Aviation

Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos last month welcomed Greece Airways to the Athens airport community. The new airline, a subsidiary of Air Scotland but with Greek participation, recently launched two weekly scheduled services (every Monday & Friday) that connect Athens to Glasgow.

Wizz Air, a new European low-cost airline that focuses on the Central and Eastern Europe markets, inaugurated Athens-Budapest flights last month. The CEO and general manager of Wizz Air, Jozsef Varadi, said he expects to fill 2,000 seats per week out of Athens and 100,000 seats annually.

Athens International Airport’s “Eleftherios Venizelos” was recently voted the best and safest airport of its kind in Europe and the second best in the world, according to an independent survey carried out by the Global Airport Monitor of the International Air Transportation Association.

SkyTeam airline representatives here in Greece arranged two workshops last month – one for major corporate accounts within the Athens area and one for up-market travel agents in Thessaloniki. During both events, representatives of the member airlines explained the many advantages of the alliance. They also unveiled SkyTeam’s newest slogan: “working together to bring you seamless world travel.”

The Association of Airline Company Representa-tives last month called on government to change present legislation so as to allow a second international airport to be created in the Athens area because, according to the association’s president, Dinos Frantzeskakis, the Athens Airport is the most expensive airport in Europe.

The European Union (EU) will sign a long-debated air passenger data transfer agreement with the United States despite opposition from the European Parliament (EP), said Jonathan Todd, a spokesman from the European Commission (EC), late last month.

Sometime this month, says the government, we will see the completion of the competition called by the previous government for the privatization of Olympic Airlines. Until then, there will be no changes in the airline’s management, said Mihalis Liapis, Greece’s transportation and communications minister at a press meet.

The Greek Union of Air Travel Agencies (PETAGA) succeeded in winning a court case recently whereby travel agents are entitled to a minimum 7 percent commission on airline tickets sold.

Air Sea Lines SA, incorporated in Athens late last year, announced last month that it is ready to provide seaplane scheduled, “for hire” and charter passenger services connecting multiple island and coastal harbors within Greece.

Korean Air, a SkyTeam alliance member, begins flying between Prague and Seoul, South Korea, as of May 22 with Czech Airlines as its code-share partner. The Czech flag carrier will offer its passengers flights to Seoul and will also be the general agent for cargo.