Greece’s Aegean Airlines has markets in the former Yugoslavia firmly on its radar with the carrier recently submitting a bid to launch new flights from Skopje and/or Ohrid in return for financial support. Furthermore, the carrier will inaugurate services from Athens to Ljubljana and Split this summer and is also expected to introduce seasonal operations to Banja Luka. It will also upgrade capacity to Podgorica from the ATR turboprops to the Airbus A320s. Last year, Aegean launched seasonal flights from Thessaloniki to Dubrovnik, which will be restored this year, as well as scheduled services from Rhodes and Heraklion to Belgrade.
Commenting on its operations, Aegean Airlines said, "The former Yugoslav region is an important market for Aegean Airlines. Demand for these routes remain strong as passengers are able to travel to Athens and beyond. Our performance is satisfactory on these markets, as is the cooperation we have with partner airlines in the region. Almost all flights from the former Yugoslav republics to Athens offer very good point to point coverage, as well as access to Greek domestic destinations, connections to Cyprus and destinations in the Middle East and Southern Italy, which have proved popular with passengers from the Balkan region”.
The Greek carrier recently said it was looking to strengthen its role in Southeaster Europe. The airline purchased a 51% stake in Romania’s Animawings in 2021 and late last year said it was eyeing other acquisitions in the region. Aegean Airlines recently noted it was continuing to look into opportunities of aligning itself closer with Croatia Airlines, which could potentially lead to a strategic partnership between the two Star Alliance members. Just prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, Aegean confirmed it had submitted a non-binding bid for the acquisition of Croatia’s national carrier. The next phase was to include direct talks between the Greek airline and the Croatian government. However, the process was halted in March 2020 as the global health emergency hit the aviation and tourism sectors.
This week, the Macedonian government is evaluating the three bids it received for the launch of new routes from the country, one of which is from Aegean. In order to be eligible for the financial assistance, the Greek carrier must introduce year-round flights from Skopje to at least one new destination that has been unserved from the city since last summer at the earliest, or new year-round flights from Ohrid, which can not be from the Greek capital. The airline currently maintains two weekly rotations between Athens and Skopje with the ATR72-600 turboprop, operated by its subsidiary Olympic Air.
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I find it really interesting to see what they plan to do in SKP.
ReplyDeleteI think in the end it will just be a new route from Larnaca. I just don't see them opening a base in SKP. But who knows.
DeleteUntil when did Wizz fly Larnaca?
DeleteFrom SKP I mean
DeleteI think it was until Covid.
DeleteSKP-LCA underperformed for Wizz. They made it a seasonal route before Covid.
Delete@09.25 abosolutely false information
DeleteI wonder why it was cancelled
DeleteIt's not false at all. It was turned into a seasonal route and did not operate at all from 2020.
Delete"On the other hand, flights to Larnaca were suspended at the start of the pandemic and have not been restored since."
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/01/wizz-air-terminates-two-skopje-routes.html
Larnaca was launched in July 2019 and ended when the airport shut down. Stop with the fake info
DeleteAnd the route was profitable, otherwise they wouldnt deploy A321 on the route but A320 instead, the flights were terminated cuz there were a lot of restrictions to enter in Cyprus for the macedonian citizens due to the pandemic.
DeleteWhy weren't they reinstated?
DeleteAnonymous 13:10
DeleteLack of crews.
Sure... only for LCA there was lack of crew
DeleteGreat news for BNX
DeleteI was being attacked when I said SKP-LCA won't work and seems like I was right. If Aegean reinstates SKP-LCA they will only do it if they get subsidies.
DeleteLargest demand to LCA from that area is from SKG and SOF and both have more than enough flights.
Slowly they have expanded a lot in ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteSo they are still interested in OU?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteStrategic partnership which is mentioned does not necessarily mean acquisition.
DeleteKakva bi to bila greska za A3.
DeleteLast I heard is that they plan to base 2-3 planes in SKP and offer them connection to the main capitals in Europe...
ReplyDeleteThat would be perfect. Is the plan to use ATR from Olympic Air or Airbus
DeleteIt would be great but I am not so sure. This would mean additional costs for Aegean. Housing crew, what would they do with catering with no facilities in SKP for it, they would have to hire a lot of new ground staff... I don't think the amount of subsidies being offered by the government could justify all the costs they would generate from such a move.
DeleteGosh where did you hera something like that? Dont troll us :)
DeleteLol.... again with the fairytales
DeleteSoon Animawings will be renamed as Aegean Romania.
ReplyDeleteAnimawings(Aegean Romania) will fly to 12 destinations from Bucharest this summer. By the summer, the name will be changed to "Aegean Romania", and the airline is considering options for flights from Bucharest to Heathrow. Inside information!
DeleteIn addition, 2 A320s will join the fleet by the start of the summer season!
😉😉😉😉
I don't know for information for own operations in Macedonia!
The new logo would be this:
Deletehttps://boardingpass.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/aegean-ro-1.png
Looks good
DeleteAccording to ATH airport wiki page A3 will launch 27 new routes this year.
ReplyDeleteSome of them for the first time and some which are resumptions of routes not flown since Covid started.
They are also launching a lot of new routes from their other bases in Greece and Cyprus.
I am interested to see the development of their Romanian subsidiary Anima wings especially after the demise of Blue Air.
It's also interesting that they seem to not have trouble finding air crews for all this extra flying.
Most airlines wouldn't have trouble finding enough staff if they offered a good enough compensation package for aircrews.
DeleteAre you paying attention ASL?
Aegean 27 new routes. Air Serbia 22 new routes. Jasmineeeeeee!!! Dje si? Kakva je kahva danas?
DeleteBruh
Deletepozdrav iz Rijeke
DeleteYes and how many flights of JU this Summer will be operated with wet leased aircraft?
I think OU launched the one weekly Munich Brac service just to calm PiR...... guess it didn't work lol
DeleteAegean has 27 new routes from ATH alone. More from their other bases too.
DeleteFrom SKG 4 new routes + Izmir,Dubrovnik and Tirana returning but flights not on sale yet also new charters and scheduled flights from HER, plans to SKP and plans to increase capacity in LCA can't compare that to JU please...
DeleteAnonymous11:32
Deletepozdrav iz Rijeke
Yes and how many flights of JU this Summer will be operated with wet leased aircraft?
I don't know, but JU will likely operate more flights this summer with wet-leased aircraft than OU will operate flights in total.
How come no one is bothered by all the leases Swiss has? They are sending their airBaltic A220 on a daily basis to Belgrade. So what's the problem if JU gets some A319s and A320s from other operators? What matters is that they are growing and expanding their network.
DeleteNemjee an airBaltic A220 is way better than the Bulgarian Aibuses that JU leases.
DeleteThey are definitely ready to expand and do some new things in the region. They are a great airline, so wish them all the best.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to love EX-Yu too so that's good!!
DeleteWith a Romanian AOC, Aegean can fly anywhere in the EU from Skopje or Ohrid.
ReplyDeleteThey can do the same with a Greek AOC too.
DeleteWhy couldn’t they do thay with their Greek AOC?
DeleteHappy that LJU is getting a new airline and route but I do wonder how it's going to be any different than in 2016?
ReplyDeleteMore travelers to Greece!
DeleteLJU is also the only destination in the region where BA is adding flights. They are cutting PUY, ZAG, SOF, OTP, BUD...
DeleteCut or suspended?
DeleteBA like most airlines in Europe has staffing and handling issues. They are trying to cut the least performing routes so that the operational chaos of summer '22 in not repeated.
DeleteDo the times from LJU offer good connections via Athens?
Delete@ 9:48
DeleteFrom what I saw, looking at tickets, unfortunately no. Perhaps someone else has a different experience?
That's a shame. I'm sure if they offered good connections the flights could be year round.
DeleteAnon 09.32
DeleteOnly thing is that they are cutting all around including Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Paris, Geneva.. so it's not only our region that is being reduced.
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHope they can make it work in this region.
ReplyDeleteBravo A3! 👏
ReplyDeleteAegean will be perfect for SKP-LCA or SKG!
ReplyDeleteSKP-SKG is not happening and it just doesn't make sense
DeleteSKP-SKG could work only if they timed the flights to connect with their SKG network to the rest of Europe, Middle East and Greek islands.
DeleteAnon 09:23 If you say so
DeleteWould OHD-SKG work?
ReplyDeleteIsn't it really close?
DeleteBy air yes, but using the roads I think you need to ride for 4-5 hours
DeleteMore like 3.5 hours.
DeleteIronic that Aegean didn't want to fly to SKP just a few years ago and now they are applying for subsidies to expand ops.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Sarajevo? Any plans to serve it?
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year.
DeleteExcellent news
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear about Podgorica capacity growth. That is a significant increase in seats.
ReplyDeleteSo it seems that SKP will be the only ex-Yu destination with Olympic Air ATR, correct?
DeleteSooner or later the A320 will carry passengers to SKP too.
DeleteNext year A3 A320 will be in SKP mark my words
DeleteI hope we see Aegean add some routes from Thessaloniki to ex-Yu cities next. I know they fly seasonally SKG-DBV but it would be nice if we see some more.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThessaloniki - Belgrade , Thessaloniki - Podgorica can work with an ATR on a year-round basis.
DeleteAnonymous 10:03
Delete+1
Aegean is a really interesting airline that has been growing like crazy. It was only a matter of time before they looked at ex-Yu in more detail..
ReplyDeletecant believe they would open something more then SKG from SKP when all the time they were not interested in offering proper transfer connections tto euroean cities via ATH. Looking at OU, JU and LOT they could easily fill a daily flight on their ATR ...
ReplyDeleteopening something else would be kinda absurd although i would LOVE IT
* more than SKG
DeleteGood for Aegean but what about SkyExpress? It looks like another very decent and neat product. Strange that they do not operate to Yugoslavia when they have the proper planes and network.
ReplyDeleteMaybe soon
DeleteSky Express seems focused in Western and Northern Europe expansion currently.
DeleteMaybe net year with more aircraft in their fleet.
Interestingly not a single Greek media reported that Aegean applied for the tender for SKP/OHD.
ReplyDeleteGreece has 20+ million tourists a year and growing so not surprised Aegean is expanding.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for them to start TATL flights.
DeleteI think it had around 30 million tourists last year.
DeleteThey’re planning to get widebodies big expansion coming soon
Deleteanon 15:07
DeleteWOW! Any more info about type of aircraft and destinations?
Doubt it will happen before ATH fixes its capacity constraints. In summer there are barely any gates available in the non-Schengen area. Mind you, Aegean will have a lot of competition in the long-haul market starting from EK which offers ATH-EWR then we have UA, AA, DL, AC, Air Transat and Scoot all offering long-haul flights on top of TK, LY, IB, LX... all sending widebodies in summer. Last year Delta launched BOS-ATH which seems to be performing quite well.
DeleteI think if A3 goes long haul ATH will give precedence to A3.
Delete"Southern Italy, which have proved popular with passengers from the Balkan region. "
ReplyDeleteNow that's interesting. Wonder which countries from the Balkans?
Albanian, Bulgaria and Romanian diaspora comes to mind.
DeleteSofia and Bucharest and Tirana have dozens of connections with Italy. What are their flights through Belgrade for?
DeleteSo you think just because there is nonstop service no one flies with one stop option. Great aviation industry knowledge on dispaly.
Delete@12.38 who talks about Belgrade here. Its about Aegean and ATH
DeleteATH also . OTP,TIA have more than ATH for Italy.
DeleteAgain you are displaying a big lack of knowledge by thinking people don't fly with a single stop because there is a nonstop option.
DeleteWell, look at Wizz Air's offer to Italy and Spain from TSR. From what I remember almost no destination has more than two weekly flights. For many out there, BEG might be a more convenient option as there are more flights and with it more flexibility.
DeleteFor those living in Bucharest the same applies.They might fly on Aegean because the price or their schedule suits them more. I don't know about Wizz Air in other markets but from Belgrade they are not that cheap.
Sky Express is growing fast too. Last year they carried 3.5 million pax. Perhaps they can start flights to Ex-Yu region soon.
ReplyDeleteThey’re getting A321neos this year maybe next year they can indroduce BEG
DeleteDidn't realize they had grown by this much.
DeleteThey carried more passengers than our regional airlines.
LJU is on sale since September already. Anybody knows how the sales are going?
ReplyDeleteKnowing that LJU-ATH was one of the busiest unserved markets from LJU I expect them to be good. Also ATH-LJU will upgrade to year-round for sure if they see demand is there same think they did to EIN and FLR last year where they upgraded them to year-round in summer because they saw that there is demand.
DeleteWith zero advertisement I don't think people even know about these flights. Not even Sierra5 reported about flights.
DeleteSierra5 mentioned it on 30 Dec 2022...
DeleteIt was published on exyuaviation on 24 September!
DeleteFinally Banja Luka Aegean seems to be a smart airline I think they’re gonna return to Zadar and launch Tivat next year as their ATH-TGD route is going pretty good
ReplyDeleteExactly, why let charter take your money if you can do it. BNX to Athens each flight was packed during summer.
DeleteThey will fly to BNX with A320. Super news for Banja Luka
DeleteThe thing with Aegean is that they offer great connections not only to Greek destinations but to the Middle East mainly which is really important.
ReplyDeleteDaily flights to BEG would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteYou got it.
DeleteWell, this winter they kept the same number of flights as in summer so that's a start.A few times they even sent the A321.
DeleteIt's not easy for them given how strong JU is on BEG-ATH. This winter they had 10 weekly and in summer they plan 14. That said, in summer Aegean is revising their schedule to Belgrade so they might be more competitive. Overall, I don't think we can complain as Belgrade-Athens is offered almost three times per day in summer which is really good. Both airlines have a code-share agreement and they sell each other's flights. Naturally this being JU the codeshare pricing is useless.
Please keep LJU-ATH year-round and increase it to min. 5 per week!
ReplyDeleteOk
DeleteNo BNX as seasonal?
ReplyDeleteWhat will be interesting to see is how they end up performing on ATH-ZAG now that they are going to be flying to both LJU and BNX.
ReplyDeleteATH-ZAG already increased to 3weekly and year-round service :)
Delete