By Dimitris Delevegos
Aegean Airlines is set to offer its largest-ever route program for the upcoming winter season, introducing 18 new routes to 14 different countries. The airline's expanded network, announced yesterday, encompasses fresh destinations across the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and Europe. Among the highlights, Aegean will connect Athens to Dubai, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Innsbruck (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Kishinev (Moldova), and, notably, Cairo to Thessaloniki for the first time.
Starting from November 10, flights to Dubai will operate six times a week. The airline, responding to strong demand for this destination, aims to attract more connecting passengers, as mentioned by Aegean's Commercial Director of Pricing Policy and Network, P. Stamatis.
The selection of seasonal destinations like Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, and Innsbruck is geared towards providing travelers with suitable options for the winter season.
In light of yesterday's announcement regarding the 2023-2024 winter flight schedule, Aegean is expected to offer a 50% discount starting today for flights across the entire Aegean network from November 1 to mid-December.
Aegean's strategic goal, as highlighted by Ms. Stamatis and Yannis Rasoglou, Director of Network and Partnerships, is to extend the summer season. For the first time, the airline will operate seven summer routes from Athens to Bristol, Birmingham, Malaga, Bilbao, Tallinn, Riga, Tunisia, and Barcelona from Thessaloniki. Additionally, Aegean will continue scheduled flights to and from Rhodes, Heraklion, and Kalamata until November. It will also run charter flights from Rhodes in collaboration with foreign tour operators, offering 35,000 seats to 22 European destinations in eight countries from October to December and from February to May 2024.
Moreover, most of the new season's destinations will be accessible from the first weeks of March instead of the customary Easter launch. Aegean is also increasing the frequency of flights to established routes, including Frankfurt, which will receive a second daily flight from Athens.
The robust winter schedule comes on the heels of Aegean Airlines' strong performance in the first nine months of the year, during which it carried 30% more passengers, totaling 11.9 million, with 7.1 million on the international network. In the third quarter of this year, Aegean transported 17% more domestic passengers and 18% more international passengers, reaching a total of 5.3 million.
Overall, in the first nine months of the year, international passenger traffic on Aegean's network to and from Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos airport surged by 38%. In the same period, the increase in international passenger traffic at Thessaloniki's Macedonia airport exceeded 45% compared to the previous year.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
