Page 40 - Aviation News (February 2020)

but profi table,” said Muñoz. Indeed, the
airline has not made a loss since, with the
latest fi gures released by the company for
2018 showing a record operating profi t of
€13.6m, up 29% year-on-year.
“This just shows that there was a need
for Volotea,” Muñoz commented. “People
said there was no room for another low-
cost airline in Europe. But there were a
lot of markets not being served which
Volotea has gone on to establish and
operate successfully.”
VOLOTEA TODAY
The airline launched 41 new routes during
2019, bringing the total number served
to 319. Interestingly, 308 of these have
no competition from other carriers. “We
are a lot about connecting smaller cities
that are not connected,” said Muñoz. “We
Above: International brand consultants Sa ron designed the Volotea identity using colours describe our airline as a ‘pathfi nder’ or
inspired by a Mediterranean tablecloth pattern. The theme is repeated in the interiors of their ‘route creator’”.
aircraft, including the 717s with their 2+3 seating. AirTeamImages.com/Carlos Enamorado
The carrier operates in 13 countries,
Below: Volotea currently has 16 Boeing 717s and previously operated three more. The plan is to with Italy being its biggest market. Italian
become an all-A319 airline by the end of 2022. Volotea and French services combined accounted
for 93% of its capacity in 2019. In terms
of domestic routes served, Volotea is the
second largest carrier in France and third in
Italy. One of the newest and most rapidly
expanding markets is Greece where, since
launching operations back in 2015, Volotea
has achieved a 30% growth rate from the 13
airports it operates from across the country.
On May 10, 2019, the airline celebrated
its fi rst year of operations from its Athens
base, which Muñoz described as “the most
successful in the airline’s history.” Since

38 AVIATION NEWS FEBRUARY 2020

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