Stories

United Puts an End to Erroneous Fares

Taylor Guglielmino
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A United 737 MAX 9 on the ground in Houston. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Peter Weiland)

Mistake fares are one of the most exciting things people can stumble upon when looking up flights online. The prospect of finding that first or business class ticket for what can be pennies on the dollar. This exciting prospect has led to communities all over the web that share this information. Today, however, United decided to put a stop to that. The Chicago-based carrier made updates to their contracts of carriage that gives United airlines the ability to not honor a fare that was booked for a lower fare.

The new section is as follows in Rule 4, subsection F of United’s contract of carriage:

“UA does not intend to file tickets priced at a zero or close to zero fare. If an erroneous fare or a fare that is reasonably apparent as erroneous is inadvertently published for sale and a ticket is issued at the erroneous fare before it has been corrected, UA reserves the right to cancel the ticket purchase and refund all amounts paid by the purchaser or, at the purchaser’s option, to reissue the ticket for the correct fare. In this event, UA will also reimburse any reasonable, actual, and verifiable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the purchaser in reliance upon the ticket purchase. The purchaser must provide receipts or other evidence of such actual costs incurred in support of any reimbursement request.”

What is an Error Fare?

An error fare is a ticket that is being sold well below what it should be due to a mistake that was made by the online system that lists fares. By shopping error fares, passengers save insane amounts of money. With this update to their CoC United has made a statement in saying that they will cancel your ticket if you’re booked with one of these mistake fares.

Additionally, United is attempting to combat travelers booking tickets on already delayed flights and submitting a claim for reimbursement. This is noted in what United calls “improper reservations” in Rule 5 Subsection H, “Reservations made for flights that are or likely will be delayed with the intention of making a claim against or receiving a benefit from United concerning the flight delay.”

Effects on Passengers

Right now, unless the traveler is an avid “travel hacker”, this should nott affect a family trip or quick weekend away, but if it works out in United’s favor expect to see other U.S. carriers like American, Delta and Southwest follow suit without delay.

As it stands now, it is understandable for a business to want to protect themselves from people trying to game the system,  but if United or any other airline makes a mistake with fare prices, it is under the impression that the ticket should be honored. Time will tell if United truly tries to combat error fares on a large scale.

Taylor Guglielmino

Qantas Reveals Project Sunrise A350 Premium Cabins

Andrew Chen
Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

Qantas A350-1000 First Class suite rendering (Photo: Qantas)

Qantas has unveiled the premium cabins that will be installed on their new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. These jets are slated to enter service in 2025 and will be used on the airline’s ultra long-haul Project Sunrise flights.

The Australian flag carrier is configuring its A350-1000s with only 238 seats, in contrast to the typical 300+ seats seen on other airlines. This will make the Qantas jets the least densely configured A350-1000s in the world. The low-density configuration will allow the airline to lower the weight of the aircraft while offering passengers more space. Qantas A350-1000s will have six First Class seats, 52 Business Class Seats, 40 Premium Economy Class seats and 140 Economy Class seats.

 

Background: Project Sunrise

In 2017, Qantas announced Project Sunrise, its effort to fly nonstop from the eastern Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to destinations such as London, Paris and New York. In late 2019, the carrier operated Boeing 787-9 test flights from New York and London to Sydney.

However, Qantas announced that December that the Airbus A350-1000 was its preferred aircraft for Project Sunrise. In May of 2022, the airline formally placed an order for 12 Airbus A350-1000s with deliveries to commence in 2025. The airline plans to start nonstop service between Australia and London and New York late that year.

 

Qantas A350 First and Business Class Seats

Qantas has recently revealed details of its A350 First and Business Class cabins. First Class will feature fully enclosed suites. Similar to those found on Singapore Airlines’ A380s, these suites will have a reclining seat with a separate two-meter fixed bed. They will also have a touchscreen seat controller, a dining table for two and a 32-inch ultra-high definition television. Passengers will also have numerous storage options with a full-length personal wardrobe and multiple other personal storage areas.

Qantas A350-1000 First Class suite rendering (Photo: Qantas)

Business Class seats on Qantas’ A350s will be lie-flat suites with sliding doors. The cabin will be in a 1-2-1 configuration, meaning that every seat will have direct aisle access. The seats will also be two meters long and feature a cushioned leather ottoman as well as an 18-inch ultra-high definition touchscreen television. Both First and Business Class suites will have multiple device charging options including USB-A, USB-C, AC power and wireless induction charging.

Qantas A350-1000 Business Class rendering (Photo: Qantas)

Qantas will also offer free high-speed Wi-Fi on its A350s, in partnership with Viasat. This offering will be a major step forward for the carrier, which currently only offers Wi-Fi on some domestic flights. The aircraft will also have Bluetooth technology that will allow passengers to connect their own wireless headphones to the aircraft’s in-flight entertainment system.

“Qantas has been the leader in opening up new long-haul flights for most of our history, and we’re bringing everything we’ve learned, both technically and in terms of passenger comfort, to Project Sunrise flying,” said Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce in a press release.

“We think our A350 cabins have the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline, combining cutting-edge technology with sleep research to shape the look and feel for what is effectively a new era of travel. We’re building on the customer experience of our extremely popular non-stop flights from Perth to London as we keep working to make it easier to connect Australia with the rest of the world.”

Andrew Chen

Andrew is a lifelong lover of aviation and travel. He has flown all over the world and is fascinated by the workings of the air travel industry. As a private pilot and glider pilot who has worked with airlines, airports and other industry stakeholders, he is always excited to share his passion for aviation with others. In addition to being a writer, he also hosts Flying Smarter, an educational travel podcast that explores the complex world of air travel to help listeners become better-informed and savvier travelers.

Raleigh/Durham: Breeze Airways Launches Nonstop Flights to New Orleans, Hartford, and Providence

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Breeze Airways Embraer 190 at Palm Beach International Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

On February 16 Breeze Airways landed in Raleigh/Durham (RDU) with nonstop flights to New Orleans (MSY), Hartford (BDL) and Providence (PVD). In addition, the airline will have new service to Columbus (CMH), Jacksonville (JAX), Los Angeles (LAX), Louisville (SDF) and Pittsburgh (PIT) beginning in May.

The first service was flight MX 332 operated on an Embraer E195 with registration N140BZ, which took off from Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) at 13:45 local time and landed at Raleigh/Durham Airport (RDU) at 16:23, after one hour and 38 minutes.

“Breeze has already demonstrated that it is fully committed to serving the Research Triangle region by announcing more nonstop destinations even before it will launch its first flight at RDU,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.

The airline will have an 1,888-seat weekly offering at Raleigh/Durham (RDU) in March. Breeze and RDU’s partnership will continue to grow as the airline looks for new options to meet demand for new nonstop service.

“As we launch service at Raleigh-Durham, we are proud to introduce new nonstop destinations from the airport at really low fares,” said Tom Doxey, president of Breeze Airways.

Breeze is the 14th airline to serve Raleigh/Durham Airport (RDU), offering customers new travel options at affordable fares.

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Aviacionline

Spain: World2fly Expands Its Caribbean Network with Flights to Santiago de los Caballeros

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

A350-900 World2Fly
The new A350-900 for World2Fly in its first test flight. (Photo: Airbus)

World2fly expands its network in the Caribbean starting in June with a new seasonal service between Madrid (MAD) and Santiago de los Caballeros (STI). With this route, the airline will offer three non-stop connections between Spain and the Dominican Republic.

The Spanish leisure carrier will be the only long-haul operator at Cibao International Airport (STI) with a service to Europe. Previously, in December last year, Plus Ultra offered several special flights for the end-of-year season to Santiago de los Caballeros (STI).

According to data obtained through Cirium, World2fly in July will offer 5,960 weekly seats between the Dominican Republic and Spain. In addition to its new route, the airline also offers nonstop flights from Madrid (MAD) to Santo Domingo (SDQ) and Punta Cana (PUJ).

Flight Itinerary

  • Madrid – Santiago de los Caballeros Flight 2W 3317 MAD 16:30 – STI 19:20 Wednesday.
  • Santiago de los Caballeros – Madrid Flight 2W 3318 STI 21:20 – MAD 11:50+1 Wednesday.

Route details

  • The service will be available from June 21 to October 25.

The route will be operated on Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a capacity of 388 passengers in single economy class configuration and promotional fares are available from EUR 444 each way.

According to data obtained through Aena Estadística, the Dominican Republic was Spain’s main Caribbean market in 2022, handling 825,873 passengers and 8,591.5 tons of cargo in 2,907 operations between the two nations. World2fly will be the second largest operator in this segment in terms of seats per kilometers offered (ASK) with a 28.17% market share.

The leisure carrier will also offer non-stop flights from Lisbon (LIS) to Punta Cana (PUJ) and Samaná (AZS) and will be the European airline offering the most destinations in the Dominican Republic. In addition, and taking advantage of this new service, the operator Newblue is finalizing the last details to launch tour packages to the Puerto Plata area.

See also: Dominican Republic and Canada sign open skies agreement

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Aviacionline

Jamaica: Frontier Airlines Offers Low Fares for Non-Stop Flights from St. Louis and Denver to Montego Bay

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Jamaica: Frontier Airlines Offers Low Fares for Non-Stop Flights from St. Louis and Denver to Montego Bay
Jamaica: Frontier Airlines Offers Low Fares for Non-Stop Flights from St. Louis and Denver to Montego Bay (Photo: Frontier)

Frontier Airlines inaugurated two new routes from St. Louis (STL) and Denver (DEN) to Montego Bay (MBJ), expanding its offerings in Jamaica. The company also offers non-stop flights to Sangster International Airport (MBJ) from Orlando (MCO), Philadelphia (PHL), Chicago – Midway (MDW) and Atlanta (ATL).

According to data obtained through Cirium, Frontier will offer 5,296 weekly seats between the U.S. and Montego Bay (MBJ) next March.

St. Louis (STL)

Flight F9 14 was operated on an Airbus A320neo registered with the license plate with registration N309FR, which took off from Lambert International Airport (STL) at 10:12 local time and landed at Sangster International Airport (MBJ) at 14:33, after three hours and 21 minutes.

“We know those in the St. Louis area appreciate the option to fly non-stop to popular Caribbean destinations like Jamaica. Consumers can now take advantage of Frontier’s ‘Low Fares Done Right’ to escape the cold this winter and enjoy this beautiful island paradise – get ready to save money on your next tropical getaway!” said Daniel Shurz, senior vice president commercial, Frontier Airlines.

 

Flight Itinerary
  • St. Louis – Montego Bay Flight F914 STL 10:17 – MBJ 14:52 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
  • Montego Bay – St. Louis Flight F915 MBJ 16:03 – STL 18:53 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The route will be operated on Airbus A320neo aircraft with a capacity of 186 seats in a single configuration and promotional fares are available from USD 147 each way.

Denver (DEN)

This Friday, Frontier began operations between Denver (DEN) and Montego Bay (MBJ), the only airline to connect the state of Colorado with Jamaica. DEN will be connected to 26 nonstop international destinations in 14 countries.

“This new international destination for DEN not only enhances the value we offer our customers, but also brings us one step closer to our Vision 100 goals and provides another incredible beach destination for our customers also brings us one step closer to our Vision 100 goals and provides another incredible beach destination for Colorado travelers,” said Phillip A. Washington, DEN CEO.

 

Prior to the start of this route, Montego Bay (MBJ) was Denver’s (DEN) largest international market with no direct flights, prior to the pandemic nearly 900 passengers flew between the two cities. DEN was also the second largest U.S. market without service to Sangster International Airport (MBJ), behind only Los Angeles (LAX).

Flight Itinerary

  • Denver – Montego Bay Flight F9 420 DEN 07:15 – MBJ 14:52 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
  • Montego Bay – Denver Flight F9 247 MBJ 15:36 – DEN 18:54 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The service will be operated in Airbus A320neo aircraft with a capacity of 186 seats in single configuration and promotional fares are available from USD 179 one way.

See also: Frontier Airlines sets its largest flight offer expansion in Puerto Rico with eight new routes

 

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Aviacionline

The End Is Near: Viva Colombia Grounds Five Aircraft, Waits For Takeover By Avianca To Be Approved

Aviacionline
Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

https://images.prismic.io/vivaair-cms/2b1ddd53-afef-4fbb-8865-2938c3f6a4cd_CAP_1944-HDR_Viva-min.jpg?auto=compress,format
A Viva Air Airbus A320 sits on the tarmac. (Photo: Viva Air)

In an unsurprising new chapter of Viva’s crisis, the Colombian airline informed its employees that, due to a lessor’s claim for unpaid fees, five of its aircraft will be grounded and stored in the United States.

«After taking advantage of Decree 560 for the Business Recovery Process, there have been important negotiations with the aircraft owners to reach agreements on how to continue our operations. Despite this, we have been notified by one of them that we must leave five of their aircraft on the ground for the time being until further notice in the United States,» Viva informed its employees in a communication reported by the Colombian media Portafolio.

The withdrawal of these five aircraft from active service will force the company to reschedule its operations as of February 21. The company has been notifying affected passengers during the last week, but not all of them were able to reschedule their itineraries. Viva had already grounded two Airbus A320neo in December.

LATAM Colombia, in view of the delicate situation of Viva’s passengers, made available to affected passengers who purchased their tickets before February 20 the seats it has available between February 21 and 27 on the routes impacted by the rescheduling.

LATAM indicated that it is carrying out this initiative «in order to help protect Viva’s passengers».

Aerocivil moves forward with Avianca integration, but it takes time

While the future of Viva is getting darker and darker, the Colombian aeronautical authority continues to evaluate the integration request submitted by Avianca and the oppositions submitted by other companies to be evaluated, considering what will be the composition of the market after an eventual approval and, of course, to support the expressions of interest of some of these parties for the operation of Viva.

Thus, by means of Resolution 300/2023, Aerocivil informed that Avianca and Viva were submitted to the process and that in addition to the integration request submitted by them, the agency had opened a period in which third parties could submit documentation that could provide useful elements for the analysis of the requested integration.

In those 10 working days Aerolíneas Argentinas, Ultra Air, Wingo, LATAM Colombia, JetSMART and the competition law expert Jorge Enriquez Sanchez Medina (as a private individual) requested to be recognized as third parties.

The integration request, after this resolution, gives Avianca and Viva 15 business days to analyze and answer the third parties’ oppositions. These three weeks of time seem to be a step prior to approval, in the event that Viva and Avianca yield positions and that the concessions satisfy the parties.

Time does not play in favor of Avianca and Viva, and 15 working days seems an eternity for the low-cost airline, which is betting everything on Aerocivil’s approval but has not yet secured it, and at this moment, it seems way too far from that.

This article was originally published by Pablo Diaz on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Aviacionline

Air Canada, United to Grow Trans-border Network

John Flett
Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

Air Canada 737 MAX
An Air Canada 737 MAX (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Air Canada and United Airlines have announced details of a proposed expansion of their transborder joint service agreement signed in July 2022. Though subject to applicable government and regulatory conditions, if approved the Star Alliance partners would operate more than 260 daily flights on over 80 transborder codeshare routes increasing summer capacity by 20 percent. According to the airlines ‘in 2019, the U.S.-Canada transborder market was the second-largest international passenger air transportation market in the world and the largest international market for both Canada and the U.S., as measured by seats.’

In addition to increased frequencies on existing routes, the agreement will add two new routes with non-stop flights between Washington-Dulles and Vancouver and Calgary, Canada. United Airlines will operate an Airbus A319 between Dulles and Calgary, and Air Canada will operate a Boeing 737 MAX 8 service between Dulles and Vancouver.

The coordinated scheduling of flights will result in up to 120 daily departures between the airlines’ hub markets. Under the proposal, a ‘shuttle style’ hourly schedule will operate between Toronto and Newark with 16 daily services. Similarly, 13 flights per day will operate between YYZ and Chicago and 11 daily flights between YVY and San Francisco.

Patrick Quayle, United Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances stated in a press release: “We’re proud of our continued work with Air Canada to provide customers with even greater transborder connectivity, including adding more flights and new direct service to Calgary and Vancouver from Washington Dulles. With schedules designed to give customers more flexibility with timing and more convenient connection options, as well as the ability to enjoy the benefits of both airlines’ loyalty programs, our agreement with Air Canada makes United the premier U.S. airline for travel to Canada.”

The Air Canada-United Airlines announcement follows a similar release detailing a domestic and transborder expansion by Air Canada’s main rival WestJet on February 13. The Calgary-based carrier will see increased services of up to nearly 30 percent in Calgary, 50 percent in Edmonton and 10 percent in Vancouver. A number of WestJet’s added services will be feeding into their alliance partner Delta Air Lines hubs across the U.S. including Atlanta, Minneapolis and Detroit.

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.

Scoot Leases Nine Embraer E190-E2s

Pete Ainsley
Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

https://cdn.flyscoot.com/prod/docs/default-source/doc-pr/170223_media-release_scoot_to_add_embraer_e190-e2_aircraft_to_drive_growth_and_enhance_network_connectivity.pdf?sfvrsn=cd13b242_2

Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ no-frills subsidiary, will bolster its services by leasing nine new Embraer E190-E2. The first aircraft is expected to deliver in 2024, with the remaining deliveries by the end of 2025 after signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Azorra, a commercial aircraft lessor.

E190-E2 can carry 112 passengers in a single-class configuration and will be deployed the flight up to five hours. The new aircraft are expected to serve the second tier destinations and to strengthen the position of Singapore’s Changi Airport as a leading hub.

“Expanding Scoot’s fleet to include nine new E190-E2 aircraft enables us to continue operating a modern and fuel-efficient fleet. It also affirms our commitment to offer even more travel opportunities for our customers at the same great value.” Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer of the airline said.

Scoot started its services with three Boeing 777 and marked its 10 years anniversary last year. The low-cost-carrier currently owns a fleet of over 50 aircraft, consisting of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A320 family. The airline mainly provides services to Southwest Pacific and Asian destinations, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and India.

The low-cost carrier will be the first Singapore airline to operate E190-E2. The aircraft was first introduced in 2018 and best known for substainability with smallest noise footprint and lowest emission. According to Embraer, E190-E2 could lower the operating cost and deliver 17.3% better fuel efficiency per seat, compared to previous generation E-jets.

Embraer believed E190-E2 is the ideal aircraft for carrier to shed light on development of new markets and take advantage of new opportunities. Also, the passengers can benefit from the design of 2-2 configuration with no middle seats and more spaces for bags.

When the pandemic has come to an end, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has seen the demand surge. In 2022, Embraer delivered a total of 159 aircraft, including 57 commercial jet and 102 executive jets with an increase of 12.7%, compare to 2021.  In the fourth quarter of 2022, it delivered 80 aircraft, consisting of 30 were commercial jets and 50 were executive jets.

On The Road to Recovery

In the meantime, Singapore is on track for the recovery. Earlier, Singapore Airlines recorded largest half year operating profit in company’s history. In addition, Changi Airport, has handled 32.2 million passengers last year. The figure showed almost half of the traffic in 2019. However, the passenger number to North America has slightly exceeded pre-Covid levels in 2022. In December, the traffic reached 72% of pre-Covid levels.

“Changi Airport community’s efforts have paid off – the airport is now leading Asia Pacific region in travel recovery.” Lim Ching Kiat, Executive Vice President of Air Hub and Cargo Development, Changi Airport Group said.

The vibrant hub wasn’t left behind after the pandemic, connecting 140 cities globally with 90 airlines operating.

Pete Ainsley

Emirates to Boost Flights to Cairo Starting October 29

Victor Shalton
Verified

Edited By:

Jack Dawin

The Emirates A380 special livery featuring decals promoting the United For Wildlife organization (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Emirates has announced that it will be increasing its flights to Cairo, Egypt, starting October 29, 2021. The boost in operations will result in 28 weekly flights, offering passengers more options to connect to Dubai and enjoy the Emirates A380 experience.

The additional services and upgraded seat capacity will help meet the high demand to and from Cairo and support the country’s tourism revival with the addition of more than 2,200 weekly seats in each direction.

Emirates will now operate four daily flights between Cairo and Dubai, with three daily flights on the A380 and one daily service on the Boeing 777. Cairo has the highest deployment of Emirates A380 services in the Middle East North Africa (MENA region), outside of Dubai.

The third A380 service to Cairo, EK925, will depart Dubai at 20:40hrs and land in Cairo at 22:55hrs. EK926 will then depart Cairo the following day at 00:40hrs to arrive in Dubai at 06:10hrs. The daily service, EK921, will depart from Dubai at 1200hrs to arrive in Cairo International Airport at 1415hrs. The return service, EK922, will depart from Cairo at 1615hrs to arrive in Dubai at 2145hrs.

Emirates A380 remains highly sought after by travelers for its spacious and comfortable cabins, signature products such as the Onboard Lounge, First Class suites, and Shower Spa. The airline currently deploys its flagship A380 to 41 destinations worldwide.

Onboard an Emirates A380 at the Dubai Airshow (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

In addition, Emirates’ modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration on flights to Cairo will offer its award-winning service and industry-leading products, including private suites in First Class, lie-flat seats in Business Class, and spacious seats in Economy Class.

Passengers can enjoy the world-class service and products offered by Emirates on board, including its inflight entertainment system with over 5,000 channels of on-demand movies, music, TV shows, box sets, and documentaries, in over 40 languages, including an extensive selection of content in Arabic. Guests in all classes can also enjoy delicious multi-course meals prepared by award-winning chefs on the flight.

Emirates’ new 2-2-2 configured business class on the Boeing 777-200LR. (Photo: Emirates Airline)

Emirates started operations in Cairo in April 1986 with three weekly flights and has since carried 9.6 million passengers to and from Cairo. Operations have steadily grown with increases in both frequency and capacity between Cairo and Dubai to match customer demand.

Currently, Emirates operates 25 weekly flights between Cairo and Dubai. Over the last three decades, the airline has made an important contribution to the local economy and tourism by flying in visitors from across its global network spanning six continents.

In Africa, Cairo to Dubai was among the top three routes with the number of seats at 123,408 seats according to OAG.

The increase in flights to Cairo by Emirates is a testament to the airline’s commitment to providing its passengers with more options and greater convenience while supporting the revival of the tourism industry in Egypt. Passengers can look forward to a seamless travel experience with Emirates’ world-class service and state-of-the-art aircraft.

Victor Shalton

Victor Shalton's love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.

Croatian Passport Controls on Intra-Schengen Flights to Remain Until March 26

Vanni Gibertini
Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

A Croatia Airlines A319 in London (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

This past New Year’s Day was a historic day for the country of Croatia. In fact, at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, the country officially became the 20th E.U. country to adopt the Euro as its official currency, and at the same time, it became the 27th country to enter the Schengen area.

It is the first time a country joins both the Euro and the Schengen area on the same day.

The Euro was already widely accepted in Croatia, given the geographic location of the country very close to the established Euro area but in particular due to Croatia’s heavy reliance on tourism for its economy. Almost a quarter of the country’s GDP is in fact linked to tourism and the official adoption of the Eurozone official currency will certainly help recover the lost ground during the years of COVID-related travel restrictions.

But from a travel-related perspective, it is probably more significant that Croatia has also joined the Schengen area. This means there will be no more systematic passport or customs checks when traveling between Croatia and the other 26 countries that are part of the Schengen Agreement, including the bordering Slovenia and Hungary but also Italy, Austria, France and Germany, and even some non-EU countries like Switzerland and Norway. Flights to and from these destinations will be treated exactly like domestic flights therefore there will be immigration checks.

But while land borders have been eliminated immediately on Jan. 1, air passengers will have to wait a bit longer to enjoy this new regime. In fact, airports will have to adapt their infrastructure to allow a much larger volume of “domestic passengers” who now require to bypass passport control. For this reason, border controls at airports will remain in place until Mar. 26 so that airport operators can redistribute airport surfaces and facilities based on the expected throughput of passengers coming from the different destinations.

But, most importantly for foreign visitors, Croatia now follows all the same rules as the other Schengen countries as far as visas and entry regulations are concerned. There will be no need to obtain a separate visa for Croatia, and if a non-exempt foreign citizen wants to visit the Schengen area starting their visit in Croatia, they will need to apply for a Schengen visa to the Croatian consular authorities.

Furthermore, next November a new electronic system for travel authorization called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) will be launched in order to control the flow of foreign visitors coming from Schengen visa-exempt countries. These are currently slightly over 60 countries and territories including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and a large number of countries from the Caribbean and South America. Every prospective visitor to the Schengen area will have to obtain in advance an electronic authorization linked to their passports similar to what happens for those intending to enter the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program. The cost will be 7 Euros (approximately $7.50) and the authorization will be valid for three years.

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.
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