LONDON – Aircraft lessor Jackson Square Aviation has announced the delivery of one Airbus A321neo to the Greek flag carrier Aegean Airlines. Along the delivery also comes the lessor’s sale and leaseback financing to the carrier.

The delivery

As recently announced by aircraft lessor Jackson Square Aviation, the lessor has completed sale and leaseback financing to Greece’s flag carrier Aegean Airlines, along with the delivery of a brand new Airbus A321neo.

This delivery brings Aegean Airlines’ Airbus A321neo fleet numbering up to 11 of the type, according to data from Planespotters.net.

Commenting on the delivery, is Christophe Million-Rousseau, JSA SVP Marketing & Capital Markets EMEA, who said: “We are delighted to welcome Aegean to JSA’s growing list of customers and look forward to building a strong partnership with the airline over the coming years ahead.”

“We are excited to support Aegean as it continues to grow its fleet in the Greek airline market.”

Aegean’s outstanding 2022

In late November, AviationSource analyzed data provided by Radarbox.com, which showed Aegean Airlines operating well above pre-pandemic levels, and their flight movement statistics increased in a triple-digit fashion compared to last year.

In the weekly data analyzed, covering the week from November 19 to November 26, the airline saw 194 movements alone, marking an increase of 136.59% compared to the same period last year, where 82 movements were recorded based on a seven-day period.

As per the same period in 2019, the airline lays 87 movements ahead, which is where the strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is attributed to.

Now this just just one of three greater achievements by the airline this year, as they earlier reported a strong profit for Q3 2022, achieving an astonishing EUR 152.1mln profit following a revenue input of EUR 571.4mln, and a net profit of EUR 120.8mln.

Despite also seeing a profit in Q3 2021, there is a significant improvement in Q3 2022. In Q3 2021, Aegean Airlines saw a profit of EUR 58.8mln from a revenue of EUR 333.9mln, marking a 158% increase in profit per Q3 2022.

With Aegean Airlines carrying 4.6 million passengers during Q3 2022, it also marks an increase of 41% in passenger numbers compared to Q3 2021.

Aegean and the A321neo

Now, with Aegean Airlines receiving another A321neo, making their total fleet of them to 11, we can also see their number of Airbus A321ceo aircraft reducing, with currently three airframes retired or returned back to lessor already.

Of course, the Airbus A321neo is a far more sustainable and cost efficient choice, as well as it provides increased passenger comfort.

It remains unknown just what Aegean’s plan for the rest of the A321ceo fleet is. Given the fleet’s 16-year-old average age, it would not come as a shock if Aegean Airlines decided to remove the airframes gradually, when and if more Airbus A321neo aircraft enter the fleet.

Overall

With new aircraft deliveries, outstanding numbers and so far this year, a remarkable profit, Aegean Airlines seem to be well on track again after the Covid-19 pandemic was so to say declared as over.

With the newest aircraft giving Aegean an additional 220 seats, seeing a small increase in either capacity or flight frequency would not be surprising in a later time, which could also make the carrier see high numbers in the months and years to come.

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