- The airline opened its base on May 3rd.in Athens and multiplies by three its passengers in the year, exceeding 300,000 already.
- Volotea launches new routes to Strasbourg, Dubrovnik and Rhodes for 2019 and will serve Santorini, Heraklion, Mykonos and Venice this winter.
- A second Boeing 717 will be based in Athens allowing 55 local jobs to be created within a year.
Volotea, the airline of mid and small‐sized European cities, announces three new routes in Athens for next year to Strasbourg, Rhodes and Dubrovnik and offers 580,000 seats, increasing its capacity by 67%. Up to November 2018, Volotea has carried 300,000 passengers in Athens, three times more than in 2017.
Volotea’s base was inaugurated on May 3rd 2018 and the airline has carried 300,000 passengers with an average 95% seat load within this year. In the month of August, Volotea’s seat load has reached 100% in its flights.
Volotea is announcing today the launch of three new routes, increasing its capacity for 2019 by 67% with 230,000 additional seats, up to a total of 580,000 in Athens. The new routes will be operated as follows:
- Rhodes: From April, 35,750 seats and four flights per week on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
- Dubrovnik: From April, 14,000 seats and two flights per week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
- Strasbourg: From June, 5,000 seats and one flight per week on Wednesdays.
Volotea will serve from Athens a line-up of ten destinations: four domestic routes (Santorini, Mykonos, Heraklion and Rhodes), four destinations in Italy (Venice, Bari, Genoa and Verona), one to Croatia (Dubrovnik) and another one to France (Strasbourg).
Additionally, due to the success of the routes to Santorini, Heraklion, Mykonos and Venice will be operated during this winter season.
For 2019, Volotea will also more than double its winter capacity offering a total of 160,000 seats available in the first and fourth quarter in Athens airport.
“The positive results of Volotea since our base was launched in Athens have already allowed us to extend our operations this winter and reached record seat loads in these last months. In 2019, a new aircraft will be based in Athens to serve our new three routes and the increase in capacity all through the year, bringing also job opportunities and economic development”, said Carlos Muñoz, Founder and CEO of Volotea.
Yiannis Paraschis, the CEO of Athens International Airport, stressed: “Volotea’s decision to launch their base at our airport as of last May, has substantially contributed to the enhancement of our city’s connectivity, offering, at the same time, a wide range of options to the travelling public, both in the international, as well as in the domestic sector. We are therefore very pleased with the ongoing strengthening of the airline’s presence in our market, via the announcement of additional routes and a second aircraft based at our airport, as of the coming summer period. We wish our airline partner all the best and we remain committed towards supporting Volotea’s developmental plans to/from Athens“.
A second Boeing 717 will be permanently based in Athens, recruiting 25 local people who will join to its current team reaching 55 people. With two Boeing 717 based in Athens, the reinforcement of its commercial offer will allow adding new routes which will be reinforced to the current destinations already operated and frequencies will increase.
In order to promote the launch of the new destinations, a 48-hour flash promotion with tickets from €9 is available for bookings for Strasbourg, Dubrovnik and Rhodes in 2019.
Volotea’s Growth
Volotea has carried 20 millionth passengers since its first flight in 2012 and more than 4.8 million in 2017.
In 2018, Volotea has opened 58 new routes to serve a lineup of 293 routes, operating flights to 78 mid and small-sized European cities in 13 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Albania, Portugal, Malta, Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg. The airline expects to carry between 5.7m and 6.0 passengers at the end of 2018.
Volotea has currently twelve bases: Venice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Palermo, Strasbourg, Asturias, Verona, Toulouse, Genoa, Bilbao, Marseille and Athens. These last three have been inaugurated recently in 2018. Volotea will inaugurate a new base in Cagliari.
Volotea employs over 1,000 people in summer 2018, a year in which it added 250 new positions.
In 2018, Volotea operates its network with 32 aircraft, Boeing 717s and Airbus A319s. Both models are recognized for their comfort and reliability, with Volotea offering reclining seats which are 5% wider than the average in airlines.
The Airbus A319 is the aircraft model selected for its future growth and will allow the company to increase its passenger capacity by 20% to 150 seats and to serve longer routes.
The airline was selected by TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice 2017 as the best airline based in France, Italy and Spain in the “Europe Regional and Low Cost” category.
About Volotea
Volotea, the airline of European mid and small-sized cities, offers direct flights at very competitive prices. Since its creation in April 2012, Volotea has carried more than 20 million passengers across Europe and 4.8 million in 2017.
In 2018 Volotea operates 293 routes among 78 medium and small-sized cities in 13 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Albania, Portugal, Malta, Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg. The airline expects to carry between 5.7m and 6.0 passengers in 2018.
Volotea operates its network with 32 aircraft in 2018. Its fleet includes Boeing 717s and Airbus A319s.
