scheduled for June 21, 2021, followed by that From Los Angeles scheduled for June 22, 2021. The service will be maintained until the end of October 2021.
The company will operate Airbus A330-300 between New York and Dubrovnik offering 15,700 seats in total. Flights will operate Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from New York and Dubrovnik.
Airbus A340 will be busy on flights between Los Angeles and Dubrovnik offering 14,700 seats in total. Flights will operate Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from Los Angeles and Dubrovnik.
Doubts about this company
Such an operation involves a large capital investment, and, that it is not all doom and gloom, is evident from the fact that the company has not lived up to its announcement. If, in fact, it had previously stated that it would use Airbus A350s, now the models chosen are A330/200s and even an A340, a four-engine aircraft that virtually all carriers have retired.
On the one hand this choice brings fleet savings, on the other hand it brings an increase in the operating costs of the aircraft that will be (at the very least) second-hand and certainly not configured with a cabin of only premium economy seats.
The other big question is about the economic soundness of the proposal. Sure, Croatia has already announced that it will be open to American tourists this summer, and offering direct connections is certainly the most convenient way to attract travelers from overseas who do not want to get stuck in any restrictions. But is it conceivable for such a company to sustain itself with only these two routes and only two planes?
In this sense we have the example of Air Serbia which with one long-haul plane will connect Belgrade with New York, but we are talking about a national airline with a state and a history behind it.
Last but not least, the timing. Today the company announced that tickets will go on sale starting May 24 (less than a month after the first flight). Is it credible to be able to expect to fill the two flights in such a short time? Without even having a website or an active marketing campaign?
Now we just have to wait and see what will happen and if Pragusa aircraft will ever take off their wings from Dubrovnik airport to the USA. Certainly, it is that if it happens it could be an interesting proposal for all Italians living on the Adriatic coast and connected with Croatia by regular ferries, instead of going through Rome or Milan it could be an alternative solution to fly to the USA.
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