Has anyone ever flown on Olympic Air? RSSC has me booked on this airline from Athens to JFK. It seems it is very difficult to get of Athen on a Sunday, with connecting flights that get back to the US at a "reasonable hour." Just looking for opinions, not other options - especially leg room and do they usually operate on time.
Thanks

We flew Olympic a few times many many years ago. Don't remember anything significant one way or the other. In a (marginally?) third world country, I sometimes think you're better off flying the country's airline. I tend to think that carrier will be given preference if there's a screw up on the ground. (Airline...screw up....how do you spell oxymoron?) :eek:

We flew Olympic back in 1998 when sailing on the R1. Not a bad flight--service on board efficient ---everything else quite ordinary AND got us to Athens safely !!!!! :app:

Skytrax is a very helpful site to check up on almost any airline: www.airlinequality.com On the home page click on Airlines, and you can find star ratings (only four airlines get a 5-star rating: Cathay Pacific, Malaysia, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, and only three US airlines got even as high as 4 stars: Jet Blue, Frontier and Midwest). The site also rates airports and has seat maps available. Great site!

We flew Olympic a few times a number of years ago and considered ourselves lucky to still be alive. We were in business class with barking dogs (no joke!), fortunately no chickens. The promptness of Olympic is not always related to the airline. We were there a few summers and there were constant strikes, which affect every airline. Delta flies non-stop to NY as well. Any chance you can get on that? We just flew on Delta to Moscow and returned from Amsterdam and their business class is superb.

I don't mean to hijack Betty's message but has anyone flown on Air Nostrum/Iberia lately? I have a short stint on that airline from Nice to Madrid and from what I hear, it's an awful airline!!

Karen, we flew Iberia Airlines from JFK to Madrid before and it was just fine (I've never heard of Air Nostrum). The transatlantic flight we were on may be way different than the little putddle jumping flight you have?? At least you have a short flight!

Marcie, that's reassuring! I have never heard of Air Nostrum either but on my tix it says Iberia flight operated by AIR NOSTRUM. I keep calling it Air Nostrals by mistake :)

I flew Olympic in 1992 and it was great, JFK to Athens non stop. They use the old airport as their own. Then in 2001 I flew them again, this time in business class upstairs. I found everything to have deteriorated. Since the gov was given the airline it appeared it was being milked. The plane was beat, the service poor. The fancy food for business class did not seem to arrive...we we looked into the galley...the stewardess was eating the food....said if we wanted a shrimp we should go to the main deck....as she was eating ours.....
The upstairs cabin also started to fill with cigarette smoke.....turned out the flight crew (officers) had the door open and were all smoking like chimneys....news papers over the windows to keep the sun light out...thank heavens for auto pilots.
What this airline is like post 911 is anyones guess. Would I fly them again.....no. I would take a one stop vice non stop on Olympic. They may have changed...I would ask around some more before getting on their aircraft. One further note....on the return flight we flew into Boston to off load passengers before our return to JFK. The plane was dirty ...news papers everywhere etc...they took on passengers in Boston...what those people thought when the entered the cabin heaven only knows.
If you do fly them..please respond back since I might be flying to Greece next summer 2006.

Karen,

My parents just came back from a 24 day trip to Europe and they flew Iberia from Guatemala to Madrid/Paris...they said it was wonderful...Air Nostrum almost sounds like Air Nosferatu...what's up with that? Edited to say I did see them...http://www.airnostrum.es/ They are based out of Valencia and are interSpain regional, so in that part of Spain they probably speak Valenciano which is derived from Catalonian, which is not Castillian which is the proper way to say "Spanish" (LOL). Nostrum must mean something in Catalonian, I'm going to guess it translates to "nuestro" in Castillian which in English translates to the posseive "our"

Just went to the site you recommended Count Florida...its great! I wonder about some of these airline names, tho:

Air Bourbon (wonder what they serve as beverage)
bmibaby (sounds like someting Austin Powers would say)
DBA (do consultants run this airline?)
Edelweiss Air (Sound of music is their soundtrack?)
Luxair (they better live up to the name)

by the way, another useful website, if it hasn't already been mentioned around here, is www.seatguru.com Helps you make sure you get a good seat.

I will go on record to say that any third world country airline I won't fly on.

I know that most of you judge airlines by what they feed you or how comfortable they make you feel.....I know how we are trained, how skilled, what it takes to stay in the cockpit of a US domestic airline.

Over the years as a airline pilot I can say that the standards of third world airlines are not what they should be.

If at all possible, fly on a US airline.

jack

Since this is the airline RSSC has booked me on to return from my cruise, I have no choice and after all my checking with LCT and other travel sites, I am not happy over having to fly them. But I don't see that I have any other choice. It would cost me another $100 & a hotel room in Athens to fly another airline. I hope to stop worrying about this long enough to enjoy the cruise.

Betty: I am sure you will be fine - I have Raddison air for the B2B in October but did the deviation so we could go into Rome early - since I wanted to fly Delta I have to overnight Sunday the 30th in Athens - as I recall, Olympic could not get us back to Jacksonville on the 30th we'd have to overnight at JFK - yuk! Athens is not one of my top ten places - but Delta does not fly on Sunday from Athens - so it cost me an extra $200 for deviation and I used Amex pts for the Hotel Grande Bretagne - decided to try and make the best of it that day and night in Athens by putting us in neat hotel -

I took Olympic a few years ago. Had an uneventful flight.
Thanks, Jack, for your comments. It helps to get the "real facts" from an experienced pilot. -Michele

Jack, intresting comments. What do you mean by "third world"? I don't think of France, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and others in that category, so have never hesitated to fly AirFrance, British Airways, Alitalia, SwissAir, Luftansa and others. But you suggest only flying on a US line. Can you expand on this a little bit? I value your comments as a former pilot.

Joanna
I had already paid the deviation for flying in 1 day early to see Monte Carlo. Just hated to pay another.
Michele, glad to hear Olympic was OK. Do you remember anything about their leg room? I am tall.

jhp.....your right, the airlines you mention are fine....I maybe shouldn't have said anything. There are some airlines in this world that I wouldn't get on.

In general, I would stay off the third world airlines.
jack

Karen,

Re: Air Nostrum( regional partner of Iberia)

I just flew it from Madrid to Santander( a city in the north of Madrid). It was a smallish jet but seats were leather and very comfortable( much better than regular coach and another airline). I was surprised because this was barely an hour flight and they gave us breakfast! Also newspapers.

Be aware though that Air Nostrum also flies propeller planes. When I reserved my flight I made sure that it was in one of their jet flights.
If you have your flight number you could go to the Iberia website and check what kind of plane it is.

Thanks Maria, I will do that right now. I won't be surprised if I am on prop plane with burlap seats :)

Hi Betty! Olympic news hot off the press. I don't know further details (ie, how likely is this to become a completed sale? When? How service will be affected?). Cheers, Anne

Olympic Airways is to be sold to a private New York-based investor group,
Olympic Investors-York Capital. The Greek government agreed in principle
and that paves the way for the sale of the airline. The agreement must
have the approval of the European Commission.

Thanks for this info, Anne. I will definitely start following this story. But if they are being sold & continuing to fly - I find that even spookier. I wish I knew why I am so obsessive about this, but I sure am.

You're welcome. Hopefully, this is a good development for the airline. Cheers, Anne

OK everyone, I am more freaked than ever. Even though the Greek plane crash wasn't Olympic Air, I don't can't to get on any Greek airline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All I can think of is how terrifing those last minutes must have been.
RSSC - are you listening????????????????????

Icertainly think you have the right to tell Radisson you wish alternative flight arrangements made. We live in the UK and use some of the smaller airlines here (BMIbaby- it is a good local destination airline) and Easyjet (also local destinations) but i would not travel on Olympic either. As for those that got 4 stars, my husband travels to the far east regularly and has been on Malaysia many times...he thinks it is pathetic, the business seats are TINY and he is not a big man (5'8, 160 lbs.) Good luck and hope you can calm down to enjoy the cruise! Pam