6 new aircraft, 1.5 million additional seats, growth throughout Greece with a total capacity of 19.2 million seats
Aiming for 2020 to mark the starting point for greater growth and extroversion, AEGEAN invests in the further expansion of its network and the overall expansion of its business activity. With a significant capacity increase to 19.2 million seats, 1.5 million additional seats compared to 2019, AEGEAN will be operating in 155 destinations with 65 aircraft, including the first 6 Airbus of A320 / 321neo family expected to join the AEGEAN fleet by the first half of the year.
AEGEAN's 2020 growth strategy rests on three pillars:
- The expansion of its activity and presence in Thessaloniki, as well as the Corfu base, reaching 8 bases in total.
- Continuous investment and focus on Athens, as the main hub of the company
- The constant ongoing efforts for the extension of Greece's tourism season
In this context, the company adds 11 new routes to its international network flight schedule from the bases of Athens, Thessaloniki and Corfu. AEGEAN is also adding 3 new destinations to its network directly to Birmingham, Paphos, Bilbao. Moreover, the company plans to increase capacity in another 47 international routes, adding 1.1 million seats to its annual activity and bringing the total capacity up to 11.4 million seats.
Specifically, AEGEAN has planned a plan of robust extroversion and potential growth for the city of Thessaloniki, with routes to Barcelona, Brussels, Rome, Milan, Zurich, Berlin, and an increase in international capacity by 25%. The company adds a total of 8 new destinations from Thessaloniki (6 international and 2 domestic), and invests in the upgrade of the overall passenger experience with a new 500m2 lounge.
At the same time, aiming to expand the coverage of the key tourism markets, AEGEAN is establishing a new base in Corfu, constituting its 8th base in Greece and Cyprus. In 2020, a scheduled route will be directly connecting Corfu to Paris, while 12 charter destinations will be added, offering additional 95,000 seats compared to the previous year, meeting thus, the island's tourism demands.
Athens remains a landmark-destination for the overall performance of Greek Tourism in general, and AEGEAN in particular, but also serving as the company’s main hub for access to the country's smaller islands. Τhe significant increase in capacity of the Athens network, planned for 2020, will once again stem from frequency increase in existing routes, expanding timetables for more routes, as well as the addition of four new destinations (Bilbao, Nuremberg, Paphos, Birmingham).
Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, CEO of AEGEAN, stated: “2020 constitutes a new beginning for AEGEAN, as we are further investing in our network and overall activity from 8 bases in Greece and Cyprus. With 11 new routes, 1.5 million additional seats and 19.2 million seats in total, and of course with the addition of the first 6 A320neo family aircraft to our fleet, we create a new growth potential for our company. This year, along with the expansion of our Athens activity, the strengthening of Thessaloniki, and the new base in Corfu, contribute as key elements to our flight schedule. We believe that through the implementation of our business plan, as well as strategic partnerships we implement with cities and regional authorities of our country, we gradually develop the appropriate product mix for the diffusion of tourism product, and the overall enhancement of its qualitative characteristics.”