Athens, 30 June 2009: Aegean Airlines takes great pride in its role in supporting the country’s regions, and as part of its programme of corporate social responsibility is offering a chance to young people from the Greek islands to visit the new Acropolis Museum. Thousands of 9th grade schoolchildren will have the opportunity to travel, free of charge, to Athens, to experience the wonders of the new Museum at first hand and acquire a better understanding of our cultural heritage.
As part of our Aegean – Supporting Children programme, more than 10,000 schoolchildren from 208 different junior high schools on the Greek islands will be taking a day trip to Athens with their teachers to visit the new Acropolis Museum. Once approval and support are secured from the competent ministries, the programme will be launched in October 2009, offering trips to all 9th grade children over the school year 2009-2010. The islands involved will be Crete, Corfu, Kefalonia, Kos, Lesvos, Limnos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini and Hios, as well as any of the smaller islands which are added to the AEGEAN network from 1/10/09.
The organization and implementation of the programme require the cooperation of the competent ministries, and we have already sought the approval and invaluable support of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport (which we hope will waive airport taxes for the children on these flights) and Ministry of Culture.
Mr. Theodoros Vasilakis, Chairman of Aegean Airlines, stated: ‘Aegean wishes to support our young people, offering them the opportunity to experience our cultural heritage at first hand. Our support for the regions of Greece is manifested in this initiative to bring thousands of young people from the islands of Greece to see the precious treasures of the new Acropolis Museum. We believe that this visit will be an invaluable complement to their classroom learning, and an opportunity for them to take pride in their country, past and present. The programme Aegean – Supporting Children represents our commitment at Aegean Airlines, a commitment we strive every day to fulfill’.
Once the necessary preparations have been made, and provided that we receive a positive response from the competent Ministries, the details and timetable for the programme will be presented at a press conference in early September. A special team of Aegean managers has been appointed to implement this important project.
Aegean Airlines is a full service airline, having a leading domestic position in Greece and a growing presence in international scheduled routes between Greece and destinations in Europe and neighboring countries. In 2008 Aegean carried 6 million passengers, an increase of 14% over 2007. Having taken delivery of 21 new Airbus 320/321, the company now operates a total fleet of 31 aircraft, with an average age of 2 years, on its scheduled flights. Aegean serves 48 regular domestic and international routes, operating a total of 200 daily scheduled flights. It has been accepted – and is currently making its integration arrangements – as part of the largest and most powerful grouping of airlines, Star Alliance. Over its ten-year history Aegean has been singled out for an award six times by the European Regions Airline Association (ERA), in recognition of its performance, commercial success and commitment to customer satisfaction. It has also received numerous awards from the Athens International Airport as the most important player in increasing the airport’s passenger traffic. It recently received the Skytrax World Airline award as the Best Regional Airline in Europe in 2009