Air Greece
Encyclopedia
Air Greece was an airline based in Heraklion
, Greece
. It was one of the
first private airlines to operate scheduled domestic flights in Greece.
the same year using two leased ATR72 turboprops on domestic routes. In April 1997
a third ATR72 was added to the fleet, followed by the lease of two Fokker
100's in May
and June 1999. Delivery of the Fokkers marked the international expansion of the
company and new routes to destinations in Germany
were opened.
In 1999, passenger ferry
company Minoan Lines
acquired a 51% stake in Air
Greece. However, at that time Air Greece
was facing strong competition from Aegean Airlines
, Cronus Airlines
and
Olympic Airlines
, forcing it to begin a cooperation with Aegean which ended
in a full takeover by Aegean in December, 1999.
During 2000, Air Greece's original owners made an unsuccessful attempt to
launch Cretan Airways
as its successor.
International destinations:
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It was one of the
first private airlines to operate scheduled domestic flights in Greece.
Code data
- IATAInternational Air Transport AssociationThe International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
Code: JG - ICAO Code: AGJ
- Callsign: Air Greece
History
Air Greece was established in 1994 by Cretan businessmen and started operations inthe same year using two leased ATR72 turboprops on domestic routes. In April 1997
a third ATR72 was added to the fleet, followed by the lease of two Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
100's in May
and June 1999. Delivery of the Fokkers marked the international expansion of the
company and new routes to destinations in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
were opened.
In 1999, passenger ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
company Minoan Lines
Minoan Lines
Minoan Lines is one of the dominant passenger ferry companies in Greece, sailing between Piraeus and Crete and in the Adriatic Sea, between Patras and various Italian ports. The company was founded in May 1972...
acquired a 51% stake in Air
Greece. However, at that time Air Greece
was facing strong competition from Aegean Airlines
Aegean Airlines
Aegean Airlines S.A. is the largest Greek airline by total number of passengers carried. A Star Alliance member since June 2010, it operates scheduled and charter services from Athens and Thessaloniki to other major Greek destinations as well as to a number of European destinations...
, Cronus Airlines
Cronus Airlines
Cronus Airlines was a Greek airline based in Athens. It operatedscheduled as well as chartered flights using a fleet of Boeing 737-300 & 400 aircraft.-History:Cronus Airlines was established in 1994 by construction entrepreneur Ioannis Manetas....
and
Olympic Airlines
Olympic Airlines
Olympic Airlines was the flag carrier airline of Greece, with its head office in Athens. It operated services to 37 domestic destinations and to 32 destinations world-wide. Its main base was at Athens International Airport, with hubs at Thessaloniki International Airport, "Macedonia" and Rhodes...
, forcing it to begin a cooperation with Aegean which ended
in a full takeover by Aegean in December, 1999.
During 2000, Air Greece's original owners made an unsuccessful attempt to
launch Cretan Airways
Cretan Airways
Cretan Airways was a planned airline to be based in Heraklion, Greece that never started revenue flights.It is not to be confused with the earlier Cretan Airlines, an airline also based in Heraklion that went bankruptin the mid 1990s.-Company history:...
as its successor.
Services
Air Greece operated scheduled services from/to the following cities:- AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, RhodesRhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, SantoriniSantoriniSantorini , officially Thira , is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera...
, AraxosAraxosAraxos , Latin form: Araxus is a village located in the municipal unit of Larissos in the northwestern part of Achaea, Greece. It is located on a road connecting south to Lappa and east to Lakkopetra and Kato Achaia and also a road to Kalogria and Metochi...
, KavalaKavalaKavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...
, MytileneMytileneMytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...
, IoanninaIoanninaIoannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
and ChaniaChaniaChaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...
.
International destinations:
- CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.
Fleet
The fleet of Air Greece consisted of the following aircraft:- 3 ATR-72 turboprops. (SX-BAO/cn 326, SX-BAP/cn 330, SX-BFK/cn 313)
- 2 FokkerFokkerFokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
-100 jets. (SX-BGL/cn 11387, SX-BGM/cn 11476)