AEGEAN Strikes Major Deal with Saudi Travel, Tourism Leader Elaf

Greece’s national carrier AEGEAN on Wednesday signed an exclusive cooperation deal with Saudi Arabia’s Elaf Group, a long-established leader in travel, tourism and hospitality.

Signed on the sidelines of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s official visit to Athens, the agreement concerns the commercial representation of AEGEAN in Saudi Arabia, where the Greek airline has been operating scheduled flights since 2015 and is interested in gradually increasing its presence.

Right now AEGEAN operates three weekly flights to and from Jeddah airport throughout the year and three weekly flights to and from Riyadh during the summer season.

A fast growing leader in the Middle East travel and tourism industry, Elaf is a General Sales Agent (GSA) for major airlines and operates its own chain of three-, four- and five-star hotels.

Photo source: Elaf Group

In the context of the discussions held in Athens with Elaf Group, AEGEAN expressed its intention to increase the number of scheduled flights both to Jeddah and to Riyadh after boosting its fleet with Airbus A320/321neo aircraft it has on order.

AEGEAN’s plans for the Saudi market includes the addition of a morning connection to Riyadh, the extension of frequencies to Jeddah and to Riyadh and also the launch of a new route that will connect Athens with Dammam.

According to AEGEAN, air traffic to and from Saudi Arabia has been on the rise in recent years, reflecting the growing tourism interest in the area. AEGEAN aims to support this with its network, as it has already increased its presence compared to the corresponding third quarter of 2019 by 25 percent.