Globe Merchant Travel Blog

This is the airline that is competing with the ailing Olympic Airways……hmmmmm

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines (AGNr.AT: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday net 2007 earnings rose 39 percent to 35.8 million euros ($52.6 million) on strong growth in passenger traffic.

Aegean, which competes with state-owned Olympic Airlines [OLY.UL], flies domestic and international routes. Passenger traffic last year grew 18 percent as the airline carried a total of 5.23 million passengers on 54,685 flights.

“This year is also expected to be an important period as by the summer Aegean will be covering 6 out of the 7 most popular destinations from Athens, the most important new one being London, with brand new Airbus A320/321 aircraft,” the carrier’s Managing Director Dimitris Gerogiannis said in a statement.

Flights to London’s Stansted, twice daily, will start on May 15. Aegean will also launch a service to Tirana, Albania’s capital, from May 2. Its domestic network will expand with new flights to the islands of Limnos and Cephalonia.

Aegean expects to take delivery of 10 Airbus A320/321 aircraft as part of its investment programme, which targets a fleet renewal with 25 new aircraft by 2010. The Airbus jets will replace 15 Boeing 737 planes.

Last year, domestic traffic rose 10 percent to 3.35 million passengers, with international traffic up 35 percent to 1.87 million.

The carrier went public in June 2007.

Each Way From To

$99 Minneapolis, MN Aruba
$109 Pittsburgh, PA St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles
$110 Chicago, IL (ORD) St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles
$111 Baltimore, MD Aruba
$153 Pensacola, FL Aruba
$194 Cleveland, OH Amsterdam, Netherlands
$201 Philadelphia, PA Amsterdam, Netherlands
$248 Charlotte, NC Milan, Italy
$244 Boston, MA Milan, Italy
$246 New York, NY (LGA) Milan, Italy

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Purchase Ticket By Monday, February 25, 2008.
Travel Complete Travel to/from Amsterdam and Milan is valid from February 22, 2008-March 31, 2008. Travel to/from St. Maarten and Aruba is valid from February 19, 2008-March 31, 2008.
Advance Purchase A 3-day advance purchase is required for travel to Europe.
Minimum/Maximum Stay No minimum stay; 30-day maximum stay.
Cabin Coach.
Travel On All or part of service may be on (1) US Airways, (2) regional or jet aircraft operated by US Airways Express carriers Air Midwest, Air Wisconsin, Chautauqua, Colgan, Mesa, Piedmont, PSA, Republic Airways, Trans States, (3) United Airlines(R), (4) Bahamasair, (5) Windward Islands Airways International, (6) Lufthansa, (7) Spanair, or (8) bmi.
Blackout Dates Blackouts apply from March 20, 2008-March 25, 2008 for travel to/from Amsterdam, Milan, Aruba and St. Maarten.
Other The number of seats available for this sale is limited. All fares are subject to change until purchased.
Ticket Refundability Tickets are non-refundable
Itinerary Changes Changes to this reservation are subject to a $100 minimum change fee per passenger for travel to/from the Caribbean and Mexico. A $200 minimum change fee per passenger applies for travel to/from Europe.
Routing Select markets may require nonstop routing.
Roundtrip Travel Required Yes
Other Discount This is a discounted fare and may not be combinable with any other discounts. Travel vouchers, future travel awards or airchecks may not be used as a form of payment online.
Security Fee A September 11th security fee of $2.50 per flight segment will apply. A flight segment is defined as one take-off and landing.
Passenger Charge PFCs – Local airports assess PFCs up to $18 per passenger.
International Taxes Fares do not include international taxes and fees up to $114
Purchase Through usairways.com, telephone reservations, or US Airways airport or city ticket offices. Tickets purchased through US Airways telephone reservations (800-622-1015) are $35 higher. Tickets purchased at US Airways airports or city ticket offices are $45 higher. Fares purchased through travel agents may incur additional fees.

More International USAir e-savers

Sample fares are for travel beginning Monday (February 25, 2008) through Thursday (February 28, 2008) and returning Monday (March 3, 2008) through Thursday (March 6, 2008). Additional taxes and fees apply.*
From: To: Each-way:
Chicago (ORD) Cancun (CUN) $181
Chicago (ORD) Mexico City (MEX) $196
Denver (DEN) Cancun (CUN) $181
Denver (DEN) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $151
San Francisco (SFO) Mexico City (MEX) $171
San Francisco (SFO) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $216
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Aruba (AUA) $144
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Rio De Janeiro (GIG) $326
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Sao Paulo (GRU) $351
Search all E-Fares Book Now

Next weeks International E-Fares Specials
Sample fares are for travel beginning Monday (March 3, 2008) through Thursday (March 6, 2008) and returning Monday (March 10, 2008) through Thursday (March 13, 2008). Additional taxes and fees apply.*
From: To: Each-way:
Chicago (ORD) Cancun (CUN) $181
Chicago (ORD) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $196
Chicago (ORD) Sao Paulo (GRU) $351
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Mexico City (MEX) $176
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Rio De Janeiro (GIG) $326
Washington, D.C. (IAD) St. Maarten (SXM) $124
Search all E-Fares Book Now

Service is provided by United Airlines, except where noted.

** Portions of this service may be operated by the following carriers doing business as United Express® or as code share partners.

Chautauqua Airlines
Colgan Air
GoJet Lufthansa
Mesa Airlines
Republic Airlines® Shuttle America
SkyWest®
TransStates Airlines
United Express® or are code share partners.

Search all E-Fares

Sample fares are for travel beginning Monday (February 25, 2008) through Thursday (February 28, 2008) and returning Monday (March 3, 2008) through Thursday (March 6, 2008). Additional taxes and fees apply.*
From: To: Each-way:
Chicago (ORD) Cancun (CUN) $181
Chicago (ORD) Mexico City (MEX) $196
Denver (DEN) Cancun (CUN) $181
Denver (DEN) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $151
San Francisco (SFO) Mexico City (MEX) $171
San Francisco (SFO) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $216
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Aruba (AUA) $144
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Rio De Janeiro (GIG) $326
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Sao Paulo (GRU) $351
Search all E-Fares Book Now

Next weeks International E-Fares Specials
Sample fares are for travel beginning Monday (March 3, 2008) through Thursday (March 6, 2008) and returning Monday (March 10, 2008) through Thursday (March 13, 2008). Additional taxes and fees apply.*
From: To: Each-way:
Chicago (ORD) Cancun (CUN) $181
Chicago (ORD) Puerto Vallarta (PVR) $196
Chicago (ORD) Sao Paulo (GRU) $351
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Mexico City (MEX) $176
Washington, D.C. (IAD) Rio De Janeiro (GIG) $326
Washington, D.C. (IAD) St. Maarten (SXM) $124
Search all E-Fares Book Now

Service is provided by United Airlines, except where noted.

** Portions of this service may be operated by the following carriers doing business as United Express® or as code share partners.

Chautauqua Airlines
Colgan Air
GoJet Lufthansa
Mesa Airlines
Republic Airlines® Shuttle America
SkyWest®
TransStates Airlines
United Express® or are code share partners.

Search all E-Fares

International Weekend Getaway Fares

Travel Dates & Times for Weekend Getaway Fares
Depart anytime between Tuesday, February 26, 2008, and Friday, February 29, 2008.
Return anytime between Monday, March 3, 2008, and Wednesday, March 5, 2008.
Tickets must be purchased by this Sunday, February 24, 2008, 11:59 p.m. (CT).
Fares displayed are for round-trip coach class travel.

From/To/One Way Fare

Boston, MA (BOS) – London Heathrow, UK (LHR) $340
Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) – Brussels, Belgium (BRU) $583
Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) – Dublin, Ireland (DUB) $340
Curacao, Netherlands AN (CUR) – Miami, FL (MIA) $198
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) – Paris De Gaulle, France (CDG) $509
Miami, FL (MIA) – Aruba, Aruba (AUA) $219
Miami, FL (MIA) – Barranquilla, Colombia (BAQ) $359
Miami, FL (MIA) – Belize City, Belize (BZE) $559
Miami, FL (MIA) – Bogota, Colombia (BOG) $359
Miami, FL (MIA) – Curacao, Netherlands AN (CUR) $198
Miami, FL (MIA) – Tegucigalpa, Honduras (TGU) $509
New York Kennedy, NY (JFK) – St. Maarten, Netherlands AN (SXM) $239
New York Kennedy, NY (JFK) – Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) $360
Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) – London Gatwick, UK (LGW) $491
San Juan, PR (SJU) – Caracas, Venezuela (CCS) $569

Additional Fees and
Restrictions May Apply

Visit www.aa.com/netsaaver for additional fare offers for this weekend and other travel

The Court of Justice confirmed that Greece has failed to comply with a Commission decision adopted in 2005 finding that it had granted illegal and incompatible aid to Olympic Airways Services and Olympic Airlines, and asking for such aid to be recovered.
Vice-President Jacques Barrot, Commissioner in charge of transport, said in a statement: “I take note of this ruling, which follows several rulings by the European Courts and decisions by the Commission in this dossier. It confirms the urgent need for a viable and legally sound solution to this file. This is in the interest of the European aviation sector, of Greek consumers and tax-payers, but also of the employees of Olympic Airways Services and Olympic Airlines and is indispensable in order to preserve a continuity of service to remote areas in Greece.

Should it be the case that swift compliance is not achieved, I would have no choice but to propose to the College to file a new action with the Court of Justice, asking for the imposition of fines and periodic penalty payments.”

The yesterday’s (14 February) Court judgment concerns the Commission decision of 14 September 2005.

In that decision, the Commission found that Greece had granted, between 2002 and 2005, illegal and incompatible State aid to Olympic Airways Services and Olympic Airlines, which have taken over respectively the ground activities and flight operations of Greece’s State-owned flag carrier Olympic Airways. The Commission ordered Greece to recover the aid from the beneficiaries. Following Greece’s failure to do so, the Commission decided on 26 April 2006 to take Greece to the European Court of Justice. The present judgment by the Court supports the Commission’s stance regarding Greece’s non-compliance with the 2005 decision.

Between 1994 and 2000 the Commission took three decisions authorising public aid for the restructuring of Olympic Airways. In December 2002, however, the Commission found that further aid had been granted to the airline which was incompatible with the common market, and asked Greece to recover such aid. Greece failed to comply with this decision, which has in the meantime been largely upheld by the Court of First Instance on 12 September 2007. Following a judgment by the Court in May 2005 confirming non-compliance with the 2002 decision, the Commission filed an application for the Court to impose fines and periodic penalty payments on Greece, pursuant to Article 228 of the Treaty (18 October 2006).

On 19 December 2007, the Commission opened a new formal investigation into alleged illegal aid that may have been granted to Olympic Airlines and Olympic Airways Services since 2005.

Winter Samples
depart through 3/13
one-way based on round-trip
Seattle – Paris $214*
Philadelphia – Rome $219*
New York – Paris $223*
Los Angeles – Milan $225*
more Winter Webfares

Spring Samples
depart 3/14 through 4/30
one-way based on round-trip
New York – Paris $279*
Philadelphia – Venice $319*
Houston – Paris $351*
Washington D.C. – Paris $374*
more Spring Webfares