For 2023, SKY express is going to transport around 320,000 thousand passengers to and from Athens & Thessaloniki in Cyprus.
During 2022 the total flights were increased by almost 50% exceeding 49,000, covering 34 domestic and 24 foreign destinations.
In the context of an event held in Nicosia, SKY express with the support of Hermes Airports, celebrated the completion of two years of uninterrupted presence in Cyprus. Two years ago, the company chose Cyprus as its first international destination and since then, with consistency and quality, it connects the island with Greece and the whole world every day. In fact, as the receipt of the first AIRBUS A321neo coincided with the day of the event, Mr. Ioannis Grilos, Founder & President of the IOGR Group, of which SKY express is also a member, announced to those present that the name of the new aircraft will be “Cyprus”.
The event was graced with the presence of, among others, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Mr. Kostas Koumis and Mr. Yiannis Nikolaidis, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works.
The new AIRBUS A321neo of SkyExpress is named Cyprus
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Even during the pandemic period, SKY express won the bet as the only company that continued to fly maintaining the air connection of all its destinations. At the event, SKY express presented the key figures it has achieved since 2021 following a successful course, which creates value for Larnaca International Airport as well.
Within a period of two years, SKY express has ranked second at Larnaca airport with a market share of 16% and has transported a total of 411,000 passengers. More specifically:
· 3 flights from Athens daily all year round – 4,000 flights within two years
; 390,000 passengers from/to Athens
; 230 flights from/to Thessaloniki, 21,000 passengers
It is worth noting that, for 2023, SKY express is going to transport to Cyprus from and to Athens & Thessaloniki around 320,000 thousand passengers.
SKY express, with its year-round presence, offers more options to the passenger public with new connections, more itineraries and quality services, contributing at the same time to healthy competition and the creation of more competitive fares. By choosing Cyprus as its first international destination, SKY express has demonstrated its determination to invest long-term in the island's prospects.
This context also includes the operation of the ground handling subsidiary of the IOGR Group, Skyserv, at Larnaca International Airport, thanks to which it recorded comparatively fewer problems, in a period characterized as very demanding for all airports of Europe. In total, the IOGR Group employs more than 300 workers in Larnaca and Paphos.
By strengthening the connectivity of Cyprus, SKY express gives an even greater boost to the Cypriot tourism product and supports entrepreneurship and the Cypriot economy as a whole.
2022 was a unique year for SKY express:
· The total flights in 2022 were increased by almost 50% exceeding 49,000, covering 34 domestic and 24 foreign destinations.
· The company's passengers in 2022 almost tripled, reaching 3,500,000, also pushing the introduction of two AIRBUS A320neo into the fleet.
· In 2022 the company's total revenue more than tripled to €262 million, driven by higher growth in international flights.
· Average occupancy improved by 20 percentage points during 2022 a – demonstrating the dynamics of the company's commercial proposal, its operational efficiency, but also contributing to the restoration of tourist traffic close to the levels of 2019.
· It emerged as the European company with the largest increase in flying work, according to Eurocontrol.
· It is the only Greek airline that became an international Google case study. The use of the most advanced tools (travel insights) ranked SKY express among the top three European airlines that increased their online traffic compared to 2019.
It is worth noting that, with the addition of the first two AIRBUS A321neos to its fleet in 2023, SKY express will continue to have the newest, greenest fleet in Greece and one of the most environmentally friendly in Europe. A fleet that respects the Cypriot sky and contributes to the protection of the country's natural wealth: less CO2, 50% lower noise footprint, 25% lower fuel consumption.
As Mr. Gerasimos Skaltsas, Chief Commercial Officer of SKY express, emphasizes: “In the midst of the crisis, SKY express created a new era in air transport on the island. Today, two years later, we are strengthening our presence in Cyprus even more. We are working so that SKY express continues to lead the development in the field of aviation, supporting the Cypriot economy and society with new ideas, services, products and qualified personnel. The response of the Cypriot passenger public moves us. In addition, we cannot fail to make a special mention of the more than 100 travel agencies with which we cooperated during 2022 and are important and strategic partners for us, as our intention is to always be by their side.
For this reason, our cooperation is based on the flexible commercial policy of our company, which is reinforced at regular intervals with seasonal offers, which we implement systematically in Cyprus and are very well received and responsiveness. Everyone's trust is our strength. We continue together!”. The Managing Director of Hermes Airports, Mrs. Eleni Kalogirou said: “At Hermes we have as a strategic priority the development of connectivity both by attracting new airlines and by adding routes or increasing the existing ones and this can easily be understood if someone looks back on our 15-year history. We look forward to a close cooperation with SKY Express in the coming years as well, so that, together, we can further develop the connectivity of Cyprus and other destinations, besides Greece”.
