Olympic Airlines Update
Friday October 3, 2008
Okay, everyone. Listen carefully. The Greek government plan to bail out and privatize Olympic Airlines has been approved by the Greek Parliament. Pantheon Airlines will begin operations in parallel with Olympic, then Olympic will cease operations, whereupon Pantheon will be renamed to include "Olympic" in its name, and it will then take over some of Olympic Airlines routes. Whether or not any of the routes Pantheon assumes will be international is obscure at this point. My advice? If you're booking an international flight, I'd consider choosing a carrier other than Olympic/Pantheon until late spring in 2009, when it should all shake itself out - at least until the airline is finally sold into truly private hands, expected to be at the end of 2009.
And my guess on the ultimate name? "Olympic Pantheon" makes good sense, since the gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus are sometimes referred to as the "Olympic Pantheon". Here's hoping Athena, goddess of wisdom, is on hand to help out during the transition.
More:
Sofia Echo - Greek parliament Approves Olympic Airlines privatisation amid employee protests
Comments
for those who booked international flights with olympic a while ago, prior to the takeover of olympic by pantheon, what should they be doing (beside praying)?
In all likelihood, there will be a smooth transition and few - if any - problems with tickets being honored. But I have not yet seen any list of what international routes will be preserved - that hasn’t been established yet, and as I mentioned, there seems to be conflicting information on whether or not the “new” Olympic will continue operating internationally. I suspect that they will, but depending on your type of ticket and the timing, you may want to explore your options.
I had to fly Olympic last year from Madrid to Athens. My first trip on them in ten years. I sat by the exit door in the first row of coach on an airbus and got to see the cabin crew stuff their suitcases with every bottle of liquor, food, coffee and anything else catered onboard. When one of them saw me looking at this in disbelief, he sat next to me and said that it was the standard way on Olympic and they “deserved” it and management would never try to stop it or there would be a strike.
no wonder this crappy excuse went broke. I would hope that the new company has some competent management who would not hire any of these crooks.
On Greek state channel “NET”, it was reported that New York, London, and Paris were some of the international routes that will be carried over to the new Olympic. All flights will operate normally until April 2009, when the old Olympic will close, with Pantheon taking over something like 6 or 70% of the routes. So tickets until then are safe at least.
If you have a ticket after that, and that route is canceled on the new Olympic, you will be re-booked with another airline most likely. The exact route details and such should be made public in the next month or so. Pantheon Airways has already set up offices in Athens.
Hi,
Unfortunately I booked OA for Athens -> Paros flight for the 8th June 2009. Am I in danger of loosing my money and booking?
Please advice me, as I am worried.
Thanks.
I could be wrong here, but I believe that Paros is one of the legally subsidized island routes by the Greek government, that will in fact be carried over to the new Olympic/Pantheon. Again, I could be wrong if Paros is included in that list. Maybe deTraci Regula can advise you further, but a list of routes should be announced soon.
I agree with AJ: the island routes are likely to be in good shape after the transition. But I would check closer to your flight date to be sure there are no schedule changes - but that’s a good idea whenever you book a flight that far ahead. I’ve run into several unexpected changes on OA of ten or twenty minutes - not late planes, but a tweaked schedule. It’s not usually a problem, but still a surprise at times.
Hi, i am looking to book flights from LHR to Athens for may 22nd 2009 on OA do you think its safe to so?
LHR was one of the routes that will supposedly be kept in the new OA according to the state news channel, but I would honestly wait for an official announcement as everything is still up in the air right now. An announcement should be made in the coming month about what routes Pantheon/new Olympic will operate.
We have reserved seats from Manchester to Athens on May 28 with O.A. Quite worried that these tickets will not be honoured. Have you any advise?
At present, things are moving very slowly on the OA transition - temporary or not - to Pantheon Air. As of this writing (mid-Jan 2009) I think the spring schedule into June is safe. But check closer to the time.
Once again, I expect that the inter-island flights will not be affected and at this point, I don’t expect international flights to be affected until later in the season, if then.
hello
i would like to book a flight from athens to kavala on the 27th may 2009…is this a safe idea or is there a chance i will lose my money?
thanks
Hi Lia,
I think any domestic flight that soon should be fine. I personally doubt that there will be any schedule changes until late in 2009, if then. You may want to see my more recent post on the acquisitino of Olympic Airlines by MIG: It’s Official: Olympic Airlines to be Bought by MIG
Just to further clarify, I don’t expect anyone to lose any of their money on any OA ticket - you would get a refund if a flight was cancelled - but there could be some inconvenient changes especially later in the summer and into fall. For the immediate future things should proceed normally - the sale still needs EU final approval and then approval by various ministries.
Thanks so much for your reply.
Do you offer advice on greek ferries?