worldiswide

visited Bosnia and Croatia two summers ago. Dubrovnik was the least desirable city of the trip, really expensive and touristy . Croatia was great. Split was a great place, plitvice national park, islands and Zagreb was a nice city as well. Bosnia is a very special place. Would return to Croatia to istria and the North.

iahphx

I found the Balkans to be a bit weird. The cruise industry is massive along the Croatian coast, and they're obviously ruining all the major coast cities by dumping ridiculous numbers of daytrippers onto shore. Dubrovnik is basically hopeless at this point. Maybe worth a day if you're going to be in Croatia anyway, just to get a glimpse of the old town and move on. I liked Split more; it's bigger and can handle more tourists. But their old town is also still problematic when the ships are in port. Plitvice is beautiful, but also over-touristed, which ruins the natural setting. Bizarrely, it's attracting massive numbers of Asian bus tours! Try to arrive 3 hours before closing to begin your walk and miss most of the hordes. That said, the staff told me this strategy is still hopeless in July and August. Some people claim Zagreb is underrated, but I think it's properly rated. Worth a half-day if you're passing through, but by no means a must see. I haven't seen much of Bosnia, but what I have seen I like more than Croatia. Half the tourists and half the cost, and perhaps a bit more interesting than Croatia. Mostar is getting popular, but if you don't go in July or August, the tourist levels are bearable.

econometrics

I wish AA would take gambles like this on places like WAW or HEL in the future. I'm wondering, however, if the crap performance of BLQ and TXL will leave them snake-bitten instead.

777lover

econometrics

I know that. When AY came to ORD in 2014/2015 (I think?), AA dropped it. I'm sure it's not high on the priority list, since AY is part of the TATL joint venture.

golfingboy

As long as Vasu is still at the helm of Network Planning AA will continue to test different markets. Even a 50% success rate is a big win because now they have 2-3 new profitable markets. Sometimes to grow they have to gamble a bit and try new routes to see what works and what doesn’t.

Vasu seems to enjoy that aspect of his job.

beltway

Bologna never made sense to me. It’s trivial to get there from VCE, which already has service.

C46

TXL not doing well!?
That comes as a huge surprise to me. Not expected it at all; Germans are well known to prefer old-school experiences, like AA's 76!

no1cub17

Kind of surprised AA didn't add PHL-NAP to compete with UA's EWR-NAP. Isn't that flight selling well for UA? Thought I read that somewhere.

ConstellationClass

I'm guessing it's meant to be an alternative to Florence. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the nonstop service to the USA.

NOIR

Just a heads up from the local media, and the Croatian minister of tourism quoting that AAs flights to Dubrovnik are selling good that's why they have raised the high season schedule from 3 weekly to 4 weekly expecting a daily service soon.

Interesting in the article is says that AA are also negotiating with Zagreb airport regarding future New York services.

https://vijesti.hrt.hr/518679/nakon-direktne-linije-philadelphia-dubrovnik-u-dogovoru-i-new-york-zagreb

bridge29

Croatia from JFK would be a huge shocker. I could see a scissor route PHL-DBV-PHL-ZAG-PHL. 4x weekly DBV 3x weekly ZAG or vice versa.

dls25

AA will not be using jet bridges at any of the 3 new destinations. TXL only has one wide body capable jet bridge and UA/DL are already using it at the time AA would need it. DBV has 4 jet bridges but none of them can handle widebodies. BLQ has no jet bridges. Plan your carry-on baggage and footwear accordingly!

nk15

Do they have asphalt runaways, and proper terminals? Or are they just grovel roads and shacks? geez...

The German capital airport has only one widebody jet bridge?

no1cub17

No, but it's not open yet!

But I agree. Are DBV and TXL dangerous airports in some way? Would a standard issue carry-on or normal everyday shoes not survive the long arduous trek from the plane to the bus?