Dubrovnik here I come! After an early morning flight from Split and a long connection in Zagreb, which gave me 5 hours to visit the city, it was time to catch my flight to Dubrovnik.

For the record the list of articles related to this trip:

To put the flight in context, I chose not to take a direct flight between Split and Dubrovnik in order to get to know Croatia Airlines better and to score more points on my frequent flyer program: this two-segment flight in business class at 60 euros earned me 2,400 points with SAS, which for me is a profitability record.

A reminder: the routing for this vacation.

Ground course in Zagreb

After a long stroll around the city, I return to the airport in the early afternoon. The airport is no busier than in the morning.

I have all my time and I don’t have to worry about waiting in line. Knowing that there is no lounge open in Zagreb for domestic flights, I hang out “landside” in the cafe where I had already waited a while in the morning.

Then I hurry slowly towards the boarding gate.

There’s no priority lane at the security checkpoint…but that would have been totally pointless given the crowds.

The matter was settled in two minutes.

We’ll be boarding by bus, so my boarding gate is on the ground floor. This allows me to take a stroll through an almost deserted airport.

Boarding in Zagreb

We’ll be boarding about thirty minutes before departure time, so we’ve got plenty of leeway. By the looks of it, there won’t be more than 30 of us on this flight.

Surprise when I got to the aircraft. While my morning flight, initially planned in Dash-8, was carried out in A319, here it’s the A320 originally planned that has been replaced by a Dash-8.

A bit of originality with a device you come across less and less, but a shame for comfort.

Still, it’s getting hot in the sunshine and I can’t wait to get on board.

The Croatia Airlines Dash-8 cabin

I find the same seat as in the morning, but in a 2-2 configuration. No seat neutralization in business on this type of aircraft, but luckily I won’t have a seatmate.

It doesn’t really break the bank and the seat looks really worn.

The pitch is correct, but nothing more. We’ve seen better in this class of travel, even on medium-haul routes.

The seat pocket looks even more at the end of its life than the seat.

We’re quickly ready for take-off.

Flight and service between Zagreb and Dubrovnik

We are given a bottle of water before take-off.

I say goodbye to the (pretty) Zagreb airport terminal.

The proximity of the engine makes the flight noisy, to say the least.

I’m quickly asked if I’d like something to drink, and then the service arrives, in a box just like in the morning.

It’ll be crackers, cheese and olives…

Once again, let’s say that the service has the merit of existing.

Having woken up at 4am and wandered the streets of Zagreb for long hours, I dozed off quickly and opened my eyes again just before the arrival.

The Croatia Airlines crew

Nothing to say given the length of the flight: smiling staff, fast service, I was offered a refill several times.

Arrival and disembarkation in Dubrovnik

The mountains quickly give way to the sea…

Last turn and back towards the mountains to line up with the airport, located high above the city.

Once again, we disembark on foot without being at the gate.

Less than 10 minutes later I’ll have picked up my suitcase and called an Uber to take me to my hotel.

Bottom line

A more than average service, even for a medium-haul business class, but at 60 euros I will not be picky. C’est les vacances, on découvre une nouvelle compagnie et cela me suffit amplement.

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