To mark the beginning of the summer season and the new dynamic era, following the acquisition of Olympic Air, AEGEAN presented at a press conference today, its growth strategy for 2014. In this context, AEGEAN announced:
13,000,000 available seats for 2014 – 1,150,000 more than in 2013
Enforcement of the fleet with 5 Airbus A320 & A321, now reaching 50 aircraft and 100,000 flights per year
new base in Chania, with a total of 8 Greek bases
expansion of the international network with 8 Greek bases, linking Greece with a total of 87 international destinations in 32 countries
17 new international destinations, 14 of which depart from Athens
The Vice President of AEGEAN Mr. Eftichios Vassilakis stated: „We invest the benefits derived from the synergy with Olympic Air to increased growth rates. Tourism has the potential to be further supported. Our company needs growth too in order to produce more competitive costs and more product and destinations offerings to its passengers. 50 aircraft, 13,000,000 seats, a total of 120 international and domestic destinations in 32 countries, 2,400 employees and 100,000 flights is a huge task. We want to mark the comeback of our country on the aviation map. We have won the battle of quality on a European level, contributing to the country’s image. We must now translate this quality into steady growth momentum both from Athens, and from our 7 regional bases. This is both an opportunity and our responsibility.”
Specifically, the total of routes from all 8 Greek AEGEAN bases is now increasing to 205 international and 51 domestic. The 13,000,000 seats on offer are 6,600,000 seats in 33 domestic destinations and 6,400,000 in international ones, as well as 900,000 more than in 2013, to 87 destinations. Thereby both the improved domestic coverage and the dynamic support of incoming tourism are guaranteed to all regions of the country.
AEGEAN not only ensures but also broadens the accessibility to the smallest island in Greece, both for the Greeks and for foreign visitors. In the domestic network the new policy of fares and network yielded immediate deployment of 15-20% from the early winter months.
Alongside, AEGEAN proceeds towards covering a further 5 countries with scheduled flights – Denmark, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Lebanon – while adding 14 new destinations from Athens. These new destinations include: Birmingham in United Kingdom, Marseille and Nantes in France, Zurich in Switzerland, Hamburg, Hanover and Nuremberg in Germany, Copenhagen in Denmark, Catania in Italy, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Beirut in Lebanon, Stockholm in Sweden, Izmir in Turkey and Amman in Jordan.
Finally, the company’s network is significantly enhanced in countries that are crucial for the Greek tourism economy, such as Germany, France and Russia. In particular, AEGEAN expands Greek connectivity with Germany in 9 destinations from 6 Greek bases, providing a total of 1,300,000 seats – an increase of 20%. Accordingly, the company connects 7 destinations in France with 5 Greek bases, providing 564,000 seats, while it also connects 4 destinations in Russia with 7 Greek bases, with a total of 615,000 seats available.
Source / Author: Aegean Airlines