Aegean Airlines joined Terminal 2 on 23 July

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AEGEAN’s passengers now have the privilege of flying from Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal, enjoying its high-quality services which improve passenger experience.

AEGEAN celebrated the inauguration of its flights from/to Terminal 2 with several unique wine tasting events – probably the first ever wine tasting events to ever be held in the terminal. Celebrations were led by Master of Wine and wine buyer for Aegean Airlines Konstantinos Lazarakis who delivered a wine tasting and gave out bottles of wine as gifts to passengers to mark the occasion.

In the evening a VIP event was held in La Salle restaurant. The occasion was opened by Panos Nicolaidis, Ground Operations Director of Aegean Airlines who said ‘We are very proud to operate from this fabulous terminal which sets new standards in passenger travel’. Panos Nicolaidis offered a gift of a model plane to Andy Garner, T2 Operations & Programme Director as a token of Aegean’s appreciation for Heathrow’s management and employees’ contribution to Aegean’s successful transfer stating: “It is an Aegean aircraft model that has reference to the New Acropolis Museum, a unique site for Athens visitors”.

T2 Operations & Programme Director Andy Garner, stated: ‘This brand new terminal is a £2.5 billion project and home to the Star Alliance group of airlines. What you see around you is the next step in Heathrow’s transformation a terminal named after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who officially opened the terminal last month, nearly 60 years after she opened the original terminal building. Passengers are able to shop at 33 retail brands, choose from 17 restaurants including one created by Heston Blumenthal, a Michelin starred chef or seek assistance from a concierge team who speak 38 languages. Over the next fifty years the new Terminal 2 will welcome nearly 1 billion customers. It will be the first impression of the UK for Aegean Airlines passengers and a fantastic welcome for European travellers. UK Regional Manager, Panos Anastasopoulos and Aegean Airlines’ staff have been at the forefront of supporting us in delivering this new passenger experience and we are delighted to welcome them to Terminal 2’.

Konstantinos Lazarakis, Master of Wine stated: “Aegean Airlines has been doing an amazing job showing the world things Greeks can do right. Over the last five years we have chosen four wines, two whites and two reds, all coming from a specific region which are served on board to our passengers for a period of six months. We work with established names but also we buy from many small, family owned wineries that produce tiny amounts of wine. We mainly focus on our native grape varieties, Greece's main advantage in the global wine scene, but we also show some wines that are made from international varieties, as an easier point of introduction for the uninitiated wine drinker”. Adding “After five years, we can clearly see that the Aegean Airlines wine program is a success. This is evident by the feedback wine producers get. Passengers call them to ask where the can buy the wines in Greece or abroad. People have selected wines for their wedding receptions and businessmen decided to import some of these wines to their own home markets. For me, this is Aegean Airlines most important aim: to make Greece more visible and relevant to everyone”.

Terminal 2’s main and basic advantage is that it will house Star Alliance’s 24 members operating from Heathrow under the same roof. Thus passengers in transit to another Star Alliance flight who land here have a shorter transfer time to their next flight.

The minimum connection time for flights will be 60 minutes instead of the former 90 minutes. Flights that were previously impossible to combine are now made possible for AEGEAN’s passengers. Aegean Airlines will operate a total of six daily flights, three arrivals and three departures, between Heathrow and Athens. Check-in will be in Zone D. Particular attention has been paid to minimizing the time it takes for arrivals to leave the airport. It only takes a few minutes between leaving the aircraft and arriving at the exit.

Athens, 24 July 2014