Transfer in Zagreb
I just arrived in Zagreb on a flight from Skopje. It’s 18h10 by the time we pull onto our stand and we’re running an hour late due to the severe weather in Skopje. My flight to Zürich was scheduled to depart at 17h50. The crew of the inbound flight provide no information at all, and flightradar24 isn’t really helpful either, so I’m not sure what to expect.
I hurry off the plane and follow the signs for transfer. By the looks of it, the aircraft for the flight to Zürich is still in Zagreb. I go through security and then immigration and hurry to gate 10 on the ground floor, where the flight to Zürich should be boarding soon. But when I arrive, the gate agent just tells me to take a seat and wait.
And we wait. And wait. At some point, the gate agent leaves, while the departure screens still show the flight as Go to Gate for a 17h50 departure. At 19h45, a Croatia Airlines rep appears and starts handing out vouchers for EUR7.- per passenger for us to get something from the little kiosk by the gate area while we wait. I get myself a salad, a bag of crisps and an ice tea while I wait. However, at Zagreb Airport EUR7 do not strech very far, so I just pay the difference. At least I can see the airplanes from here.
Boarding
Eventually, boarding starts at 20h20 without as much as an announcement or an apology. Some passengers complain to the gate agent about the lack of information, and all she does is tell them that “well, you’re leaving now, aren’t you”, as though we should be grateful to the airline for magnanimously deciding to operate the flight at all. We’re bussed to the aircraft, which is parked at the far end of the terminal. I would say the load is only about 50% this evening.
The Cabin & Seat
The Business Class cabin is from rows 1 to 3. Nobody is booked in Business Class, though. I’m seated on 4F, which is the first Economy Class row right behind the curtain. The seat next to me remains empty. Row 4 is particularly pleasant because it’s in front of the propellers and the engines, which makes it less noisy. The pitch is good.
The Service & Crew
The crew on this flight are friendly but incompetent. They do not mention the delay and certainly don’t apologize for it either. Later on, after the service is done, the purser parks herself on row 1 and spends the rest of the flight reading. I also notice that we land with her buckled up on row 1, which is, strictly speaking, a violation. During take-off and landing, the emergency exits shall be manned. Seated on row 1, the cabin crew would not be able to reach the intercom to contact the cockpit nor open the door.
The Snack
The snack on this flight is the same as on the previous flight from Skopje. There’s only a choice of still or sparkling water. Additional items are available for purchase. However, loking through the inflight shopping selection, I wouldn’t get too excited! And neither do the crew, who don’t even bother to announce that there’s buy on board available.
Arrival in Zürich
The flight time to Zürich is ninety minutes. I spend my time reading in my Kindle. When we reach Zürich, approaches are from the east on runway 28.
I’m so glad I’m finally back in Zürich. It’s not just that it’s been a long journey, but also that ninety minutes is about all I can take on the Dash 8. It’s not the most comfortable aircraft out there, at least not from the passenger’s perspective.
Once the door opens, we wait for the labelled luggage to be offloaded and brought to the passenger stairs. I pick up my suitcase and board the bus that will take us to the terminal building.
Conclusion
Wow. Just wow! Croatia Airlines is, hands down, one of the crappiest carriers I’ve ever been on. It takes years of training and practice for an airline to achieve such an impressive level of overall suckage. From the uninterested cabin crew on both the flight from Skopje and then the one on the flight to Zürich, to the absolutely shabby, and de facto non-existent, crisis management of the delayed flight to Zürich, there’s really nothing good to say about Croatia Airlines.
Well,for crappiest airlines i would give the award to Estonian Air[if they were still round] Indifferent ” Soviet ” service, staff spending most of a Tallinn -LGW flight sitting at the back of business class chatting etc. There do seem to be a number of rather poor carriers—— mainly Eastern european?——- who seem to have a laissez faire attitude to the rules and regs of safe air travel
Hi Peter, I don’t think it’s something that is specific to a particular region or country. From what I can tell, more often than not it’s a problem of a) weak leadership, and b) too much government interference.
You have to wonder how they made it into Star Alliance…much like (the now gone) Adria Air, both were smaller European airlines in the southern part of Europe. Did LH group push for them to be feeder airlines for them and other Star Alliance airlines, and to also plug some gaps in route networks for that part of Europe?
I can understand aparthy in terms of service, but not safety…you really should complain to the airline about that.
Originally, the Star Alliance had members with regional partner status. At some point though, that was discontinued. But seeing as they could hardly kick out an airline for no apparent reason, it meant that these smaller airlines suddenly became full members – even with nothing to offer.
I also suspect that Croatia Airlines switched from the B 737 family to the A 320 to show how committed they were to their EU candidacy at the time. I wonder if accepting them into the Star Alliance might have been an attempt to return the favour.
Wow what a terrible ground and air experience. Does EU261 apply for the delay?
Not in this case, the delay was not long enough for the distance of the journey. But that’s okay. At least now I know better and will make sure to avoid Croatian Airlines in future.