Aegean Airlines

Aegean Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
A3[1] AEE[2] AEGEAN[2]
Founded 1987 (as Aegean Aviation)
Commenced operations 28 May 1999[3]
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program Miles+Bonus
Alliance Star Alliance
Subsidiaries Olympic Air
Fleet size 49
Destinations 153
Company slogan
  • For everything “distant” you want to bring near
    Για κάθε "μακριά" που θες να φέρεις κοντά.
Headquarters Kifisia, Attica, Greece
Key people
Revenue Increase €1.128 billion (2017)
Operating income Increase €85.8 million (2017)
Net income Increase €60.4 million (2017)
Employees 2,493 (2017)
Website aegeanair.com
Notes
traded as Athex: AEGN

Aegean Airlines S.A.[6] (Greek: Αεροπορία Αιγαίου Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία,[7] Aeroporía Aigaíou Anónimi Etairía pronounced [aeropoˈria eˈʝeu]; LSE: 0OHY) is the largest Greek airline by total number of passengers carried, by number of destinations served and by fleet size. A Star Alliance member since June 2010, it operates scheduled and charter services from Athens and Thessaloniki to other major Greek destinations as well as to a number of European and Middle Eastern destinations. Its main hubs are Athens International Airport in Athens, Thessaloniki International Airport in Thessaloniki and Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus. It also uses other Greek airports as bases, some of which are seasonal. It has its head office in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens.[8]

On 21 October 2012, Aegean Airlines announced that it had struck a deal to acquire Olympic Air,[9] and the buyout was approved by the European Commission a year later, on 9 October 2013.[10] Both carriers continue to operate under separate brands.[11] In addition, Aegean Airlines participated in the final stages of the tender for the privatization of Cyprus Airways, the national carrier of Cyprus.[12] Following the bankruptcy of Cyprus Airways, Aegean Airways established a hub at Larnaca Airport, thus initiating scheduled flights to and from the island to various destinations and filling the service gap created by the services termination of Cyprus Airways.

History

Aegean Airlines used BAe Avro RJ100s between 1999-2011
Aegean Airlines used Boeing 737-300s between 2001-2010

Beginnings

Aegean Airlines was founded as Aegean Aviation in 1987.[13] It was originally a VIP/business air operation specialising in executive and air ambulance services. On 17 February 1992, it became the first airline to be issued a Greek independent air operator's licence.[13] After it was acquired by Vasilakis Group in 1994, Aegean Aviation commenced VIP flights from Athens all over the world with wholly owned Learjet aircraft. The Aegean Airlines name was adopted with the start of scheduled passenger services at the end of May 1999.[13]

Commercial flights

Aegean's first commercial flights were in May 1999 from Athens to Heraklion, Crete and Thessaloniki with 2 brand-new wholly owned British Aerospace Avro RJ100. In December 1999 Aegean also acquired Air Greece.[13] After an agreement in March 2001 to merge Aegean and Cronus Airlines, the company operated for a while as "Aegean Cronus Airlines" until full integration.[13][14] Since 2005, the airline has been in partnership with Lufthansa, offering participation in the Miles & More programme, and its flights, in addition to its A3 code also have the Lufthansa LH code.[13] In March 2006, Aegean Airlines also entered into a co-operation agreement with TAP Air Portugal.[13] In December 2008, Aegean Airlines announced its co-operation with Brussels Airlines.[15]

Cooperation

In 2009, Aegean Airlines started codeshare agreements with BMI, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and TAP Air Portugal. On 26 May 2009, the Aegean Airlines' membership application was approved by the Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance. Aegean officially joined the alliance on 30 June 2010.

In February 2010, initial shareholder discussions took place to consider co-operation between Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air fueling rumours of a possible merger.[16] On 22 February 2010, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines announced that they agreed to a merger.[17][18][19] The newly merged airline was to carry the Olympic brand name and logo, after a transition period in which both airline brands will be used in parallel.[17] The Aegean brand would cease to exist after the transition period. It was expected that the merger would be finalised and the new combined airline would begin operation by October 2010.[19][20]

Aegean joined Star Alliance at the end of June 2010.[17] The intent was for the merged carrier to be a Star Alliance member, despite the fact that Olympic Air was forging ties with SkyTeam pre-merger.[21] Star Alliance welcomed the proposed merger, releasing a statement stating "The integration teams from both sides will soon meet to assess the necessary steps, in order to guarantee a smooth transition of the merged Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air operations into the Star Alliance network".[22]

On 26 January 2011, the European Commission blocked the merger between the two airlines, citing anti-competition concerns.[23][24][25] The commission stated that the merger would have created a "quasi-monopoly" in Greece's air transport market, with the combined airline controlling more than 90% of the Greek domestic air transport market.[26] The EC further stated its belief that the merger would lead to higher fares for four of the six million Greek and European passengers flying to and from Athens each year,[23] with no realistic prospects that a new airline of sufficient size would enter the market to restrain the merged airline's pricing.[24] Additionally, commissioner Joaquin Almunia stated that the merger would have led to higher prices and lower quality of service for Greeks and tourists traveling between Athens and the islands.[25] Both carriers offered remedies in an attempt to ease concerns, though the EU believed that they would not be enough to protect travelers adequately and ease competition concerns.[25] One of the remedies offered by the airlines included ceding takeoff and landing slots at Greek airports, though the commission noted that Greek airports do not suffer from the congestion observed at other European airports in previous airline mergers or alliances.[23]

On 21 October 2012 Aegean Airlines announced that it had struck a deal to acquire Olympic Air, pending approval by the European Commission.On 23 April 2013, the European Commission issued a press release announcing it was starting an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines[27] and announcing that the Commission will have reached a decision by 3 September 2013. On 13 August 2013 it was published in the Greek media that the final decision had been delayed until 16 October 2013.[28] The merger was approved by the European Commission on 9 October 2013 citing that "due to the on-going Greek crisis and given Olympic's own very difficult financial situation, Olympic would be forced to leave the market soon in any event".

On 1 February 2014 Aegean Airlines took over every non-PSO route that was previously operated by Olympic Air.[29] As of 3 July 2014 the airline is owned by Theodoros Vassilakis (34.17% - 23.6% via Evertrans S.A. and 9.46% via Autοhellas S.A.), Alnesco Enterprises Company Limited (9.48%), Siana Enterprises Company Limited (9.48%), Konstantakopoulos Achilleas (6.39%).[30]

Corporate affairs

In 2009, Aegean Airlines carried 6.6 million passengers[31] surpassing its rival Olympic Airlines (5.2 million passengers)[32] for the first time.

In 2012, losses continued amidst the economic crisis for Greek tourism and the economy in general; passengers carried fell to 6.1 million, although Aegean managed to increase its load factor to 74.3%.[33] The group returned to profit in 2013,[34] and has continued its growth since then. In 2016 Aegean's consolidated revenues exceeded one billion euros for the first time.

Recent business trends for the group are shown below (for year ending 31 December; figures from 2014 onward include Olympic Airways):

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Revenue (€m) 283.5 340.6 401.1 482.7 611.7 622.7 591.0 668.2 653.4 682.7 911.8 983.0 1,020.3 1,127.6
Net Profits after tax (€m) −3.6 15.0 24.6 35.8 29.5 23.0 −23.3 −27.2 −10.5 66.3 80.4 68.4 32.2 60.4
Number of employees 1,551 1,629 1,729 1,923 2,142 2,463 1,949 1,615 1,347 1,459 1,678 2,344 2,334 2,493
Number of passengers (m) 4.3 4.5 5.2 6.0 6.6 6.2 6.5 6.1 6.9 10.1 11.6 12.5 13.2
Passenger load factor (%) >70 70 70 65.8 68.1 68.9 74.3 79 78.3 76.9 77.4 83.2
Number of aircraft 21 23 29 33 26 29 28 30 50 58 62 58
Notes/sources [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] Excl. OA
[34]		 Incl. OA
[42]		 [43] [44] [45]

For 2018, Aegean Airlines has scheduled flights totalling 16.7 million seats (including Olympic Air), 700,000 more than in 2017.[46] Aegean Airlines' long-term business plan aims for over 15 million passengers by 2023.

Branding

The Aegean Airlines livery is mostly "eurowhite", featuring a thin red line towards the lower part of the fuselage. Above it, the fuselage is white and features the airline's name, written in dark blue using trademarked font series. Below the red line, the fuselage is painted grey. The Aegean Airlines logo, two seagulls flying in front of the sun, is featured on the tail of the aircraft. In addition to the standard livery, Aegean Airlines uses a number of non-standard liveries, such as one advertising Star Alliance as well as one celebrating the new Acropolis Museum.

Services

Frequent-flyer program

Miles+Bonus is the frequent flyer program of Aegean Airlines and its subsidiary, Olympic Air. It is a rebranding of Miles&Bonus, the former frequent flyer program of Aegean as well as a replacement for Olympic Air's Travelair Club. Miles+Bonus has three tiers: Blue, Silver and Gold.

Lounges

Gold members of Miles+Bonus as well as passengers that travel on business class on an Aegean Airlines flight have access to the three Aegean Business Lounges in Athens, Thessaloniki and Larnaca.

Destinations

Aegean Airlines hangar at Athens International Airport

As of 2018 Aegean Airlines operates scheduled flights to 153 destinations. [47]

Codeshare agreements

Aegean Airlines codeshares with the following airlines:[48]

Additionally, Aegean Airlines has a commercial agreement with Trenitalia.[52]

Charter flights

During summer season, Aegean Airlines operates a number of A320s, performing charter services in association with major tourist operators. The charter flights connect popular holiday destinations in Greece to Italy, France, United Kingdom, Poland, Israel, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ukraine and other countries.[53] In recent years, they have also operated charter flights for football fixtures, for example, when the Greek national football team is playing abroad.

Fleet

Aegean Airlines Airbus A320-200
Aegean Airlines Airbus A320-200 Sharklets
Aegean Airlines Airbus A321-200
Aegean Airlines Learjet 60

Current fleet

Aegean Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet, currently consisting of the following aircraft as of June 2018:[54]

Aegean Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — 12 132 144
Airbus A320-200 37 — 12 162 174
Airbus A320neo — 20[55] TBA
Airbus A321-200 11 — 12 189 201
Airbus A321neo — 10[55] TBA
Total 49 30

In addition to the aircraft above, Aegean Airlines also operates a Learjet 60. The aircraft is used for the provision of VIP services and executive travel, in a non-scheduled flight basis.[56][57]

Fleet development

In its history, the airline has so far made two strategic moves concerning its fleet. The first was meant to withdraw all turboprop planes from the fleet, which was accomplished in May 2004.[3] Subsequently, Aegean Airlines placed a large order for Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft to drastically renew the fleet with various additions of same type aircraft over the recent years.[3]

In August 2010, Aegean Airlines became the first airline to commit to upgrading its Airbus A320 family fleet with FANS-B+ datalink system offered by Airbus.[58] As of March 2014 all passenger cabins across the whole fleet are being retrofitted with brand new reclining Aviointeriors Colombus Two seats, which are thinner and lighter, also allowing the addition of an extra row.[59] Aegean Airlines completed the purchase of seven brand new Airbus A320ceo ("ceo" - current engine option) as new additions to its fleet.[60][61] All aircraft deliveries have been completed by early 2016.

Aegean Airlines plans to increase its fleet to 70 aircraft. The expanded new fleet will enable Aegean Airlines to carry 18-19 million passengers annually.[62]

On 28 March 2018, Aegean signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for 30 aircraft of the Airbus A320neo family, with a further 12 options. The engine option is expected to be announced in June 2018.[63]

Past fleet

Other than the current aircraft, Aegean Airlines also operated the following types:

References

  1. ↑ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "CONTRACTIONS FAA JO 7340.2". faa.gov. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Milestones". www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "With a total of 158 international routes and 7 bases in Greece and 1 in Cyprus, Aegean Airlines is a key pillar of the Greek tourism". aegeanair.com. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Moores, Victoria (8 February 2018). "Aegean Airlines closes in on fleet renewal". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ ΠΡΟΣΚΛΗΣΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΜΕΤΟΧΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑΣ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΩΝΥΜΙΑ «ΑΕΡΟΠΟΡΙΑ ΑΙΓΑΙΟΥ ΑΝΩΝΥΜΗ ΑΕΡΟΠΟΡΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ» και δ.τ. «ΑΕΡΟΠΟΡΙΑ ΑΙΓΑΙΟΥ Α.Ε.» (ΑΡ. Μ.Α.Ε. 32603/06/Β/95/3) ΣΕ ΤΑΚΤΙΚΗ ΓΕΝΙΚΗ ΣΥΝΕΛΕΥΣΗ" (PDF). businessregistry.gr. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Headquarters." Aegean Airlines. Retrieved on 22 February 2010. "Aegean Airlines Headquarters 31, Viltanioti Str. 145 64, Kifisia, Athens, Greece" Address in Greek: Βιλτανιώτη 31 145 64, Κηφισιά, Αθήνα
  8. ↑ Young, Kathryn M. (22 October 2012). "Aegean strikes deal to acquire Olympic Air". www.atwonline.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. ↑ George Georgiopoulos, Foo Yun Chee (9 October 2013). "Aegean Airlines wins EU approval to buy Olympic Air". www.reuters.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "AEGEAN: European Commission's approval of the acquisition of Olympic Air allows the creation of a viable, dynamic Greek carrier". www.aegeanair.com. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Aegean, Ryanair asked to submit plans for Cyprus Airways".
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Milestones". Aegean Airlines. en.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 45.
  14. ↑ Georgiopoulos, George (2 December 2008). "Greece's Aegean Air to grow routes despite downturn". Reuters. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "Olympic Air and Aegean Air mulling cooperation". 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011.
  16. 1 2 3 Georgiopoulo, George (22 February 2010). "UPDATE 3-Greek carriers Aegean, Olympic agree merger". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Staff (22 February 2010). "Aegean, Olympic Air Announce Merger". Capital.gr. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  18. 1 2 Staff (22 February 2010). "Greek airlines agree merger: statement". AFG. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  19. ↑ Staff (22 February 2010). "Greek airlines merge". CTV. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  20. ↑ Staff (23 February 2010). "Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air to merge". Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  21. ↑ Bruce, Michael (23 February 2010). "Greek merger" (PDF). travelweekly.com.au. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 Staff (26 January 2011). "Olympic Air and Aegean merger is blocked by EU". BBC Online. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  23. 1 2 Torello, Alessandro (26 January 2011). "EU Blocks Greek Airlines' Merger". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 Chee, Foo Yun (26 January 2011). "EU blocks Olympic/Aegean merger, says anti-competitive". Reuters. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  25. ↑ Reals, Kerry (26 January 2011). "EC blocks Aegean/Olympic merger on monopoly grounds". Flight International. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  26. ↑ EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines. Europa.eu. Retrieved on 2013-08-20.
  27. ↑ "Competition Commission puts off Olympic-Aegean merger decision until Oct 16". ekathimerini.com. 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  28. ↑ "Aegean Airlines Accelerates Olympic Air Network Realignment to Feb 2014". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "ΑΡΑΙΓ: Μέτοχοι με ποσοστό άνω του 5%". Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Annual Reports". Aegeanair.com. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  31. ↑ "• Προβολή θέματος – Επιβατική κίνηση -last update: ΦΕΒΡΟΥΑΡΙΟΣ 2009". Airliners.gr. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  32. ↑ "2012 Results". www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  33. 1 2 "Annual Financial Report 2013" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  34. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2006" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  35. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2007" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  36. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2008" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  37. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2009" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  38. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2010" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  39. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2011" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  40. ↑ "Annual Financial Report 2012" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  41. ↑ "Annual Report 2014" (PDF). April 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  42. ↑ "Annual Financial Report (1st January to 31st December 2015)" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  43. ↑ "Annual Financial Report (1st January to 31st December 2016)" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  44. ↑ "Annual Financial Report (1st January to 31st December 2017)" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  45. ↑ "Aegean 2017 Financial Results" (PDF). www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  46. ↑ "Profile | About Aegean". Aegean Airlines. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
  47. ↑ "Profile on Aegean Airlines". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  48. ↑ http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/273989/aegean-gulf-air-begins-codeshare-partnership-from-july-2017/
  49. ↑ "Gulf Air". Airliner World (October 2017): 11. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  50. ↑ https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/276840/aegean-airlines-hainan-airlines-plans-feb-2018-codeshare-launch/
  51. ↑ "TRENITALIA, INTEGRAZIONE FRECCE/AEREI: AGEVOLAZIONI SU BIGLIETTI DELLE FRECCE PER I PASSEGGERI DI AEGEAN AIRLINES" (PDF). trenitalia.com. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  52. ↑ "Charter Services". aegeanair.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  53. ↑ https://en.about.aegeanair.com/company/fleet/?_ga=2.152779001.1339589634.1524438809-2094728696.1524265941
  54. 1 2 Dron, Alan (22 June 2018). "Aegean firms 30-strong order for Airbus A320neo family aircraft". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018.
  55. ↑ "Blue Magazine". www.aegeanair.com. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  56. ↑ "All HCAA Aircraft May 2013" (PDF). ypa.gr. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  57. ↑ "Aegean commits to FANS-B+ upgrade for A320s". ATW Online. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  58. ↑ "Aviointeriors S.p.A. - AVIOINTERIORS DELIVERS THE FIRST THREE A321 SHIPSETS OF COLUMBUS TWO TO AEGEAN AIRLINES". Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  59. ↑ "AEGEAN upgrades and expands its fleet. 7 brand-new Airbus Α320 to be added in its existing fleet in 2015-16". 27 August 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  60. ↑ "Aegean Airlines adds two additional aircraft to its previous A320ceo order". airbus.com. Airbus. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  61. ↑ "Παρουσίαση AEGEAN". aegeanair.com. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  62. ↑ "Υπογραφή προσυμφώνου με την Airbus για την αγορά έως 42 νέων αεροσκαφών οικογένειας Α320neo, αξίας 5 δις. δολαρίων σε τιμές καταλόγου | About Aegean". Aegean Airlines (in Greek). Retrieved 2018-03-30.

Media related to Aegean Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.