A new commercial director, Alexandros Averkiadis, has been appointed. He has extensive experience in air cargo transportation. A new cargo superintendent, Aris Koutsourelakis, has also been hired. He has previously worked in the field of ground handling.

The business does have its concerns though. "We are particularly worried about the latest developments in JARs, especially with the requirements for the avionics upgrades. They will impose heavy costs to all operators, but particularly for the smaller ones, where sometimes the costs for a fleet wide upgrade can be as high as the hull value of an aircraft."

Ver-Avia says it has avoided many of the effects of the recent economic downturn because it works as a cargo operator. The company has managed to overcome the problems it has been causing by establishing more flexible procedures, safeguarding the employment of its team and maintaining service standards for its customers. Greece also has many differences in the cargo sector compared to the rest of Europe, Athanasios Kechagioglou told us: "Unfortunately the loads are much lower than those in other parts of Europe and the commodity mix is very limited.
We are active mainly in courier mail and press, but we also get some business with general cargo. A significant factor affecting the character of the market is the lack of a strong manufacturing sector in Greece that could provide business. For example, in countries with a strong motor industry - there is a high demand for spare parts transport between facilities.

"At the moment, Ver-Avia is the only cargo operator in Greece. Our plans for the near future include further development of our fleet, bringing in a STOL aircraft to cater for airports where the Metro III cannot land. We hope to expand our company with the addition of an aircraft capable of carrying loads of up to 4.5 tonnes."