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Aegean Airlines, Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, and Get Lost reflect on a Decade Redefining the Standard in International Aviation Education.
ORIGINS
Ten years ago, a distinctive collaboration took flight between Aegean Airlines, Greece's flag carrier; the preeminent institution in aviation and aerospace education; and Get Lost, a boutique agency specialising in experiential design. What began as a novel idea has matured into an internationally recognised study abroad program that seamlessly integrates academic rigour, industry immersion, and the timeless allure of Greece.
THE CONCEPTION
The concept originated with the Get Lost agency. The founder, Angeliki Vaxevanaki, conceived an educational experience that seamlessly integrates scholarly pursuits with an immersion in the rich culture, breathtaking landscape, and profound expertise of Greece. The concept journeyed across the Atlantic, was presented to Embry-Riddle during two separate visits, and was revealed to Irini Sidiropoulou on behalf of Aegean Airlines in Athens. Since that time, Get Lost has adeptly maintained the cohesion of the collaboration by meticulously crafting the program’s design, overseeing its implementation, and fostering an ongoing dialogue between two institutions whose mutual standards have rendered this partnership feasible.
OPENING THE GATES OF POSSIBILITY
The alliance flourished owing to the foresight and devotion of exceptional individuals at Aegean Airlines. Irini Sidiropoulou - Regional Sales Manager for Northern Greece and the Balkan countries, has been instrumental from the outset. Recognising the potential of the initiative from the very start, she became its internal advocate, opening the doors that brought the concept before Dr. Dimitris Gerogiannis – Chief Executive Officer of Aegean Airlines – and Captain S. Christeas – Flight Operations Director.
LEADERSHIP BEHIND THE VISION
What ensued transcended mere institutional endorsement. Both Dr. Gerogiannis and Captain Christeas embraced the vision wholeheartedly and became pivotal forces behind its realisation and long-term evolution. Through their trust, leadership, and continued collaboration with Get Lost and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the program steadily matured into an internationally recognised educational experience that continues to bridge aviation, culture, and experiential learning between Greece and the United States.
ACADEMIC VISION
At Embry-Riddle, Sue Machiarella, the Director of Study Abroad & Global Engagement, acknowledged the program's capacity to transform experiential learning. Under her leadership, the Office of Study Abroad has adeptly overseen student recruitment, faculty selection, and all academic coordination on behalf of the university. This endeavour has empowered hundreds of students to commence this transformative journey.
STEWARDSHIP
In 2015, Mrs Machiarella and Professor Les Westbrooks, accompanied by his wife Deb, embarked on the inaugural visit to Greece, where they reaffirmed their mutual conviction that this collaboration possessed remarkable potential. Since the first visit, Professor Les and his wife, Deb, have forged a profound connection with the program's evolution, returning to Greece annually to guide the experience on behalf of Embry-Riddle throughout its operation in the country. Their enduring presence fostered continuity, enriched academic rigour, and cultivated a profound sense of care for the students engaged in this journey.
GREECE AS A CLASSROOM
For three weeks, the classroom extends beyond conventional academic settings into landscapes of cultural and historical significance, including mediaeval monasteries, folklore museums, ancient theatres, wartime refuges, and catacombs carved into stone. Across two weeks aboard sailing vessels navigating the Aegean, followed by a further week exploring the mountains and remote villages of mainland Greece, students attend lectures and complete coursework within an environment that continuously enriches the academic experience through immersion and movement.
Beyond technical knowledge, the program cultivates the essential soft skills required within contemporary aviation, including teamwork, adaptability, collaboration, resilience, and the discipline to remain focused while constantly in motion. In many ways, the experience mirrors the dynamic and internationally fluid professional environments awaiting students within the aviation industry.
Over the course of the last ten years, more than 400 students have participated in the program. Each year, Angeliki Vaxevanaki works closely with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Aegean Airlines, and Get Lost to reimagine the experience, and together with Konstantinos Giannakou, Get Lost Operations Director, and the wider Get Lost team, they turn this evolving vision into operational design, meticulous execution, and harmony across every stage of the journey. At its core lies a philosophy both simple and profound: to truly understand Greek commercial aviation, one must first understand Greece.
IMMERSION & OPERATIONS
At the culmination of the journey, following an extensive immersion in the geography, rhythm, culture, and human tapestry of Greece, the experience seamlessly transitions into the operational realm of Aegean Airlines. Students engage in workshops and exchanges with key airline departments and leadership teams, acquiring firsthand insight into the intricacies of contemporary aviation operations. The progression is intentional: by first experiencing the country that shaped the airline, students arrive at Aegean not merely as visitors to a corporation, but with a deeper contextual understanding of the environment, mindset, and culture within which Greek aviation operates.
INSIDE THE OPERATIONAL HEART OF AVIATION
A defining element of the program has been the access it grants to the operational heart of Aegean Airlines. Throughout the experience, students engage in workshops and exchanges across various divisions of the airline, encompassing flight operations, safety, commercial strategy, maintenance, quality assurance, technical operations, and pilot selection, acquiring direct experience into the complex dynamics of modern aviation.
Among the program’s most distinctive components are the immersive SIM and airline safety workshops led by Captain S. Christeas and Captain V. Kokolakis, Head of Pilot Selection, through which students are introduced to the operational environments, strategic decision-making processes, and deeply embedded safety culture that collectively define contemporary airline operations.
Complementing this experience are a collection of invaluable workshops, case studies, and interactive exchanges with distinguished members of the airline’s leadership and technical teams, including R. Jaggi, Chief Commercial Officer; V. Kloudas, Flight Operations Director; N. Panagiotopoulos, CAMO Director; V. Tzirivilas, Quality Unit Manager; Maria Golia, Head of Maintenance Contracts; G. Petrakis, Training Coordinator; P. Christopoulos, Shops Manager; and K. Papoulidis, Operations Manager. Through these engagements, students gain a rare and multifaceted understanding of the disciplines, intricacies, strategic thinking, and human dimension shaping contemporary aviation.
PRECISION BEHIND THE EXPERIENCE
Central to the program’s enduring quality has been the meticulous orchestration of its aviation workshops. For years, Despina Karatzikou and Maria Levanti, on behalf of Aegean Airlines, have shaped these sessions with precision and care, ensuring that each cohort of students receives an experience worthy of the institutions they represent.
AN EVENING REFLECTING A DECADE
This year's anniversary commemorative evening provided a profound reflection on the partnership itself. Meticulously orchestrated and gracefully executed, the event unfolded under the stewardship of Pepi Stamati – Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer, further elevated by the refined aesthetic sensibility of Mary Kyriakou – Corporate Responsibility Manager, and vividly brought to life through the artistry of Marina Valvi – Corporate Affairs & Communications Director. The evening celebrated a decade of collaborative endeavour with the grace it warranted.
IN MEMORY
In a moment that quietly came to define the evening, Captain S. Christeas, a longstanding and steadfast presence within the program who has remained deeply engaged with its students throughout the years, began his address with a moment of silence in honour of Justin, the son of Professor Westbrooks and his wife Deb. The gesture was uncomplicated, yet deeply poignant. It embodied the essence of humanity that underpins Aegean Airlines and the insightful governance steering its future. For the students in attendance, it served as a profound lesson in exemplifying leadership, underscoring that beyond any professional accomplishment, genuine leadership is ultimately assessed through empathy, integrity, humanity, and the capacity to respect those in our midst. His presence acted as a profound reminder that at the heart of this partnership, and indeed aviation itself, reside individuals motivated by purpose, compassion, and genuine care for one another.
KNOWLEDGE FLOATING ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
Another subtle yet meaningful aspect of this collaboration has been the exchange gradually unfolding in the opposite direction. In recent years, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has initiated the expansion of its educational resources and academic expertise to Aegean Airlines, thereby establishing new avenues for professional development and learning opportunities for the airline's people. In undertaking this endeavour, what initially commenced as a study abroad initiative has gradually transformed into a true bilateral conduit for educational exchange between the institutions.
This subsequent chapter of the collaboration has arisen from the initiative of Irini Sidiropoulou, Captain V. Kokolakis, and Panagiotis Siskos, Chief Operational Officer, who have discerned the expansive potential of the partnership that transcends the student experience alone. Through the ongoing discourse and collaboration of Sue Machiarella and Angeliki Vaxevanaki, the ambitions and priorities of both institutions were progressively harmonised, facilitating the emergence of this new educational exchange.
Through these endeavours, connections were forged with Kelly A. Dowling, Senior Vice President for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, whose engagement enabled the coordination of the pertinent academic and institutional stakeholders at the university, including Chancellor John Watret. At Aegean Airlines, Pepi Stamati, Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer, alongside Emmanouela Karamali, Human Resources Director, has been instrumental in steering the educational initiatives and discerning developmental priorities that promise to significantly enhance the experience of the airline’s employees. With the sustained involvement of Irini Sidiropoulou, Captain Kokolakis, and Panagiotis Siskos, a series of dialogues and cooperative interactions ultimately facilitated the realisation of the initiative.
Together, these concerted endeavours fortified a partnership grounded not merely in institutional collaboration but in mutual trust, enduring commitment, and a collective conviction that the evolution of learning within aviation must transcend borders, disciplines, and professional communities.
BEYOND BORDERS, TOWARD THE FUTURE
These ten years stand as a quiet testament to the emergence of an endeavour that transcends mere study abroad initiatives. Through the sustained partnership of Aegean Airlines, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Get Lost, an exceptional educational framework has gradually developed, bringing together academic knowledge, operational proficiency, cultural immersion, and human experience into a single, evolving ecosystem.
What began as a dialogue between institutions has steadily transformed into a living bridge that connects industry and academia, Greece and the United States, and operational practice with experiential learning. The exchange of knowledge now moves in multiple directions: from university to airline, from airline to students, and increasingly between professionals, educators, and institutions seeking new ways to prepare the next generation of aviation leaders.
At its heart lies a collective conviction: that the future of aviation will not be defined merely by technical prowess, but rather through collaboration, cultural understanding, human connection, and the intentional dedication of institutions and individuals to learn from one another across borders.
As the collaboration continues to evolve, its future potential extends well beyond the boundaries of a single program. It encompasses the potential to navigate a wider vision about aviation education, fostering international collaboration, advancing interdisciplinary learning, and establishing frameworks of experiential education that are capable of reaching beyond existing institutions, professional communities, and future generations throughout the global aviation arena.