Croatian Airlines from Dublin…
Flew with Croatian Airlines from Dublin to Split return. Could not fault them. Lovely modern aircraft, clean and fresh looking... flawless trip, on time, lovely air staff, easy check in, good communication, nice snacks offered during flight for free, v pleasant ground staff also. Also very good value for money!. Would recommend .
Chaotic, Unhelpful, and Stressful — Avoid Croatia Airlines (and Watch Out for Turkish Airlines Codeshares)
I recently flew Croatia Airlines on a connecting itinerary from Split to Singapore, booked through Turkish Airlines on a single ticket — and it turned into one of the worst travel experiences I’ve ever had.
After a delayed flight from Split caused me to miss my Istanbul–Singapore connection, there was no Croatia Airlines staff to help at 3am. Instead, a third-party handler (Celebi) told us to wait — with no clear answers — and then made us stand around for 30+ minutes until a Croatia Airlines representative finally appeared. The rep was unable to explain anything about rebooking, tried to send us through immigration even though we had no visas, and eventually arranged an airside hotel after another hour of confusion.
When we reached the hotel, they couldn’t even confirm what flight we’d be rebooked on. We were told to wait for an email at 7am that never arrived. Panicked, I had to search for answers myself, and only after checking with Turkish Airlines (who were shockingly unhelpful) and finally with Singapore Airlines did I get proper assistance. Singapore Airlines staff were amazing — they immediately confirmed my new booking and reassured me they would handle my luggage.
Unfortunately, the chaos continued with my baggage. Croatia Airlines refused to help transfer my bag, sending me in circles with Turkish Airlines, who also refused to step in — until Singapore Airlines took over and resolved everything.
Pro tip: Avoid booking flights on Turkish Airlines if it involves a codeshare or interline partner. Even though I booked this entire journey on the Turkish Airlines website, they completely washed their hands of me once the delay was caused by their codeshare partner Croatia Airlines. Turkish Airlines showed zero ownership, leaving me stranded in Istanbul despite their brand being on the booking. I’m actually more frustrated with Turkish than with Croatia Airlines, because I trusted the Turkish Airlines name when purchasing my ticket — only to be abandoned by them when it counted most.
In short:
no proactive communication
no support staff on arrival
no clear rebooking process
no ownership of baggage or passenger care
and no help at all from Turkish Airlines despite selling me the ticket
If you value your sanity, I strongly recommend avoiding Croatia Airlines — and be extremely cautious with Turkish Airlines codeshares. Thank goodness for Singapore Airlines, who salvaged what everyone else spectacularly botched.