flights to Santorini
 

We are looking for roundtrip flights to Santorini from Athens for the first week of May. How early do we have to book? I'm watching for sales but don't want the flights to sell out. Thanks for any info. What would a "good" price be for this flight? (Including taxes) Thanks

Check the websites for Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air. Sign up for their email newsletters and you'll be notified about any fare sales. The cheapest tickets go for about €39, one-way, all taxed included. Expect the fare sales for May to be announced sometime in March.

It could even be sooner. Just keep your eye out on those websites and make trial bookings to see what pops up.

where are you based sanda? my reason for asking being that some UK airports fly direct to santorini, so flying into one and out of the other might be an option if you haven't booked your athens tickets yet

When would the fare sale be for September? Is this fairly predictable?

It's difficult to predict exactly, but usually about 2 months ahead of the time frame offered. It's best just to keep making regular trial bookings on the Aegean and Olympic websites until you see the discounted fares.

I'm based out of the USA and we already have our transatlantic flight. Do I have to worry about the Santorini flights selling out if I wait around too long?

Also difficult to predict. The domestic discounted saver fares will be in the €39 range so use that as your measuring stick. Just know that sometime before May they will be offered.

Can I add a related question, please? We are supposed to arrive in Athens at 9:30 am. Is it too risky to book the 11:50 am flight to Santorini? There is another one but it's much later, after 5 pm. I don't want to sit in the airport that long but I am afratd that we may get there late and miss the earlier flight. How likely it is that there will be 4 seats available on the afternoon flight?

By the end of June the flights will most likely be sold out, so don't expect to be able to switch flights at the last minute, especially if you need 4 seats. Either book the later flight or take your chances.

That said, 2.5 hours is ample time to make your connection to Santorini, especially if you're flying in from another EU airport where you will have already been processed through Passport Control and Customs. With that out of the way all you'll have to do is collect your bags and go upstairs to check in for the flight to Santorini.

I was planning on taking the 11:50 flight to Santorini on May 4 but now I see that it's been switched to 10am! I'm glad I didn't plan on going directly to Santorini upon arrival from US or I never would have made the connection. I wonder how often they change the flight times like that? I still haven't purchased my tickets from Athens to Santorini and back. Waiting for better prices - hopefully flights don't sell out.

More flights will be added on both Olympic Air and Aegean. There will be at least one more on each schedule, sometime around mid-day. That's probably when the saver fares will be available. If you keep a sharp eye out on their websites you'll catch them before they sell out.

sanda, I had the same exact problem. There was an 11:50 am flight to Santorini. Now, Aegean's website shows a flight with the same number at 10 am, while Expedia has the same flight for 11:50am. The only other flight on Aegean that we can take on the same day is at 19:45 pm and that's so late. What to do at the airport for so long? I hope they will add another flight. I am a bit reluctant to book one on Olympic because their reviews are horrible. But my husband says they have turned the company around after filing for bankruptcy.

Brotherleelove, do you mean that the added flights tend to be cheaper or that they are usually added at a time when they are doing a promotion? We are flying at the end of June. I guess, we can wait a bit longer to see what happens.

Neither. The timing is just basically the same as when the summer flight schedule becomes available. As mentioned, this should happen sometime in March but it could be sooner. Just keep an eye out on the Aegean and Olympic websites and you'll eventually find them.

Don't worry about Olympic. The old company with the bad ratings, Olympic Airlines, no longer exists, and a completely new company, Olympic Air, has been formed. Skytrax ratings for the new airline are actually very good. Both Aegean and Olympic Air have been given a 3-Star (out of a possible 5) ranking by Skytrax.

BTW, Aegean and Olympic Air have applied to merge, and a much delayed ruling by the European Commission is now expected in February. If the merger goes ahead, the new airline will use the Olympic name and logo. A major stumbling block is that the merger will create a near monopoly in the Greek domestic market.

Gina - the flight time changes and not knowing if we'd have time to make a connection plus not wanting to sit at the airport for HOURS was what finally made us decide to spend a couple of day in Athens before going to Santorini. I'll just have to keep watching the flights everyday and watch for a deal. My husband & I decided that even if we don't get a deal we'll just bite the bullet and pay whatever. We don't want to spend 8 hours on a ferry. Good luck to you!

You might also have the option of taking a highspeed ferry which will reach Santorini in 4.5-5 hours, as opposed to 8. I say 'might' because it will depend on the date of travel.

Brotherleelove and Heimdall, thanks for all the helpful information. Sanda - I talked to both Aegean and Olympic today on the phone. Both said it was unlikely to add another flight but I am not sure they were telling the truth. We will keep checking for some time and if nothing changes, we'll take the 4 pm Olympic. I am risk averse and would rather have it settled even if it's not a deal. Good luck to you, too.

Hi Gina,

In the past it's always been the case that around March extra flights were added to the summer schedule, but tourism has been down in Greece for the last two years, and is expected to drop again in 2011. What Olympic and Aegean are telling you may be correct. Even if the merger doesn't take place, the two airlines will be looking at their timetables to reduce excess capacity.

When I book Greek domestic flights I am more concerned about departure times than price. The island I usually fly to has only fully flex fares, and when I have flown to/from Santorini I have booked semi-flex. With fully flex and semi-flex you can make changes, so I look at it as a form of insurance. :-)