AEGEAN receives the first A320neo aircraft
AEGEAN and Airbus celebrated the delivery of the first A320neo for Aegean’s fleet, in Toulouse, Thursday December 19th.The aircraft is the first of a total order of a minimum of 46 aircraft of the A320neo family expected to be received by the end of 2024 and is valued at circa 6 billion dollars in list prices. It should be noted that the initial order of 30 aircraft to Airbus signed on June 2019 has already been extended with 16 additional identical new aircraft from major lessors.
Following an initial induction and preparation period to conclude the relevant support planning and training processes the new aircraft will be incorporated in the company’s fleet and is expected to initiate commercial flights around mid-February. Indeed until, July 2020 the company will receive 6 new aircraft of the type in total, in order to best serve its planned network of 155 destinations and 19.2 mil. offered seats with 65 aircraft for 2020.
The new A320neo aircraft of AEGEAN, will be powered up by the advanced Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines which are expected to contribute to a substantial reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions levels per flight and passenger flown, while also significantly lowering the noise footprint. In addition the reduced fuel consumption will serve to enhance AEGEAN’s competitiveness, as well as to offer range extension and enable the company to fly to new destinations. Finally, the aircraft will provide an excellent platform for the development of new -mainly digital- services, for the company’s passengers.
It should be noted, once again, that the 46 Airbus A320neo family aircraft order by AEGEAN constitutes the largest private sector investment in Greece.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, AEGEAN CEO commented: “The delivery of the first state-of-the-art Airbus A320neo is a significant milestone for our development and competitiveness. AEGEAN already operates the most comprehensive network in terms of seat capacity and number of destinations ever served by a Greek airline and we intend to continue to invest in its development to the benefit our customers. For our people the new aircraft are a platform that will allow us to create innovative services for our passengers, but also a great multiplier of their capacity for further professional development”.