Aegean positions to become Volotea shareholder with €25m investment

Greek carrier Aegean Airlines 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. Announcing an initial E25m investment in Volotea on 3 September in Athens, 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. “Aegean and Volotea may have different operating models and products but are in many ways complementary and share a customer-focused philosophy,” says Aegean chair Eftichios Vassilakis. ”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 into three highly significant source markets – France, Italy and Spain – and to join forces in providing more direct connectivity from these markets to regional airports of Greece.” The Greek carrier says it is taking part in two rounds of capital injections involving other Volotea shareholders with an aim to raise E100m for the growing Spanish business.<br/>