AEGEAN AIRLINES S.A.
Passenger Traffic for 2008
Aegean Airlines reports a significant rise in passenger traffic for 2008. More specifically, passenger traffic rose by 14% to near 6 million passengers carried on 57,635 flights. At the same time, passengers per flight rose to 104 from 96 in 2007 period. It is worth mentioning that Aegean Airlines captures a market share of 29% in Athens International Airport, where 65 airlines perform flights. Aegean is the largest carrier in the airports 'Macedonia' of Thessaloniki and 'N. Kazantzakis' of Heraklion. In more detail, domestic traffic increased by 9% with Aegean Airlines carrying 3.7 million passengers. International traffic rose by 24%, reaching 2.3 million passengers.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented: '2008 was a year of important developments for Aegean. We launched services to London, Tirana, Limnos and Kefalonia early in the first half of the 2008. In the last quarter of the year we launched flights to Paris and introduced new direct services from Athens to Dusseldorf. Even though we have been operating these new destinations for a short period of time, we are very encouraged and thankful for the positive customer response to our services and our efforts to improve them further. Up to this moment we have received and are operating 15 brand new Airbus A320/321 and are going to receive 6 more in the next four months. By May of 2009, our scheduled fleet will have an average age of less than 2.5 years, giving us the opportunity to offer our customers an experience of unique quality and serve 17 of the 25 busiest international destinations overall from Athens International Airport.'
From March 2009, Aegean will expand its network by adding 5 more European destinations from its base in Athens. Aegean will begin non-stop services to Brussels, Berlin, Barcelona, Vienna and Venice, using brand new Airbus A320/321, and focusing on satisfying the market needs and offering quality services to its passengers. During the summer of 2009 Aegean's network will serve a total of 47 domestic and international routes. The company's fleet will be consisted by 31 aircraft and will operate more than 200 daily scheduled flights.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director, commented: '2008 was a year of important developments for Aegean. We launched services to London, Tirana, Limnos and Kefalonia early in the first half of the 2008. In the last quarter of the year we launched flights to Paris and introduced new direct services from Athens to Dusseldorf. Even though we have been operating these new destinations for a short period of time, we are very encouraged and thankful for the positive customer response to our services and our efforts to improve them further. Up to this moment we have received and are operating 15 brand new Airbus A320/321 and are going to receive 6 more in the next four months. By May of 2009, our scheduled fleet will have an average age of less than 2.5 years, giving us the opportunity to offer our customers an experience of unique quality and serve 17 of the 25 busiest international destinations overall from Athens International Airport.'
From March 2009, Aegean will expand its network by adding 5 more European destinations from its base in Athens. Aegean will begin non-stop services to Brussels, Berlin, Barcelona, Vienna and Venice, using brand new Airbus A320/321, and focusing on satisfying the market needs and offering quality services to its passengers. During the summer of 2009 Aegean's network will serve a total of 47 domestic and international routes. The company's fleet will be consisted by 31 aircraft and will operate more than 200 daily scheduled flights.