Aegean to expand EX-YU operations, launch new route

Greece’s Aegean Airlines will expand its operation in former Yugoslav markets next summer with the resumption of flights suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the launch of a new route. However, it will still maintain fewer frequencies to the region than it did prior to the global health emergency. The carrier will restore operations between Athens and Zagreb next summer with seasonal flights to commence on June 15. They will operate twice per week, each Wednesday and Saturday, with a mix of Airbus A320 and A320neo aircraft. The service is scheduled to last until October 8. Overall, the airline will operate 34 flights each way between the two cities next year. It will compete against Croatia Airlines, which runs seasonal operations via Dubrovnik.

Following a two-year hiatus, the Greek carrier will return to the Montenegrin market next summer. Aegean will restore two weekly flights between Athens and Podgorica on May 11, with the service to be maintained twice per week, each Wednesday and Sunday, until the end of the 2022 summer season on October 26. Flights will be operated by Aegean’s regional subsidiary Olympic Air. The carrier has filed the 72-seat ATR72 aircraft as its planned equipment on the route, although the airline still does not have the type in its fleet, utilising the ATR42 and the Dash 8 instead. Overall, a total of 49 flights are planned between the two cities for the duration of the coming summer season.

Aegean Airlines will also introduce a brand new seasonal route between Thessaloniki and Dubrovnik. The summer flights will be maintained three times per week from June 1 until the end of the summer season, although two of the three weekly services will be concluded at the end of September. The flights are scheduled to operate with the incoming ATR72 turboprops, with further details available here. It will complement the airline’s existing seasonal rotations from Athens, which will run up to four times per week next summer with the A320 and A320neo jets. The carrier has not scheduled any flights to Split next year, which were maintained up until the Covid-19 pandemic. Elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia, Aegean will switch equipment on its Skopje route to the ATR72s, while flights to Belgrade will be operated four times per week with the A320 and A320neos.

The Greek carrier told EX-YU Aviation News, "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 this market, 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 thirty 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”.