Aegean Airlines boosted revenue for the first half of the year as both international and domestic networks delivered higher results during the European summer travel season.

The Athens-based carrier said on 11 September that its “prudent and consistent approach in planning ahead” helped it manage through the busy period, even as its had to ground some of its Airbus A320-family fleet due to engine inspections.

Revenue rose 7% to €480 million ($529 million) while profit fell to €43.9 million from €51.5 million in the same quarter a year ago. For the first half of 2024, revenue rose 10% to €749 million, and profit fell to €22.9 million from €37.1 million in the first half of 2023.

“The result in the first half of the year remains particularly strong, despite the increase in the capacity offered by the competition but also the significant operational and regulatory requirements that burden our cost base,” says chief executive Dimitris Georgiannis.

The airline’s capacity as measured in available seat kilometres rose 9% during the second quarter of 2024, and 11% during the first half of the year.

But despite the rises, the additional unscheduled inspections of its Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan (GTF) engines is weighing on the firm.

“The non-scheduled mandatory engines inspections and repairs on the GTF engines on the A320neo family fleet, which started on October 2023 and require the grounding of a significant part of our new aircraft fleet, significantly impacts the company’s cost structure in terms of fuel cost, maintenance cost and aircraft leases cost,” the company says. “The compensation from the manufacturer although covers a significant portion of the burden, it does not fully offset the cost impact let alone the loss of additional capacity in available seats.

“Moreover, the burden of increased CO2 purchases has a significant impact on our costs,” Aegean adds.

According to Cirium fleets data, the airline currently has 22 of the Pratt-engined jets in service, with nine in storage. 

Last week, the airline announced it is positioning to take a stake of up to 21% in Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea by mid-2025 after participating in a round of fundraising with the latter’s shareholders. It made an initial €25 million investment in Volotea on 3 September. Aegean says the pan-European operator is attractive because it serves secondary markets with a low-cost model that is complementary to its own focus on larger international and domestic markets from Greece.

It comes after the two carriers formed a relationship in 2021 when they announced codeshares covering 100 routes in Italy, France, Spain and Greece.

The company will hold a management call later in the day to give more details on the first-half results.