AEGEAN Airlines yesterday announced a raft of cheap flight deals from Larnaca on its website, including a one-way fare of €102 to and from Heathrow, available from Monday.
The new fare will no doubt be welcomed by Cyprus’ ailing tourism sector and cash-strapped British holidaymakers whose numbers declined from 1.1 million in 2009 to 996,046 in 2010 according to the Cyprus statistical service’s latest figures.
However, the deals are less good news for rival airlines whose fares were more than twice that of the Aegean offer yesterday.
For example, the cheapest BA and round trip fares including taxes, leaving on April 1st and returning on the 8th were GBP 412 €473 as of yesterday. Monarch airlines cheapest fare to the UK (Manchester) was €76, however return journeys started at €255, making the round trip more expensive.
Cyprus Airways’ (CY) current round trip rates for the same dates are €362 and CY spokesman Kyriacos Kyriacou said yesterday that the airline has not yet planned any summer deals.
Local residents looking for a Greek escape are also likely to switch to Aegean, who are offering a €59 one way ticket offer between Larnaca, Thessaloniki or Heraklion available online.
The move is a sign of Aegean’s confidence that more passengers want to fly to Cyprus from Greece and the UK; currently 55 per cent of flights to Cyprus are from these countries.
Aegean’s vice chairman Eftychios Vassilakis said: “We believe the London market to Cyprus has the potential to grow… We considered that our presence in Cyprus has grown to the point where we can offer direct flights to more Greek destinations and for the first time, to the biggest European destination, London.
The airline will also seek to capitalise on increasing numbers of Russian holidaymakers to the Mediterranean, with a new route between Athens and Moscow.
If these Russian arrivals continue to increase – as they did between 2009 and 2010, when arrivals rose from 148,734 to 223,861 – then Aegean may well extend to Cyprus.
The airline’s Managing Director Dimitris Gerogiannis said: “We are moving ahead on a steady course with deliberate steps, despite the extremely difficult circumstances. We are offering new options, opening up new strategic international markets like Russia.”
Anyone wanting to take up Aegean Airline’s London to Larnaca offer will need to book early, as the booking deadline is April the 4th, and only flights up until the end of October are included.
The airline’s website also states that from April 15 to May 2nd and from June 9 to 14th, normal (and as yet unconfirmed) fares will apply. The London route will open on the March 28th and will be served by a 168 seat Airbus A32.
For more information and to book flights, visit http://en.aegeanair.com
