Flying to Greece as much as I do, I usually find myself on Olympic for at least part of the trip.
Last year, my only complaint was the food coming out of New York, a problem that was absent this year.
The Bad - Are Delays More Frequent than they Need to Be?
I was delayed for two hours in New York which required a later flight from Athens to Heraklion. I was informed of the delay when I checked in and given, without requesting it, a meal voucher. However, once arriving in Athens, the connecting flight was also delayed. A quick check at Aegean Airlines and with airport personnel indicated that it was a bad day to fly, apparently the result of bad weather in the US causing equipment shortages which cascaded into Greek flights on several airlines. With both delays adding up, we were delayed about six hours. Two other travelers I knew on the same journey who had arrived earlier were also delayed about the same amount of time, though their connecting flights were with Aegean.
The Good - Great customer service
When my luggage was left in Paris (by United Airlines), Olympic Airlines employee Patiraki Z was so sweetly comforting, I almost didn't mind (and of course, I had packed so I could lose my luggage without losing my mind.) "Do not be sad, we will find your luggage, I promise!" she said, patting my hand. She came through - my bags were ready to go to my final destination before I was.
The Ugly - Air Travel Worldwide
Traveling as much as I do, Olympic Airlines is still more than holding its own against other airlines and their problems. The food is better than I get on bankruptcy-wracked air carriers in the US, and the service has been consistently warm and friendly - and I travel as an anonymous passenger, not a travel writer (and as of yet, I still haven't straightened our my lost frequent-flyer paperwork, so I'm not getting points for that, either.) When I compare my experiences on Olympic to recent challenges on other airlines, they still come out ahead and that's what gives them that fourth star above. I wasn't happy about the delays this trip, but they couldn't compare to a foodless, at-my-own-expense overnight delay inflicted on me by American Airlines, or the unnecessary rudeness or just indifference of desk personnel and flight attendants on other supposedly major airlines. Olympic Airlines has never asked me to ignore a missing part of wing cover for a transatlantic flight, as happened to me on British Airways
The Great - Best Landing I've Ever Experienced
It's not often that an entire plane bursts into applause, but that's what happened landing in New York on my last Olympic Airlines flight. We touched down onto the runway so gently that for a moment I thought it was just possible we'd actualy crashed and were now sitting on fluffy clouds on the "other side". Another passenger nearby mentioned that all Olympic Airlines pilots are military-trained
