Volotea increases capital by €100 million and welcomes Aegean Airlines

Volotea has strengthened its shareholder base with an injection of €50 million, of which €25 million will be paid by AEGEAN. The remaining €25 million will be paid by the company's current investors, including the management team led by CEO and founder Carlos Muñoz. Another tranche of up to €50 million is expected to be paid by the first quarter of 2025, with the same distribution.

 

If the contribution of the first tranche of AEGEAN were converted into shares, this would correspond to an acquisition of 13% of the shares of Volotea by the Greek carrier. If the second tranche is also paid and subsequently converted, AEGEAN's total stake in Volotea could reach 21%.

 

AEGEAN's entry into the shareholding structure of Volotea strengthens the financial structure of the Barcelona-based airline and also provides for a commercial Joint Venture between the two carriers, aimed at strengthening Volotea's strategic and financial position in Europe, to better address the upcoming developments in the sector, such as the approval by the European Commission of the merger between ITA Airways and Lufthansa, and the evolution of the competitive landscape of the European market. In addition, Volotea will be able to further strengthen its presence in Greece, focusing on growth and improving services in the country.

 

Since 2021, the two airlines have been linked by a bilateral agreement to market code-share flights on existing international routes in Italy, France, Spain and Greece, allowing customers of each carrier to benefit from a wider network of destinations . In this regard, the commercial Joint Venture signed today in ^Athens also includes the expansion of the code-share agreement's collaboration, as well as the optimization and delivery of coordinated and enhanced services, to ensure passengers have a wider choice in terms of connectivity. The operation will also lead to an increase in seats on sale and routes in Greece, in particular to the islands, but also to the activation of new international connections from France and Italy, never served before, for a total of 140 connections offered by the two companies. In addition, the positions of Athens and Thessaloniki as important international hubs will be strengthened and connectivity with the Greek islands will be optimized, in particular on the routes to Corfu, Heraklion and Rhodes.

 

 

Carlos Muñoz, Founder and President of Volotea, said: "Today is an extremely important day for Volotea, because this capital increase marks a significant milestone, financially, for our shareholders and strengthens the agreement made with AEGEAN as a strategic partner. We get to know AEGEAN and its team, led by its President, Eftichios Vassilakis, our partner for several years with whom we share the same philosophy, values and vision of consolidation of European airlines. We are extremely pleased with this new step in our successful partnership."

 

Eftichios Vassilakis, President of AEGEAN, said: "AEGEAN and Volotea may have different operating models and products, but they are complementary in many ways and share a customer-centric philosophy. We are investing in Volotea because we believe in the strategy and potential of its business model, but also to increase our distribution in three very important markets, France, Italy and Spain. With this operation, we will be able to join forces to provide more direct connectivity from these countries to regional airports in Greece. Carlos Muñoz and his team have done an excellent job to build the company and develop its route network, and we are very happy to join the other shareholders of Volotea in providing the necessary capital for its development. In addition, we strongly believe that in the future, as the two teams collaborate and understand each other's capabilities, further opportunities to work synergistically will be identified."

 

Volotea, recognized for its high quality of service and high customer satisfaction rate (NPS), has been named "Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe" by Skytrax (2023 and 2024) and "Europe's Leading Low-Cost Airline" at the World Travel Awards (2021, 2022 and 2024).

 

The carrier closed the last fiscal year with a turnover of 694 million euros, up 24.6% compared to the previous year, and expects to exceed 800 million euros in revenues in 2024, which promises to be the most profitable year ever. In addition, Volotea expects to achieve EBITDA of €110-120 million in the first nine months of 2024, compared to €100 million achieved in the same period last year. In terms of operations, the airline expects to carry between 11.5 and 12 million passengers in 2024 by offering more than 450 routes in 18 European countries.

 

By the Editorial Board of Avion Tourism Magazine

Text source and photo: Volotea Press Office

Photo: Copyright © Volotea