Aegean to expand EX-YU operations, add three new routes
Greece’s Aegean Airlines will expand its operation in former Yugoslav markets this coming summer with the resumption of flights suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the launch of three new routes. 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 this 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 this 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 this 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 will utilise its new 72-seat ATR72 aircraft which will represent a slight capacity decrease on the previously used Dash 8s. 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 three new seasonal routes. The carrier will launch two weekly flights from both Heraklion and Rhodes to the Serbian capital. Services will commence on June 2 and June 3 respectively. Operations from Heraklion will run each Tuesday and Thursday, while the Rhodes service will be maintained on Mondays and Fridays. The airline will deploy its 206-seat A321 aircraft on both routes. Flights will operate until September 29. Overall, Aegean has put 7.035 seats on sale each way between Heraklion and Belgrade and a further 6.834 each way between Rhodes and the Serbian capital. Tickets are on sale through the airline’s website. The carrier had previously only operated charter flights from the Greek islands to Belgrade, without the possibility of booking a ticket directly with the airline. It will face direct competition from Wizz Air, which will resume its seasonal flights between Belgrade and Heraklion on June 16 with a two weekly rotation. Furthermore, Air Serbia operates a significant number of charter flights in cooperation with tour operators to both island airports. Aegean’s flights between Athens and Belgrade will run four times per week with the A320 and A320neos.
The Greek carrier will also introduce new operations between Thessaloniki and Dubrovnik. The summer flights will be maintained three times per week from June 1 until the end of the season, although two of the three weekly services will be concluded at the end of September. The flights are scheduled to operate with the ATR72 turboprops. It will complement the airline’s existing seasonal rotations from Athens, which will run up to four times per week during the summer with the A320 and A320neo jets. The carrier has not scheduled any flights to Split this 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, which will be maintained twice per week.
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