I would love to realize my dream of seeing the Greek Isles. I'm looking at going the end of May, 2005 (my second choice would be the end of June/early July).

Here's my dilemma: I've been on the phone with American Airlines for weeks now trying to use my miles (ha! I've got a better chance of getting on the next space shuttle!)

We'd be leaving from NY. Ideally, I'd like to stop over one night in London to visit friends on the way back.

Any recommendations for me? I'm wondering if it would be in my best interest to just get to London using my miles, then hope to catch a European flight from there to Greece. Has anyone done this? If so, what airlines would you recommend and would I be able to fly into one of the islands instead of Athens?

Any suggestions you may have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Pat C.

Has AA told you specifically why you cannot use your miles? Do they not open many seats up for miles or something?

We were planning to use miles for April 29- May 14 2006 (Denver-Athens)...

now I am a bit worried!

Texas Aggie, I think the answer is pretty obvious. This is March and PatC is trying to go in less than three months.
You need to call AA and find the exact day you can first book your flights -- approximately 11 months ahead of time.

Pat, the most obvious choice if need be, is to take Easy Jet from London to Athens. From there you need to take Olympic or Aegean to the islands. Someone just posted today about great specials with Aegean to the islands.
I don't know of any flights from London to one of the islands, but I could easily be wrong.

Actually, flying to London on AA and then taking a separate flight to Greece can work well for you with a bit of luck and some diligence. There are many charter flights to Mykonos, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and Kos from London, as well as some discount airlines that have very good fares. Ask your friends in London to help you find some websites that apply. Use their address if necessary for the ticket booking process and have your tickets sent to your friends' house.

I don't know how early in the season the charter flights begin. This might help determine when you go. I prefer late May over late June just because of how busy it starts to get at the end of June. I'll be there this year from mid-May on.

Right now Aegean Airlines has a special offer of discounted flights from Athens to the islands, so you might want to take a look at their website and see if you can take advantage of this fact by booking AA to London, then another flight to Athens and finally Aegean to one of the islands.

http://www.aegean-air.gr/aegeanen/home/

Olympic Airlines flies to the islands as well, and they do fly from London to Athens, I've used them before for this sector.

Ryanair and Easyjet are two discount airlines that come to mind, but there are many charter comapnies to explore. Again, ask your friends.

Work fast on this, the cheap Aegean flights will fill up quickly. Good Luck!!

Thanks Patrick. The answer was not so obvious to me as I've never used FF miles before. I have already determined what day we should call about the tickets, but the AA rep warned that she couldn't say whether they even allow FF mile purchases on our route or how many seats they open up or anything. All we were able to get was the date to call and inquire.
That is why I was wondering if Pat knew something about AA miles and Greece that I did not.

As someone that lives on AA and uses my miles often, a few tips.

- Be flexible in your dates. In my experiences I've found that you can almost always find flights using miles within about a 3-5 day window of target dates. Mid-summer can be a bit tougher but I've never had problems in spring (April-May) or fall (September-October).

- Push the res agent on routings. Most of the time they look at what would be most direct from your market and they don't work too hard to look at other options unless you get a good agent. I live in Dallas and every time they look at the DFW-London flight which is usually full. When I push them, I can route through Raleigh, Boston, Chicago or sometimes even NY and then connect from London, Zurich or sometimes Paris. It might add a leg to your trip but given the extra few hours versus paying for a flight, I find the time worth it.

- For Greece specifcally, you can route through Zurich and connect to Swiss Air into Athens all using AA miles. We're leaving this Saturday on that route for 10 days in Greece. There is an AA non-stop DFW-Zurich which I was able to book less than 3 months ago. Granted I'm early in the year but I got my desired dates first try.

- Check AA's partner airlines when you try to book through AA. AA miles can be used on British Air, Swiss and many others. Check the AA site for a full list. You might be able to catch an AA flight to JFK and then connect with one of the partners on your miles.

- Ignore the AA site to try to book the trip online using miles. Many times it will tell you they don't offer service to a destination but they actually do, through the partner airlines. Again, a good res agent can help with that one.

Good luck with it!

The charter flights from the UK to the Greek islands start early to mid May but a lot have increased the prices of "flight only" options to encourage people to book package holidays - sometimes a week is cheaper with accommodation than without! Scheduled flights are pretty much confined to Athens.

As far as I know the only "no frills" airline route to Greece from the UK is Easyjet to Athens. There are however lots of other options to Athens, especially if you don't want mind changing planes. Have a look at the flight options on www.travelocity.co.uk for various possibilities.

Hi, all:

Thanks for your replies - they're a real help.

Well, I was able to book AA using my FF miles, but it sure ain't pretty: Here's my outgoing agenda:

Leave JFK 9:00pm
Arrive Zurich 10:45am
Leave Zurich 8:20pm
Arrive Athens: 11:55pm

Not sure if I'm up for a 9-hour layover at an airport! (If I wasn't coming off of a long flight, I could probably venture out and see Zurich for a few hours.)

Oh, and the above privilege, though still using miles, will cost us $150 per person in taxes!

The above flights are only on courtesy hold for another week. As has been suggested above, I think it's still in my best interest to consider booking a NY to London flight using my miles, then spending about $200 each to fly charter. Am still researching that option.

Thanks again for your input...will keep you posted on how I make out.

Pat C.

PatC - Not sure if it will help you given the fact that you only have a week courtesy hold but - I'll be connecting through Zurich this weekend and will be posting a trip report on my return so I can tell you what that is like. We don't get back until April 4 though so it might miss your deadline. Most airports like Zurich have day rooms you can rent for a nap & a shower if you don't venture out into the city. BTW, we have a 60 minute connection in Zurich and if we're delayed, I'm likely on the same flights as you with a 9-hour layover!

It's a personal answer - do you pay the $200pp for a charter from London to spend less time connecting or do you spend the time in Zurich and either see the city or grab some sleep for a fee.

The taxes are normal now using FF miles. Not really much way around it but still cheaper than most fares you can find to Europe.

Good luck!

MichaelT,

Thanks for your continued responses.

I went over to the Switzerland message boards and, of course, an inquiry about
Zurich A/P's dayrooms was already posted there. Someone answered that, in additional to the dayrooms, the Allegra Lounge run by Swiss Air may be a better choice. (Sincerely hope you don't need to use this info!)

I'm going to hound American on an hourly basis to see if anything else becomes available, though I doubt it (when I was given the above schedule, the agent seemed genuinely surprised and said I was "lucky".)

If we don't communicate again before you leave, have a wonderful stay in Greece!

Pat C.

PatC,

I have a feeling your info might come in handy. Europe does their daylight savings time change this weekend and thus our connection time is down to 1-hour from the normal 2 hours. Both Swiss and AA told me only 40 minutes is required for the connection but in digging, my arriving flight has been 15-20 minutes late each of the last 3 days.

I think we'll be prepared for a day of sightseeing in Zurich and will give you tips when we return if we do get stuck!

Hi!

I had a similar experience trying to use my FF miles on United. I was VERY flexible (anytime June - August) and fly into/out of ANYWHERE. I had a great option on hold (into Munich and out of Paris) for what we wanted to do, but like you, I kept thinking I could get something better (ie different/better dates).

My hold expired and then I was stuck with going to Frankfurt by way of Chicago and then Toronto (!) and then returning Paris - Montreal - Chicago! Now we are literally spending 24 hours flying each way because I kept thinking I could get something better. I have to give the res agent kudos though for finding me SOMETHING - although it isn't by any means great.

My advice - if you can get the NY-London route and a cheap ticket to your final destination (will AA not hook you up with a connecting flight?), then suck it up and plan on the layover in Zurich.

And next time, learn like I did - plan WAY ahead!

Thanks, everyone, for your advice.

I called American on an almost hourly basis and was able to switch to the following route, using my miles on Iberia:

Leave JFK 9:00pm (5/17)
Arrive Madrid 10:10am (5/18)
Leave Madrid 11:35am
(stop in Barcelona, but don't change planes)
Arrive Athens 5:10pm

I'm much happier with this itinerary. In addition to dreading the long layover in Zurich, I wasn't thrilled with arriving in Athens around midnight.

Again, I really appreciate everyone's input.

Now to start posting with other questions!

Pat C.

Congratulations Pat!!

Out of curiousity, was the fee per person still about $150?

Also, did you just call AA and ask them for the best itineraries available with FF miles, or did you look up the flights on your own and call about them specifically?

Hi, Texas Aggie:

In answer to your question, our taxes are now $133.25pp. American said there are a lot of variables that determine the tax -- the countries, the airlines, and the layover (remember, I'm staying over in London). One agent had mentioned that London, in particular, incurs the most taxes.

FYI, I had a trip to Greece planned two years ago using AA miles (which I ended up not taking). The taxes then were $88pp. This was in April (low season), therefore using less miles. Not sure if that matters or not, but there's certainly a marked increase in the taxes, huh?!

I personally found it easier to just call American (but remember, I'm using much less time than you will have). As with any company, some agents brushed me off, saying there was nothing, while others went out of their way to find me something, anything! One particular agent kept me on the phone for close to 1/2 hour while she insisted there just had to be something for me -- that's when I "luckily" received the Zurich layover!

Hope this helps,

Pat C