One year has passed since the merger of Aegean Airlines and historic Olympic Air and the former presented its plans for the future. Among others, Aegean Airlines Vice President Eftihis Vasilakis underlined that the company is entering a new growth orbit, investing 300 million euros for the purchase of seven brand new Airbus 320s within the next two years. Speaking at a press conference on the occasion of one year since the merger with Olympic Air, Vasilakis said that the two companies covered a network of 120 destinations in 33 countries with 13 million available seats, 1.2 million more compared with the pre-merger period. He also said that the airline currently owns a 50 aircraft fleet, two technical hangars, employs 2,400 people and recorded a passenger traffic of 9.8 million. The Greek airline has also scheduled a radical renewal of its fleet through an international tender, with priority to be given to aircraft bought in 2007. The company aims to raise its fleet to 70 aircraft by 2023, covering 350 destinations, with a passenger traffic of 15 million. Furthermore, Vasilakis confirmed Aegean Airlines’ interest in Cyprus Airways commenting that: “We are interested in the development of Cyprus and the development of Greece through Cyprus.” The company’s annual turnover is 920 million euros and its contribution to the state economy through taxes and air duties on 2014 reached 280 million euros, from 248 million euros in 2013. As Vasilakis noted, the airline company also made a large contribution to the country’s promotion and growth of tourism. According to a research on Greek tourism conducted by the Anna Euro Foundation earlier this month, Aegean Airlines tended to be the airline of choice for tourists entering the country and sold 216,771 seats just in August.
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