Aegean and SKY Express Post Strong Q1 Traffic Gains

Greece’s two largest carriers, Aegean Airlines and SKY Express, have kicked off 2025 with robust growth as they brace for another record summer season. Aegean carried 3.1 million passengers from January through March, up 8.4 percent year-on-year, while increasing its seat capacity by 8.8 percent to 3.86 million. Despite operating in the traditional off-peak winter period, the airline maintained a strong load factor of 80.2 percent, just 0.3 points below last year’s levels.

International travel accounted for much of Aegean’s expansion, with 1.9 million overseas travellers passing through its network in the first quarter—an uplift of 11.7 percent. Athens remained the primary gateway, handling 1.65 million international passengers, a 12.1 percent rise, while Thessaloniki saw a 6.4 percent increase. Domestic traffic also grew by 3.3 percent to 1.18 million passengers. Aegean’s all-Airbus fleet of 66 aircraft, including A320s, A321s and neos, serves 166 routes across 114 destinations, and 82 additional jets are on order to support further expansion.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Aegean will offer 21.5 million seats—1.8 million more than in 2024—with approximately 13 million on international services and 8.5 million domestically. New routes launching this year include direct flights from Heraklion, Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini to Istanbul; from Larnaca to Rome; and links to Erbil, Baku and other key markets such as the Iberian Peninsula, the Balkans, Egypt, Italy and Switzerland. Seven new domestic connections will strengthen links among Greece’s islands and main cities.

SKY Express, Greece’s home-grown low-cost carrier, recorded a 10 percent rise in overall passenger traffic and an 8.5 percent increase in revenues in the first quarter. Capacity grew 9.5 percent and flight numbers climbed 5.5 percent, reflecting its strategy of rapid network build-out. The airline saw international traffic surge by 27 percent, driven by new services launched over the past year.

Operating a modern fleet of one A320, ten A320neos, two A321neos and 14 turboprops—including four ATR42-500s and ten ATR72-600s—SKY Express serves 156 routes and 84 destinations across 24 countries. Its turboprop network connects 33 domestic airports, the largest such system in Greece, while its average aircraft age of just 3.5 years for Airbus jets and 2.5 years for ATRs underscores its focus on fuel efficiency and passenger comfort.

SKY Express expanded its international network from 15 to 22 destinations in 2024, adding links to Amsterdam, Istanbul, Vienna, Prague, Yerevan, Tbilisi and Tirana. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of seats offered on international routes jumped 33.5 percent. Key hubs Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion each recorded double-digit growth in passenger traffic, with increases of 10 percent, 5.5 percent and 8.8 percent respectively.

As tourism to the Greek mainland and islands is forecast to hit new highs this summer, both carriers are well positioned to capitalize on the surge. Aegean’s network densification and SKY Express’s low-cost expansion strategy complement each other, providing travellers with a broad choice of routes, frequencies and fares. With additional aircraft arriving and new destinations coming online throughout 2025, Greek aviation looks set for another year of record performance and industry leadership.

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