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Volotea Announces Athens Growth Plans

Three new routes and record seat capacity for 2024


Volotea aircraft

The airline plans to increase its capacity at the airport by 23% compared to 2023 and 142% compared to its base opening in 2018, reaching over 835,000 available seats. Volotea will also enhance its route offerings by introducing three new international connections, directly linking Athens to Naples, Brest, and Split, starting in Spring-Summer 2024.


In Greece, the company will expand its 2024 capacity by 13% compared to 2023, providing over 1.6 million seats within the country and introducing five new international routes from Greek destinations, including Kalamata and the islands of Corfu and Rhodes.


The airline also celebrated the ongoing success of its partnership with Aegean Airlines, which was established in 2021. The collaboration between the two airlines expanded significantly this year, with the number of codeshare flights expanding to 95. Out of these, 34 are operated by Volotea, 46 by Aegean, and 15 are overlapping, available through both airlines' sales channels. The agreement is one of three strategic partnerships Volotea has with leading European airlines, including TAP Portugal and, most recently, Eurowings, the domestic carrier under the German Lufthansa Group, further strengthening the airline's position in international markets.


Since 2012, Volotea has firmly established itself in Greece, currently operating across an extensive network of 13 Greek airports, encompassing Athens, Cefalonia, Corfu, Heraklion/Crete, Kalamata, Karpathos, Mykonos, Preveza/Lefkada, Rhodes, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, and Zakynthos. Throughout 2023, the company has experienced substantial growth in the market, introducing eight new routes connecting key Greek airports to domestic and international destinations, such as Athens to Toulouse and Cagliari, Santorini to Bilbao and Palermo, Heraklion to Bordeaux, Rhodes to Nantes, Kalamata to Nantes, and Karpathos to Naples. From January to October 2023, the airline facilitated travel for over 1.2 million passengers to and from the country, with 47% of this passenger volume linked to Athens Airport.


In 2024, the company plans to offer over 1.6 million seats in the country, a 13% increase compared to 2023, and introduce, on top of the new Athens routes, five new routes from Greek destinations, connecting Corfu, Kalamata, and Rhodes to Lille, as well as Kalamata and Rhodes to Lyon.


ABOUT VOLOTEA

Volotea was founded in 2011 by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, also previously founders of Vueling. It is one of the fastest-growing independent airlines in Europe in the last decade, increasing its fleet, routes served, and seats offered year-on-year. This year, the airline has celebrated a milestone of carrying 55 million passengers throughout its network.

Volotea reaches more than 100 airports and is currently based in 19 medium-sized European capitals: Asturias, Athens, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Cagliari, Florence (new in 2023), Hamburg, Lille, Lyon, Lourdes, Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Venice, and Verona. The airline has announced its 20th base in Europe and 9th in France in the city of Brest, Brittany, with operations starting in April 2024.

In 2024, Volotea will operate more than 450 routes (with over half exclusive), offer close to 13.3M seats (+18% versus 2023), and fly approximately 78,000 flights. The airline operates a fleet of 41 Airbus A319 and A320.


Prsentation of Volotea and Athens International Airport

Volotea is working towards achieving a more sustainable future in aviation and has committed to reducing 50% of its CO2 emissions per passenger and kilometer by 2025 (versus 2012), 5 years before than the original target. To date, Volotea has launched over 50 sustainability initiatives that have already driven a reduction in carbon footprint per passenger and kilometer by more than 45%. Since 2022, the company has been working on developing emission-free alternative technologies, operating Airbus' internal shuttle service with 34% of sustainable aviation fuel, and collaborating with manufacturers and the industry so that these fuels (now difficult to access) can be developed and become widespread as soon as possible.


Volotea, with a workforce of 1,820 employees, actively boosts connectivity within the territories where it is based, while contributing to their economic development and enriching the cultural landscape through impactful

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