AEGEAN and Olympic Air passenger traffic increased by 6% in 2017. For the first time in the airlines’ history, the number of passengers surpassed the 13 million mark. More specifically, a historic record of 13.2 million passengers were carried; 750 thousand more than the previous year. It is worth mentioning that the increase in traffic is entirely due to the improved utilization of the network, since the number of flights operated in 2017 was not higher than in 2016.

Passengers traveled in the international network, which continues to be the main growth driver, amounted to 7.3 million passengers, recording an annual increase of 9%. On the other hand, despite the increased number of competitors, domestic traffic also increased, reaching 5.9 million passengers compared to 5.7 million in 2016, with frequent and appealing fare offers leading to higher load factors.

The strengthening of the Athens network has been the main focus of investment for yet another year. More specifically, international passenger traffic increased by 15%, while total traffic from AIA increased by 9%, with AEGEAN surpassing 10 million passengers for the first time, thus contributing to the traffic and tourist movement of the airport and the city of Athens.

In 2017, AEGEAN achieved historically high load factors, as a result of its successful commercial policy and efficient network management. Specifically, the load factor rate for the entire domestic and international network increased to 83%, compared to 77% in the previous year.

Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, Managing Director of AEGEAN, stated:

“We concluded 2017 with positive results, achieving the main quantitative and qualitative targets that we had set out for the year. We utilized our fleet more effectively, achieving historically high load factors. We have strengthened our position in our key Athens hub, contributing once again to its growth and development. At the same time, we continued to promote local products and destinations on our flights. We begin 2018 by planning 18 new destinations and a total of 700 thousand extra seats. The optimal utilization of the winter months is the common goal; a goal in which we, as well as other industry stakeholders, the airports and the State need to invest, with the right policies and products, in order to provide a solid foundation for the necessary investments, which will lead to the further development of Greece’s Tourism product.”