Greek carrier Aegean has reported annual passenger traffic passed the 13 million mark in 2017 for the first time.
The year-on-year increase of 6% to 13.2 million means the airline carried 750,000 more passengers that in 2016.
The carrier said the increase in traffic was entirely due to the improved utilisation of the network as the number of flights operated in 2017 was not higher than in 2016.
The carrier’s international programme was the main driver of growth with 7.3 million passengers, an increase of 9%.
The parent of Olympic Air said, despite an increase in the number of competitors, domestic traffic also increased.
This reached 5.9 million passengers, up from 5.7 million in 2016, with frequent and appealing fare offers leading to higher load factors.
The strengthening of the Athens network has been the main focus of investment.
International passenger traffic increased by 15%, while total traffic from AIA increased by 9%, with Aegean surpassing 10 million passengers for the first time.
In 2017, Aegean said it achieved historically high load factors which increased to 83%, compared to 77% in the previous year.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, managing director of Aegean, said: “We concluded 2017 with positive results, achieving the main quantitative and qualitative targets that we had set out for the year.
“We utilised our fleet more effectively, achieving historically high load factors. We have strengthened our position in our key Athens hub, contributing once again to its growth and development.
“At the same time, we continued to promote local products and destinations on our flights.
“We begin 2018 by planning 18 new destinations and a total of 700 thousand extra seats.
“The optimal utilisation of the winter months is the common goal; a goal in which we, as well as other industry stakeholders, the airports and the State need to invest, with the right policies and products, in order to provide a solid foundation for the necessary investments, which will lead to the further development of Greece’s Tourism product.”