Air Piraea
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| Hubs | Alikianos–Ioannis Apostolou International Airport, Alikianos | ||||||
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| Focus cities | Hersonissos International Airport, Hersonissos | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Petó | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | |||||||
| Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
| Destinations | 0 | ||||||
| Company slogan | Πετώντας μαζί ("Flying Together") | ||||||
| Traded as | ALKX: APIRA | ||||||
| Headquarters | Alikianos–Ioannis Apostolou International Airport, Alikianos, Piraea | ||||||
| Key people | Markos Palamaroulis, CEO | ||||||
| Revenue |  | ||||||
| Profit | | ||||||
| Website | airpiraea.pr | ||||||
Air Piraea S.A. (Piraean: Aeroporía Πιραεα Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία) is the flag carrier airline of Piraea, as well as the largest airline of the country by number of passengers and destinations served. Its hub is at the Alikianos-Ioannis Apostolou International Airport, from where it covers routes in three continents, although the Hersonissos International Airport is used as a focus city during summer season, covering extra scheduled destinations.
History
Beginning
Air Piraea was founded during the Second Piraean Republic under the name "T.A.E.; Technical and Aeronautical Holdings" (Τ.Α.Ε.; "Τεχνικαί Αεροπορικαί Εκμεταλλεύσεις") as a holding of previously nationalised small airlines services that were operating short routes between Piraea and Amathia. TAE was commissioned with the transport of cargo in Piraea, especially to northernmost and mountainious regions, until 1951, when the businessman Christodoulos Anastou presented the military government with the option of funding a portion of the airline in order to cover international commercial routes. On 1 September 1951, the airline operated the first international service as a civil airline, covering Alikianos-Adunis.
TAE commenced its consolidation and expansion making use of the legal monopoly it was given of the air transport in Piraea. During the 1950s, the airline expanded through Rahelia and South Euclea with Douglas DC-4 airplanes, covering Madinat, Himera, Verlois and Precea. The normalisation of relations with Etruria also enabled the expansion of commercial flights to Tyrrenhus and Povelia. During first years of the 1960s, with the economic boom of tourism, air transport was liberalised, igniting the competence of TAE with other airlines; this pushed TAE to expand itself in Werania and Estmere, flying with DC-8-52s, the first four-engined jet aircrafts of the airline. During this age, the expansion of the airline was consolidated through famous advertising in the Euclean capitals, targeting the upper-class with the famous "TAE Klipper" (Τ.Α.Ε. Κλιππερ), a series of flights that connected Alikianos with highly demanded coastal destinations during summer with the small twin-engined turbo-propeller Short Skyvan.
During the 1970s and 80s, the popularisation of air travel took the airline to sought larger routes. During the 1970s, TAE renewed its fleet with mostly jet aircrafts and expanded its network of partners and destinations across Euclea; with the professionalisation of its management, distanced from the junta leadership, the company started flights to Samistopol, UPSR, in 1972 and to East Arciluco and Brigançon, SEPR, in 1977, covering the route with B727-200s. Towards the end of the 1970s, the airline started commercialising routes to the Asterias, targeting the Piraese population in Cassier and Eldmark with a route through Spálgleann with the B747-200s acquired in 1978. That year, the airline showed interest in the Concorde, after the [airline] landed in Alikianos to give a demonstration in a stop-over to Keisi. During the 1980s, the airline was merged with Air Piraea, its main private competitor, changing the name to TAE-Air Piraea; the airline's network was one of the largest in the south of Euclea, and the company was a successful brand outside the country, with several offices in the main cities of Euclea and Asteria Superior. In 1981, the company commissioned the development of a computer and global distribution system to enable travel agencies the direct booking of fights and hotels from a single system; the computer occupied the highest floors of the TAE Tower in Alikianos Kentro.
Privatisation
Towards the 1980s, the world's economy started showing signs of downturns in several countries. In Piraea, the increase of oil prices forced TAE-Air Piraea to cease some of its destinations, marking the first cut of its network ever, and a further expansion of the airline through its privatisation became a frequent opsition in the political debate. In 1993, the government of Konstantinos Kondoulis presented the option of its privatisation, which was finally carried during 1996, when the airline debuted in the Alikianos Stock Exchange under its current name, Air Piraea. With its internal re-organisation, the company sold most of its Travel Agencies network to Sarkiades Group, which formed Sarkiades Voyager in which Air Piraea counts with a participation.
In 1995, the company launched its website, and in 1996, Air Piraea expanded its network again to Rahelia and South Coius, inaugurating flights to Sanafir and Jindao, and resuming flights to Keisi. That same year, the Air Piraea also launched Petó, its frequent-flyer program. In 1998, the airline increased its portion in the Alikianos–Ioannis Apostolou International Airport, representing nearly 75% of the entire airport activity. In 2001, Air Piraea joined Gazi Lumine, Aeracara and Aeronovo to form the UnitéCéleste alliance, however, it joined after the three, due to a change in the legal framework in Piraea. Since October 2001, the airline is a full UnitéCéleste member.
Subsidiaries
Air Piraea's subsidiaries are:
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Ownership
During 1996, Air Piraea underwent a process of privatisation and internal re-organisation. The process culminated the 6th June 1996, when the airline debuted in the Alikianos Stock Exchange and included in the AKEX 25. The airline's shares were divided among some of the most influential companies in the Alikianos parqué, such as Ena-Credit Alikianos–25.7%, KEBS–12.8%, Sarkiades Group–3%. The remaining shares were divided between Piraean pensioners, cooperative funds and others.
Destinations
Air Piraea codeshares with the following airlines and railway operators:
Fleet
Air Piraea counts with a fleet of mostly A-planes of Euclean origin, which are used in its short, medium and long haul destinations. The airline counts, as of 2023, with a majority of A330-200 (19) that generally cover destinations in North Euclea, Rahelia and Senria. In 2022, the CEO of the company, Markos Palamaroulis, recognised that the airline is in search of leasing some of its largest planes and initiating a restructuring of the fleet, due to a decrease in flights in competition with railways.
Current fleet
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | E+ | E | Total | ||||
| A320-200 | 13 | 2 | — | — | 186 | 186 | |
| A321-200 | 11 | 3 | 50 | — | 124 | 174 | |
| A330-200 | 19 | — | 19 | — | 268 | 288 | 1 planned to be converted into A330 MRTT for the Piraese Air Force |
| A330-300 | 8 | — | 29 | 21 | 242 | 292 | |