Aegean Airlines has given a trading update today for the third quarter and nine-month period ending September 30th. Unfortunately for the Star Alliance member, the news wasn’t good, despite having carried two million passengers.
The Athens-headquartered airline reported a net loss after tax of 187.1€ million ($222.6 million), which equates to a 67% decline in revenue compared to the same period last year.
The losses came despite a partial lifting of travel restrictions in July and the gradual return of international flights bringing vacationers to mainland Greece and the islands.
As for Greek nationals, many of the destinations that they historically visited remained inaccessible due to travel bans imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Aegean flew to 78 destinations in Q3
During the third quarter of 2020, Aegean operated 49% of the flights it had operated in 2019 and saw passenger traffic decline by 62% based on 2019 traffic figures for the same period.
Despite the hardships placed on airlines by governments trying to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, Aegean Airlines still managed to fly to 78 domestic and international destinations.
Overall revenue reached 342.5€ million ($407.2 million) for the nine-month period and was well down compared to the 1.031€ billion ($1.225 billion) it took in for the equivalent period in 2019.
When speaking about the results in an Aegean Airlines press release, CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said:
“During Q3, we also resumed our international operations, wherever possible, implementing strict health measures onboard our aircraft. We are proud that our efforts have been recognized by Skytrax, with the Company receiving a 4-star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating. We welcomed two million passengers and managed to limit losses to one-third of the losses recorded in the previous (Q2) quarter.”
“For the winter 2020/21 season, the second wave of the pandemic, renewed travel restrictions, and recent lockdowns across Europe and Greece will limit our activity to levels lower than the Aegean Airbus respective 2019 period.”
“The possibility of the initiation of vaccine distribution in early 2021, as well as the adoption of common travel protocols, could potentially allow for a gradual and partial recovery as 2021 progresses. We continue to focus on the necessary flexibility to cater to the needs of our customers in a constantly changing environment while also exploring possible measures to support our financial position.”
Cash and short-term financial investments reached 433.3€ million ($594.9) at the end of September, while borrowings outstanding bank debt and bond loan reached 290€ million.
Aegean receives its second Airbus A321neo
In other Aegean Airlines related news, the all-Airbus airline took delivery of its seventh NEO aircraft and its second Airbus A321neo on November 21.
The aircraft is part of an order for 46 A320neo family jets that the Greek airline has placed with the European planemaker.
Globally it has been a tough year for every airline, and while Greece did manage to salvage a bit of its summer holiday visitors, the numbers were way down on the previous year.
