AEGEAN Operates More Flights in First Quarter 2018

AEGEAN, a member of Star Alliance, started this year with improved load factors and efficient capacity management, the company’s CEO, Dimitris Gerogiannis, said on Thursday.

According to AEGEAN’s latest trading update, the Group’s consolidated revenue for the first three months of 2018 amounted to 165.4 million euros, 9 percent higher than the same period in 2017, while passenger traffic rose by 12 percent, reaching 2.4 million passengers.

The Group operated 3 percent more flights in the first quarter, offering 7 percent more seats and significantly improving its load factor from 76.8 percent to 81.2 percent.

“Higher occupancy and improved fleet utilization led to an improved performance in a seasonally weak period of the first quarter,” Gerogiannis said.

Traffic on the airline’s international network increased by 16 percent, with Athens International Airport (AIA) as its main contributor, recording an increase of 18 percent. During the the first three months of the year, domestic traffic grew by 9 percent.

Under these circumstances, net losses after tax stood lower at 30.8 million euros from 35.8 million euros in 2017. Cash and short term financial investments reached 350.5 million euros at the end of the third quarter period (March 31).

“Outlook for summer demand remains positive, despite the significant increase of competitor capacity,” Gerogiannis said, adding that recent further increases in fuel prices will have an impact on the company’s costs despite its effective hedging policy.

ΑEGEAN and Olympic Air carried 13.2 million passengers in 2017. The Group’s 2018 network covers 153 destinations (31 domestic and 122 international) to 44 countries.

In March 2018, AEGEAN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for the order of up to 42 new generation aircraft of the A320neo family.