AEGEAN AIRLINES awarded by era with the "Silver Award Airline of the Year 2005/6"

Monday, 17-10-2005



ERA – the European Regions Airline Association – awarded Greece’s AEGEAN AIRLINES the “Silver Award Airline of the Year 2005/6”. Aegean Airlines’ General Manager Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis accepted the award on October 13th, in a prestigious ceremony held in conjunction with the Associations’ annual General Assembly in Gothenburg, Sweden, with 600 international press and airlines’ delegates.


Mike Ambrose, General Director of ERA, Dimitris Gerogiannis, General Manager of AEGEAN, Antonis Simigdalas, Chief Operations Officer of AEGEAN and Filippo Bagnato, CEO of ATR.

“We are very pleased to take a medal for the second year in row. This prestigious distinction rewards the efforts of all my colleagues at Aegean Airlines and therefore I would like to dedicate it to them for their hard work to deliver our passengers a punctual and quality oriented service” said Aegean Airlines General Manager, Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis. “It also reflects the satisfaction of more than 17 million passengers and we would like to assure them that we will continue providing services with the Respect and Quality they deserve” concluded Dimitris Gerogiannis.

The ERA Airline of the Year Award is the most recognized Airline Award for this sector of the industry. The aim of the Airline of the Year Award is to recognize the best overall achievement in the previous 12 months by an ERA member airline based on a wide range of criteria such as commercial and marketing strategy, finance, environment, operational efficiency and performance, product and customer service and industry representation.

In 2004 Aegean continued to strengthen its position in the region and demonstrated that persistent focus on the customer, service quality and innovation can drive sustained growth and profitability even under very adverse environmental conditions. Aegean achieved strong growth in 2004 and managed to post a second consecutive year of positive financial results. This was achieved despite the steep increase in fuel prices. In addition Aegean maintained top position in on-time performance at Athens International Airport. E-ticketing use multiplied and has now become a significant portion of Aegean traffic. The first half of 2005 has seen continued traffic growth, especially in the international routes. As of April, Aegean launched e-check-in for customers via the Internet. The biggest development in 2005 is the announced cooperation between Lufthansa and Aegean.

Factors which won judging panel credit were:

  1. "Making proactive use of opportunities within a changing market”.
  2. “A successful development in a difficult environment over a number of years”… “Made use of the opportunities available in that environment rather than be driven by them”.
  3. “Consistently high standards in the regional market”.
  4. “Impressively high level of internet sales”.
  5. Excellent participation and support for ERA.

ERA, is the only body representing the interests of the regional air transport industry in Europe. It is an Association of over 220 companies, including 67 airlines and over 150 associate and affiliate members comprising aircraft & engine manufacturers, international and regional airports and avionic suppliers and service providers.

Aegean Airlines – winner of the ERA “Bronze Award Airline of the Year 2000/1” and “Gold Award Airline of the Year 2004/5” – is the most dynamic airline in Greece growing at an average of 20% per year during the past five years. Since May 1999 has carried more than 17 million passengers, operates 19 aircraft on scheduled and charter flights to 60 domestic and international airports, covers 14 destinations in Greece and 12 international, employs more than 1.600 staff, is the only Greek airline offering electronic ticket (e-ticket) and e-check-in through www.aegeanair.com. In March 2005, Aegean Airlines was selected by Lufthansa as regional partner for code share flights beginning on 1/11/2005. As such, Aegean Airlines is the only Greek carrier that has been able to participate in an international partnership.