Aegean airlines, which although privately owned has the status of Greece’s national carrier since its merger with Olympic Air in 2013, has been voted “Best Regional Airline in Europe” for the 12th successive year and the 13th year in 14 years. The award was made at the World Airline Awards run by the air travel rating site Skytrax, at the Paris Air Show on 20th June.
Aegean also came 2nd in the worldwide ranking for best regional airline, and 36th for best airline worldwide, well ahead of its competitors on the Greek holiday routes such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Eurowings, Tui and Wizzair. It also came 4th in the ranking for “Best Airline Staff in Europe 2023”.
Stella Dimaraki, member of the Aegean Board of Directors, and Marina Spyridaki, Corporate Affairs Manager, receive the Skytrax award for Best Regional Airline in Europe, with cabin crew members. Photo: Aegean
At the awards, the CEO of Skytrax Edward Plaisted said: “Aegean continues to deliver a remarkable standard of consistency in the awards survey, and this ongoing recognition from their passengers as the Best Regional Airline in Europe for the twelfth time is a simply fabulous achievement for the airline management and staff”.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, Aegean’s CEO, commented: “We are very proud to have been named the Best Regional Airline in Europe for an astounding twelfth time. A recognition that increases our responsibility towards our customers. Our success lies in the passion and tireless efforts of our exceptional team, who consistently go above and beyond to deliver an extraordinary travel experience. We also owe this achievement to the trust and loyalty of our valued passengers, whose unwavering support has been the cornerstone of our success.”
The World Airline Awards, introduced in 1999, are often referred to as the “Oscars of the aviation industry”. Entirely independent, they are based on online surveys, which for the 2023 awards took place between September 2022 and May 2023. The survey was carried out in 6 different languages, and 20.23 million eligible entries were counted in the results.
Aegean and Olympic Air between them carried 12.5 million passengers in 2022 and will offer a total of 18 million seats in 2023. This year they will cover a total of 165 destinations (30 domestic and 135 international) in 46 countries. Aegean is a member of the global airline alliance Star Alliance.
Olympic Airways
Olympic Airways was founded by Aristotle Onassis in 1957 following his purchase of the national carrier TAE Greek National Airlines from the Greek state the previous year. Under Onassis’ ownership, the airline flourished and became renowned for its lavish style. However, following the death of his son Alexander in a plane crash in 1973, Onassis sold the company back to the Greek state.
An Olympic Airways Douglas DC6B on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport in 1963. Under the ownership of Aristotle Onassis, the airline came to symbolise the glamour of air travel in Greece. Photo: RuthAS, Wikimedia.
Despite healthy customer demand, the airline was dogged by financial problems for decades and underwent several transformations, finally being merged with Aegean in 2013. It now operates under Aegean as Olympic Air, serving domestic routes with small turboprop aircraft and code-sharing with Aegean on international routes.