ATHENS, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Greece’s largest private airline Aegean Airlines (AGNr.AT) carried 6 million passengers in 2008, up 14 percent year-on-year thanks to a boom in its international business, the company said on Tuesday.
Aegean, whose main competitor Olympic Airlines [OLY.UL] is being privatised, said passengers on domestic flights rose 9 percent, while international routes saw a 24 percent increase last year.
The numbers outshone the grim overall international market. Carriers’ group IATA reported in December a 4.6 percent fall in passengers year-one-year, reflecting what it has called a “chronic crisis” in the industry.
Aegean has been renewing its fleet since it went public in 2007. In 2008, it received 15 new Airbus aircraft and added London, Tirana, Paris and the islands of Lemnos and Kefalonia to its destinations, as well as a direct flight to Dusseldorf.
“2008 was a year of important developments for Aegean,” said Chief Executive Dimitris Gerogiannis. “Even though we have been operating these new destinations for a short period of time our passengers’ positive reaction has been encouraging.”
Gerogiannis said Aegean will receive 6 new aircraft in the next four months, expanding its fleet to 31 aircraft. It will also add five new routes to Brussels, Berlin, Barcelona, Vienna and Venice in March.
The carrier reported a 21 percent drop in nine-month net profit, despite an increase in passenger numbers, due to high fuel costs and the strengthening of the dollar versus the euro.
The company said in October that high fuel costs could hurt its full-year profit but fuel hedging and strong cash reserves would help mitigate the downturn.
Aegean shares have fallen about 6 percent since the start of the year, underperforming the broader Greek market .ATG, which is down about 5 percent. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by David Cowell)