7% growth in total passenger traffic, 11% more passengers from last year at the international network and 3% more at domestic networkÂ
AEGEAN set a new passenger traffic record in 2019, reaching the 15 million passenger threshold, recording a 7% increase in total passenger traffic for 2019; a significant achievement marking 20 years of operation. More specifically AEGEAN and Olympic Air carried 14.99 million passengers in 2019, nearly 1 million more than the previous year, offering 17.85 million seats in total.
The increase resulted the repeatedly enhanced investment at the international network, which continues to be the main driver of growth with 8.7 million passengers, an equivalent to an 11% increase. This increase was driven both from the Athens hub (+11%) as well as the regional bases of Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes, Kalamata (+ 8%) where they are growing at a significantly larger pace compared to the general trend of the country, which shows signs of reduction.
Domestic traffic also reported a marginal increase of 3%, despite the remaining significant burden of increased passenger VAT, which remains for four consecutive years (2016-2019) at 24%.
Load factor rate improved by almost 1 percentage point (pp), from 83.9% in 2018 to 84.8% in 2019.
Total Passenger Traffic
| Â | Â 2019 | Â 2018 | Â % |
| Â Domestic |
6,296
|
6,122 |
 3% |
| International | 8,695 |
7,849 |
 11% |
| Total network | 14,991 | 13,971 | Â 7% |
| Â | Â 2019 | 2018Â | % |
| Athens International traffic |
6,584 |
5,930 |
 11% |
| GR international traffic (excluding Athens) | 1,919 | 1,781 | Â 8% |
Load Factor*
Â
| Â | Â 2019 | Â 2018 | Â % |
| Total |
84,80% |
83,90% |
+0,9% (pp) |
*Scheduled Revenue passenger km divided by Available Seat km
Dimitris Gerogiannis, CEO of AEGEAN, commented “We achieved an 11% growth in international traffic and a 7% overall for 2019 by expanding our capacity mainly at the beginning and end of the traditional tourist season. We will continue to invest in expanding the tourist season and by offering enhanced quality services for our customers as this is at quest for achieving both sustainable development and growth for the company, tourism industry and the country.”
About AEGEAN
ΑEGEAN and its subsidiary Olympic Air carried 15 million passengers in 2019. The 2020 itinerary covers a network of 155 destinations, 31 domestic and 124 international in 44 countries. By the end of the year, flights will be carried out with 65 planes, including the first 6 Airbus A320/321neo aircraft expected in the first half, making the fleet one of the youngest in Europe. AEGEAN is a member of STAR ALLIANCE, the largest global airline alliance. The Company has been honored, for the ninth consecutive year and tenth time in the last 11 years, with the Skytrax World Airline award, as the best European regional airline in 2019.
