Major US airlines have begun seasonal direct services to Athens, boosting transatlantic capacity. [Reuters]
International inbound air traffic to Greece remains resilient despite rising fares tied to Middle East tensions, with scheduled arrivals exceeding 30 million passengers, up 8% year-on-year.
Major US airlines have begun seasonal direct services to Athens, boosting transatlantic capacity. United Airlines launched its daily Newark-Athens route on March 6. Delta Air Lines followed with daily New York (JFK)-Athens flights on March 9 and a daily Atlanta-Athens service on March 10, while also adding, on Sunday, a Boston-Athens route operating several times weekly. American Airlines introduced, on Monday, its Philadelphia-Athens service with daily peak-season frequencies.
Executives at American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines say fuel cost increases, adding about $400 million per carrier, have not affected first-quarter profit forecasts, as demand remains strong. Travelers, particularly from the US, continue to absorb higher fares.
Analysis by Deutsche Bank shows prices rising across categories, with last-minute tickets seeing the sharpest increases. New York-Athens fares for April recently ranged from €800-€900 with United and Delta, and up to €1,800 with American, versus €600 lows last year.
Fuel now accounts for up to 45% of airline costs, driving global increases.
Air France and KLM added €50 long-haul surcharges, while Aegean Airlines, Greece’s largest airline, plans smaller 7-8% increases.
Middle Eastern carriers are gradually restoring service. Emirates has resumed daily Dubai-Athens-New York flights, while Qatar Airways is relaunching Athens-Doha with four weekly flights, below its usual twice-daily schedule.
IndiGo has also resumed Athens connections to Delhi and Mumbai, operating several weekly flights.