Aegean Airlines Group: competitive pressures and Greek macro uncertainties weigh on 1H profit

The Aegean Airlines Group's 1H2015 operating result deteriorated against the same period last year, although the decline was not as severe in 2Q as it had been in 1Q. Although Aegean managed once again to cut unit costs, it suffered from an even greater drop in unit revenue.

Faced with strong competitive expansion (led by Ryanair) and a challenging economic backdrop, Greece's largest airline group continues to go on the offensive by growing capacity at double digit rates. These factors have locked it into a downward path of yield and unit revenue.

Even the relief of lower fuel prices has not allowed Aegean to cut unit costs fast enough to ensure operating profit growth. Europe's most profitable FSC airline of 2014 is finding that 2015 is a totally different year.