alpinemccain

We are landing in Athens on September 22 at 9h55 am and we need to get to Santorini the same day - earliest possible

Here are the options I've seen...prices are for 2, including taxes

Aegean - 10h50 am for $99 EUR
Aegean - 4h15 pm - $200 EUR
Olympic - 12h30 pm - $200 EUR

The ideal would be 10h50 am..i.e. cheapest and earliest in Santorini...however if we land at 9h55, even if we are on time, by the time we get our luggage...check into Aegean, we would miss it for sure right?

Next best option is Olympic, however I heard Olympic was a bad choice since likely will not be around due to insolvency...?

Is there another flight company?? 4h15 is late....

or will I be fine with Olympic?

brotherleelove2004

One hour isn't anywhere near enough time. Don't try it.

Either spend one night in Athens so you can catch the morning flight, take a chance on Olympic or wait for the ferry schedules to come out. Chances are there's a ferry departing from Piraeus to Santorini somtime after your arrival, and there's an Airport Express Bus that will take you right to Piraeus. You can buy your ferry tickets at the airport from the Amphitrion Holidays travel desk in the Main Hall to save a little time.

There are no other flight companies.

alpinemccain

If I land at 9h55, what is the earliest realistic ferry I could catch?

I guess the 4h15 is not terrible...but It would be better to spend my jetlagged afternoon by the pool in santorini then waiting in the airport, so I guess I might take a chacne on olympic...

if they go bankkrupt...am I out of pocket?

I had finally decided and booked my hotels.... Ikies 3 nights and Mykonos Grand 3 nights...so no way I'm changing my ittenary again, everyoen on this board will kiill me!!

Heimdall

I don't think you have much chance of making the 1050 flight, so wouldn't even consider it.

Olympic Airlines is up for sale as a going concern, and is likely to retain most of its domestic routes, certainly the profitable ones like Santorini. It is simply unthinkable for Olympic Airlines to not exist in one form or another - there are many remote islands and mainland locations that rely upon it for an air link to Athens. The Greek government will never allow it to disappear.

If you book the 1230 Olympic flight and it is cancelled, you will either get a refund or a rearranged flight. If you book the 1615 Aegean flight, you may be able to check in with Aegean when you arrive, then take the metro into Athens for a few hours. If you already have your boarding passes, you can proceed directly to the departure gate - just be sure you return to the airport in time.

Heimdall

We cross-posted. There is a new Blue Star evening ferry service to Santorini on Tue, Thu, & Sun. It departs Piraeus at 1900, and arrives Santorini around midnight. I believe Sep 22nd is a Tue, so that would work. See http://www.danae.gr/news.asp?id=174

alpinemccain

Thanks for the responses!

Ferry would work, however my goal is to get the the earliest possible....

I'll book the 12h30 and rely on the Greek government not to leave me stranded

Any chance Aegean adds another flight from now till then to there schedule or based on previous years, they only kept those 2 flights...

Olympic is $50 EUR each, but with fees, $100EUR each....is this a good price for Olympic or should I wait for a sale...since my hotels are booked, I don't want to take too many chances and book flight ASAP...

Heimdall

I have a Summer 2008 timetable, and it shows Flight A3356 departing at 1300 from May 1st, so it's very possible Aegean may add that extra flight for 2009. You have months to book your flight, so don't worry about booking ASAP.

Personally I wouldn't even start thinking about booking a September flight until sometime next Spring.

worldinabag

"if they go bankkrupt...am I out of pocket?"

Not if you have travel insurance (of course check terms of your policy). Of course this doesn't help re travel arrangements!

Heimdall

Olympic Airlines won't go bankrupt - it is a state-owned company. Here is a recent story on the situation: http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w...11/2008_101887

alldaytravel

While Olympic may not go bankrupt, they are definitely not reliable. We tried to avoid using them, but ended up booking them for one of our flights from Crete back to Athens. They were consistently changing flight times and cancelling flights every day for the whole week we were there. Our flight ended up getting delayed for over 5 hours...I wouldn't use them if I could at all avoid it. I would play it safe and stay in Athens if you can manage that...