The Greek airline Aegean Airlines has become the 28th member of the largest global airline alliance, Star Alliance. After 12 months of adaptation and integration into Star Alliance, the largest Greek airline officially became a member today in Athens, in the presence of representatives from all 27 member airlines, including Croatia Airlines.
– Joining Star Alliance is a great honor and opportunity for Aegean. From now on, our customers will enjoy a higher level of service – said Theodore Vassilakis, President of Aegean Airlines. Greece is strategically important for Star Alliance due to its geographical position in the eastern Mediterranean and tourism. – We could not afford to be absent in Greece. Aegean brings experience in domestic and international flights to the alliance. For the alliance members, Greece is an important market, and Athens can become a hub for this part of the world with growing traffic and transfers – said Jaan Albrecht, CEO of Star Alliance. The Greeks expect that membership in this airline alliance, along with new direct flights, will help develop their tourism, which is experiencing a decline due to instability caused by the economic crisis. Aegean Airlines has arranged a merger with another Greek airline, Olympic Air, for which it is still awaiting approval from the European Commission, after which Olympic is likely to also become a member of Star Alliance. Albrecht announced that this expansion of the alliance will not stop here and that their focus is now on South America and Africa. (M. B.)
