(Finance) – Volotea achieves a new important milestone: the low-cost airline of small and medium-sized European cities is flying higher and higher and reaches the quota of 60 million passengers transported since 2012, year of its foundation. A result which attests not only to the excellent work carried out so far in the skies of Europe, but which also demonstrates an increasingly unstoppable growth from every point of view. In fact, the company it closed 2023 with a turnover of 694 million euros (+24.6% compared to the previous year) with an EBITDA margin better than 22 percentage points compared to 2022, reaching 96 million euros of EBITDA.
Looking to 2024, Volotea expects a record year in terms of activity: over 450 routes planned (of which more than half are exclusive) e an offer of 12.5 million seats (10% more than in 2023) and approximately 80,000 flights. Not only that: earlier this year, the airline also added three new Airbus A320s to its fleet, which now numbers 44 aircraft (20 Airbus A319s and 24 A320s), offering greater fuel efficiency per passenger -kilometer. Based on these important objectives, and according to forecasts, Volotea’s turnover in 2024 will exceed 800 million euros, becoming the most profitable year in the company’s history.
A high level performance also recognized by the most authoritative institutions in the aviation sector. In fact, Volotea was recently nominated “Best European Low Cost Airline 2024” for the third time at the World Travel Awards and received four stars from Skytrax, the most prestigious international air transport rating organisation.
Also in Italy, Volotea will confirm the work done so far for 2024, demonstrating once again the strategic importance of the Italian market for its development plans. The opening of the Florence base in April 2023, the territorial continuity connections to and from Sardinia and the announcement of the eighth Italian base in Bari best represent the close link with the Bel Paese, where it all began twelve years ago with the opening ever of the first Volotea base in Venice. In Italy during the current year the carrier will strengthen its presence through the opening of more than 20 new routes, will increase operational capacity by 10% compared to 2023, through an offer of more than 4 million seats for sale, and will reach around 450 jobs throughout the national territory during the high season.
“The sixty million passengers are a milestone in our history that strengthens our position as a true point of reference for connections between small and medium-sized European cities – he commented Carlos Muñoz, President and Founder of Volotea – Significant milestones that demonstrate our ability to continue growing. We have, in fact, recorded important financial results in 2023 and historic margins for a company that is just over 10 years old. 2023 was a turning point thanks to a flexible and efficient strategy with which we managed to take advantage of the reactivation of demand.”
To celebrate the milestone of 60 million passengers, Volotea organized a unique event in Lyon – one of its operational bases – with the participation of French chef Grégory Cuilleron. On this occasion, the airline has joined forces with Cuilleron to pay homage to the gastronomic excellence of the French city and is planning a long-term collaboration with the chef to offer the specialties of Lyonnais cuisine on board to its French passengers.