Aegean Airlines
Greece · AEGEAN · Active
Current Offers1 active
Airline Identity
History
Aegean Airlines was founded on 2 January 1995 and began commercial flights in May 1999, launching service from Athens to Heraklion and Thessaloniki with two British Aerospace Avro RJ100s before acquiring smaller rival Air Greece later that year. A first attempt to merge with flag carrier Olympic Air was announced in 2010, but European Commission regulators blocked the deal in January 2011 over monopoly concerns on Greek domestic routes. A renegotiated acquisition was announced in October 2012 and cleared by regulators in October 2013, with Aegean absorbing Olympic Air's non-public-service-obligation routes from February 2014 while continuing to operate Olympic as a separate brand. Aegean joined Star Alliance on 30 June 2010, becoming Greece's flag-bearing member of the global alliance network. Publicly traded and led by major shareholder Theodoros Vassilakis, the airline has grown into Greece's largest carrier by fleet size and passenger volume.
Current Operations
Aegean Airlines operates an all-Airbus narrowbody fleet of roughly 70 A320 and A321 family aircraft, serving around 118 routes across Greece, wider Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. Its network is centered on Athens International Airport as the primary hub, with significant secondary operations from Thessaloniki's Macedonia Airport and a growing base at Larnaca in Cyprus. As Greece's Star Alliance member, Aegean offers extensive codeshare and frequent-flyer reciprocity with the alliance's global partners through its Miles+Bonus program. Alongside sister carrier Olympic Air, which serves domestic and island routes under public service obligations, Aegean remains the dominant airline group in the Greek market.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.