Aegean Airlines announced that it will invest 25 million euros in the Spanish airline Volotea, which has achieved significant growth since its launch in 2012, primarily serving underserved routes between mid-sized cities in Europe. They will also advance in matters of cooperation in distribution and other commercial areas.
According to Aegean through a statement, the initial investment is made by joining the existing shareholders of Volotea in a total capital increase of up to 50 million euros in the company, through a profit-participating loan convertible into shares. Additionally, they clarify, subject to the financial performance of Volotea in 2024, there could be a second tranche of the convertible loan for an additional amount of up to 50 million euros, of which Aegean would participate with another 25 million, increasing the capital of the Spanish airline by up to 100 million.
If Aegean’s share of the first tranche is later converted into shares, this would translate into a 13% stake in Volotea. If the second tranche is executed, this figure would rise to 21%.
“AEGEAN and Volotea may have different operating models and products, but in many ways, they are complementary and share a customer-focused philosophy. We are investing in Volotea because we believe in the strategy and potential of Volotea’s expandable model, but also to deepen our distribution reach in 3 highly significant source markets (France, Italy, and Spain) and join forces to provide greater direct connectivity from these markets to regional airports in Greece,” said Eftichios Vassilakis, Chairman of Aegean, also highlighting the work that Carlos Muñoz (Founder and CEO of Volotea) and his team have done in building the company’s network.
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“Today is an extremely important day for Volotea, as this capital injection marks a significant financial milestone with our shareholders, and the agreement that incorporates AEGEAN as a strategic and financial partner. We have known AEGEAN and their team as partners for several years now, and we share a similar philosophy, values, and vision towards European airline consolidation. We are extremely happy with this new step in our successful partnership together,” added Muñoz.
Aegean and Volotea also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to leverage synergies in distribution and commercial areas. The latter, they noted, will initially focus on cross-selling each other’s products on their respective websites, while they aim to jointly develop and exploit the international network to and from Greek airports like Heraklion, Rhodes, and Chania with key European markets like France, Italy, and Spain.
They also agreed to explore cooperation options in the provision of MRO services and flight simulator training by the Aegean group to cover some of Volotea’s needs in these areas.
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In 2023, Volotea transported 10.3 million passengers across more than 450 routes. Its 22 bases are mostly located in Spain, France, and Italy, which account for 90% of its operations, while those in Greece and Germany are responsible for the remaining 10%.
Its current fleet consists of 25 Airbus A320s with an average age of 15.5 years, and 25 A319s with an average of 20 years.
Aegean, for its part, transported 13.2 million passengers in 2023. Its fleet is composed of 29 Airbus A320s (14.3 years average age), 5 A321s (17.9 years), 13 A321neos (2.2 years), and 18 A320neos (2.4 years). They also have 13 A321neos and 2 A320neos pending delivery.
