Aegean-Sky Express: The price war in Greek airlines

Recently, a constant tug of war is being played out between the two Greek airline companies, Aegean and Sky Express. A tug of war that is primarily driven by a price war, in which both companies have engaged with occasional offers and specific promotional actions for a limited period of time.

However, what is mainly observed is the fact that Sky Express places significantly more importance on its pricing over time, while Aegean seems to operate with the confidence of being the market leader, maintaining or even increasing the ticket prices they offer to their customers, especially during peak periods and higher demand. A trial to book a ticket for the election weekend, where many are those who travel to their particular homeland to vote, will give you a dimension of the policy followed by Aegean. In fact, there are quite a few who turn to Sky Express in search of a viable alternative, which will ensure tickets at a better price with slightly fewer services on board.

Increased cost of air transport

Overall in the broader aviation market, the increased fuel costs and intense inflationary pressures combined with high demand for travel have driven ticket prices to high levels. It is indicative that the prices of airline tickets for Greece have recorded an increase, which during this year and at specific times ranges from 20% up to 30% compared to 2022. However, there are cases where the increase is smaller and is around 10%. Whereas Greece was once counted among the affordable or economical destinations, this is no longer the case. Indeed, our country is more expensive compared to other destinations in the broader Mediterranean basin such as Spain or Italy.

Strong competition between the two

In the game of competition, new destinations come into play, which increase the transportation work of the two Greek aviation companies' interests. Aegean, for example, announced a few days ago 18 new routes to 14 countries for the winter of 2023. In its network, as was made known yesterday, new destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and Europe are included, with the airline connecting Athens with Dubai, Luxor, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Innsbruck (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Chisinau (Moldova), and for the first time, Cairo with Thessaloniki.

In the first half of 2023, Aegean carried 2 million more passengers on its planes compared to the corresponding half of the previous year. This is due to the fact that the largest Greek airline is expanding its footprint abroad. New destinations and countries bring more tickets and revenue for the company.

On its part, Sky Express last spring added new routes, increasing the available seats by 20% with routes to 12 countries and 34 destinations within the country.

Furthermore, this year, the first two AIRBUS A321neos were added to the Sky Express fleet, enhancing routes to and from London and Paris. The company already serves routes to Brussels, Larnaca, London (Gatwick), Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, and Sofia. For this summer, additions include Amsterdam, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Copenhagen, Billund in Denmark, Weeze in Germany, Kosice in Slovakia, Warsaw, and the cities of Gdansk, Poznan, Katowice, Rzeszów, and Wroclaw in Poland, Bucharest, Timisoara, Iasi, Targu Mure?, Cluj-Napoca, and the city of Sibiu (Transylvania) in Romania.