We plan to fly this airline from Istanbul to Athens. Time is perfect, good price-about $80 pp. It is, however, listed on our travel insurance as a problematic al. It possibly recently was bought out by another al. we need to fly on May 23 so are a bit hesitant to jump in right now. Anyone have experience with Olympic (assume it is a Greek al) ?
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
My only experience was a few years ago when we had booked a flight from Athens to Santorini. We confirmed our flight before leaving the Athens hotel but when we got to the airport the agent could not find our names in her computer. We just stood there in front of her insisting that we had confirmed seats, while the queue behind us grew longer and longer. We were never rude or demanding but it finally became apparent to her that we were not about to leave and lose a day of our holiday in Santorini, and lo! suddenly she found our names in her computer. My guess is they had overbooked and were trying to correct the situation.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Susan, If your travel insurance has a problem with Olympic, I'd suggest having a look at Aegean Airlines. They also have direct flights listed from Instanbul / IST to Athens / ATH (1H:20M), with current fares listed at low as €51. I flew with them for the first time last year, and my impression was that Aegean is a "real class act". The flights were very comfortable and everything was perfect. If you haven't been to Athens before, the Metro is the best travel method into the city. I had a bit of trouble finding the airport station at first, but with some help from someone I met on the flight that was easily solved (she even insisted on buying my Metro ticket!). Happy travels!
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
Susan - Check with your travel insurance to see if that is up to date information - it could be the old airline that is listed. I remember the old Olympic Airlines had quite a few problems - I think it was the Greek national airline. As of 2009 I believe it became the privately owned Olympic Air. I flew with them several times since 2009 and have never had a problem except for one time. I had to call the New York office because I never received a confirmation email and they got the confirmation to me right away. I have also recently used Aegean between Mykonos and Athens and then Athens to London. They have very good service.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2186 posts
We had two Olympic flights in September 2011 (Athens to Rhodes, Rhodes to Kastellorizo) with no problems. We also had two Aegean Airlines flights with no problems. Both were booked well in advance. I would confidently book with whichever of these two airlines offers the best price and schedule.