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Sky Express (Greece)

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SKY Express
IATA ICAO Call sign
GQ[1] SEH AIR CRETE
Founded24 February 2005; 19 years ago (2005-02-24)[2]
AOC #GR-021[3][4]
Operating bases
Fleet size27
Destinations44
Parent companyAviareps Hellas[5]
HeadquartersHeraklion International Airport, Heraklion, Greece
Websitewww.skyexpress.gr

SKY Express (legally Cretan Aviation Operations Aviation and Commercial Societe Anonyme (Greek: Κρητικές Αεροπορικές Εκμεταλλεύσεις Αεροπορική και Εμπορική Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία)),[2] is a Greek airline headquartered in Heraklion International Airport.[2] It was established in 2005[6] and operates a number of flights, serving 35 domestic and eight international destinations.[7]

History

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The airline was established in early 2005 by Cpt. Miltiadis Tsagkarakis, former Olympic Airlines director general and pilot, and George Mavrantonakis, former Olympic Airlines chief operating officer and accountable manager as well as advisor to the company president.[8] Operations commenced in July 2005,[9] including scheduled, charter, cargo, air taxi, emergency medical services, excursion and sightseeing flights. Sky Express Aircargo was later established as a joint venture with the Finaval Group and dedicated to cargo transport between Europe and the Far East.[citation needed]

In October 2020, the airline placed a firm order for four Airbus A320neo aircraft (the fleet now includes six of them). In addition, the company introduced a new design for their new Airbus aircraft.[10]

Logo controversy

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The airline's initial logo was inspired by the flag of the Cretan State, a semi-independent state under the Ottoman Empire. The flag of the Cretan State was composed of a white cross extending to the edges of the flag, with the upper-hoist canton in red, featuring a white star symbolizing Ottoman sovereignty on the island, and the other squares in blue, symbolizing the Greeks of Crete. The flag has also been adopted as a symbol of the Cretan independence pseudo-movement. The logo was not well-received, and following complaints by the public in Greece, especially Cretans, the logo was changed. The company said it did not consider the flag offensive, since it represented a milestone in the unification of Crete with the Kingdom of Greece,[11] but changed the logo nonetheless to avoid any further confusion.[citation needed]

Corporate affairs

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In 2018, Sky Express carried 1 million passengers for the first time.[12]

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Turnover (€m) 16.299 16.616 34.068 61.475 81.340 54.940 137.569 287.690
Net profit after tax (€m) 0.169 −1.391 −0.156 0.304 −0.250 −7.655 −3.793 −1.421
Number of employees 77 86 129 193 229 263 462 577
Number of passengers 85,174 168,116 496,562 1,000,000 1,200,000 TBA 1,717,191 3,303,997
Number of aircraft (at year end) 6 11 11 11 11 20 18 21
Notes/sources [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19][20] [20]

Destinations

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As of November 2024, Greek carrier Sky Express flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[21]

Country or territory City Airport Notes Refs
Albania Tirana Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza [22]
Armenia Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport [23]
Austria Vienna Vienna International Airport Begins 3 December 2024 [24]
Belgium Brussels Brussels Airport
Bulgaria Sofia Sofia Airport
Cyprus Larnaca Larnaca Airport
Czech Republic Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague Begins 2 December 2024 [25]
France Lille Lille Airport Seasonal
Lyon Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport Seasonal
Marseille Marseille Provence Airport Seasonal
Nantes Nantes Atlantique Airport Seasonal
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Georgia Tbilisi Tbilisi International Airport [26]
Germany Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport
Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport
Munich Munich Airport
Greece Alexandroupoli Alexandroupoli Airport
Astypalaia Astypalaia Island National Airport
Athens Athens International Airport Base
Chania Chania International Airport
Chios Chios Island National Airport
Corfu Corfu International Airport
Heraklion Heraklion International Airport Base
Ikaria Ikaria Island National Airport
Kalymnos Kalymnos Island National Airport
Karpathos Karpathos Island National Airport
Kasos Kasos Island Public Airport
Kastoria Kastoria National Airport
Kefalonia Kefalonia Airport
Kos Kos International Airport
Kozani Kozani National Airport
Kythera Kithira Island National Airport
Lemnos Lemnos International Airport
Leros Leros Municipal Airport
Milos Milos Island National Airport
Mykonos Mykonos Airport
Mytilene Mytilene International Airport
Naxos Naxos Island National Airport
Paros Paros National Airport
Preveza Aktion National Airport
Rhodes Rhodes International Airport
Samos Samos International Airport
Santorini Santorini International Airport
Sitia Sitia Airport
Skiathos Skiathos Airport
Skyros Skyros Island National Airport
Syros Syros Island National Airport
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Airport Base
Volos Nea Anchialos National Airport Seasonal
Zakynthos Zakynthos International Airport
Italy Milan Milan Malpensa Airport
Rome Rome Fiumicino Airport
The Netherlands Amsterdam Amsterdam Schiphol Airport [27]
Poland Warsaw Warsaw Chopin Airport
Turkey Istanbul Istanbul Airport [28]
United Kingdom London Gatwick Airport

Interline agreements

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Sky Express interlines with the following airlines:

Fleet

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Sky Express Airbus A320neo
Sky Express ATR 72-500
Former Sky Express BAe Jetstream 41 in 2010.

Current fleet

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As of April 2024, Sky Express operates the following aircraft:[44]

Sky Express Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 1 180 [citation needed]
Airbus A320neo 10 2 186 / 180 / 174 [45][46][47]
Airbus A321neo 2 236 [48]
ATR 42-500 4 48
ATR 72-600 10 72 [49]
Total 27 2

Historical fleet

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In the past, Sky Express also operated the following types:

Incidents

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  • On 12 February 2009, a BAe Jetstream 31 registered SX-SKY experienced a right main gear collapse after landing inbound from Rhodes International Airport.[50] None of the 15 passengers or three crew members were injured, but the aircraft suffered considerable damage to its right landing gear, wing and propeller. The aircraft was deemed beyond economical repair and was written off.[citation needed] The accident was caused by two previous hard landings (out of the previous 27) which had gone unreported. One of the hard landings had caused a fracture in a landing gear cylinder, which spread until the cylinder failed, causing the landing gear to collapse. The aircraft was scrapped at Heraklion Airport in late February 2011.
  • On 2 February 2015, a BAe Jetstream 41 aircraft registered SX-DIA, operating flight GQ-100 from Heraklion, experienced a left main gear collapse and runway excursion after a hard landing at Rhodes Diagoras Airport caused by strong winds. None of the 16 passengers or three crew members were injured. The aircraft suffered substantial damage.[51]
  • On 21 June 2019, the 3 PM flight from Heraklion to Rhodes Diagoras Airport performed an emergency landing at Karpathos Airport after one of the engines exploded. None of the 47 passengers suffered any injuries.[52][53]

References

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  1. ^ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Στοιχεία Δημοσιότητας". Business Registry (in Greek). Union of Hellenic Chambers Of Commerce. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  3. ^ "ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT AIRCRAFT ATR 42-500 SX-GRI AT ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON OCTOBER 07, 2017" (PDF). Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Action Plan on Emissions Reduction of Greece" (PDF). ICAO. Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  5. ^ "ΕΝΟΠΟΙΗΜΕΝΕΣ ΧΡΗΜΑΤΟΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΕΣ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΕΙΣ ΣΥΜΦΩΝΑ ΜΕ ΤΙΣ ΔΙΑΤΑΞΕΙΣ ΤΟΥ Ν 4308/2014 (ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΛΟΓΙΣΤΙΚΑ ΠΡΟΤΥΠΑ ) «AVIAREPS ΕΛΛΑΣ Α.Ε. ΣΥΜΜΕΤΟΧΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΡΟΧΗΣ ΥΠΗΡΕΣΙΩΝ»" (in Greek). 18 November 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ^ "About us". SKY express. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  7. ^ "Destinations". SKY express. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  8. ^ "Profile". skyexpress.gr. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Sky Express". airlinesxl.com. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  10. ^ "SKY express orders four A320neo and becomes a new Airbus customer". Airbus. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  11. ^ ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ (in Greek). www.skyexpress.gr. 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  12. ^ "Sky Express Diplasiase Toys Epivates Tis". Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  13. ^ "Product Presentation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-11-01. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  14. ^ Business Registry
  15. ^ "ΙΣΟΛΟΓΙΣΜΟΣ-ΚΑΧ" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  16. ^ "Στοιχεία Δημοσιότητας".
  17. ^ ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ: Μεγαλύτερα αεροσκάφη προμηθεύεται η Sky Express. Διακίνησε 1,2 εκατ. επιβάτες το 2019, 20 January 2020, metaforespress.gr
  18. ^ https://assets.skyexpress.gr/assets/documents/financial-results-2019.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  19. ^ "Στοιχεία Δημοσιότητας".
  20. ^ a b Κλώντζα, Όλγα (12 December 2023). "Sky express: Αύξηση επιβατών κατά 900.000, κινήσεις για νέα αεροσκάφη". Business Daily (in Greek). Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Sky Express Route Map September 2023".
  22. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  23. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  24. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  25. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  26. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  27. ^ "SKY Express Announces Nonstop Flights to Amsterdam, Connecting Athens to the Netherlands".
  28. ^ "Sky Express NW24 Athens Network Additions".
  29. ^ "New agreement between Air France, KLM and Sky Express". 5 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Sky Express and Air Serbia ink deal". 30 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Sky Express and Air Transat ink deal".
  32. ^ "Sky Express and American Airlines ink deal".
  33. ^ "Partnership with the leading airlines British Airways and Etihad Airways!".
  34. ^ "Delta partners with SKY express to offer more travel options between the US and Greek Islands".
  35. ^ "Cooperation with El AL".
  36. ^ "EasyJet, another travel buddy joins the club!".
  37. ^ "Cooperation with Emirates".
  38. ^ "Partnership with the leading airlines British Airways and Etihad Airways!".
  39. ^ "New agreement between Air France, KLM and Sky Express". 5 April 2019.
  40. ^ "The cooperation with Middle East Airlines continues". Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  41. ^ "Συμφωνία Διασύνδεσης μεταξύ Qatar Airways και Sky Express". 2 November 2022.
  42. ^ "Starts of Cooperation with Royal Jordanian".
  43. ^ "Cooperation with Transavia".
  44. ^ "Our Fleet". SKY express. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  45. ^ "Airbus Order and Deliveries". Airbus. December 2021.
  46. ^ https://www.skyexpress.gr/el/company/sky-fleet
  47. ^ "SKY Express: Νέοι προορισμοί στο εξωτερικό και νέα αεροσκάφη". 10 November 2024.
  48. ^ "SKY express: Κερδίζει... ύψος στην αγορά και προσθέτει 6 νέα αεροσκάφη". 20 December 2023.
  49. ^ "SKY express: Κερδίζει... ύψος στην αγορά και προσθέτει 6 νέα αεροσκάφη". 20 December 2023.
  50. ^ "Accident: Sky Express JS31 at Heraklion on Feb 12th 2009, right main gear collapsed on landing". www.avherald.com. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  51. ^ "Accident: Sky Express JS41 at Rhodes on Feb 2nd 2015, gear collapse and runway excursion on landing". www.avherald.com. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  52. ^ "Αναγκαστική προσγείωση στην Κάρπαθο για αεροπλάνο με 46 επιβάτες". ProtoThema (in Greek). 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  53. ^ "Αναγκαστική προσγείωση αεροσκάφους στην Κάρπαθο - Εκτελούσε το δρομολόγιο Ηράκλειο – Ρόδο | Kathimerini". www.kathimerini.gr. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
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