Jennifer B.

Okay, just how bad is Olympic Airways, for comfort and reliability? Should it be avoided at all cost, even if it means forgoing a direct NYC-Athens flight? I have heard that the planes are filled with cigarette smoke, the strikes are often, and the staff is surly. Would love to be told, however, that that's just an old wives' tale. <BR> <BR>Thank you very much!

Ron

Jennifer, <BR> <BR>I haven't flown Olympic since 1997 but did the NY to Athens route as well as Athens - Rhodes, Rhodes - Crete, Crete - Athens, and Athens back to NYC so technically, I guess I have 5 Olympic flights under my belt. I don't remember my experience with Olympic as being either extremely good OR extremely bad. There was smoking in the back of the plane, but just see if you can get a seat as far forward as possible. One thing to keep in mind whenever you are traveling abroad, a culture of customer service is not universal. Just because someone in a service position doesn't kiss your ass like we Americans have come to expect, doesn't mean that person isn't doing a good job. <BR> <BR>(Sorry, you caught me at a bad time)

Yvonne

Jennifer, <BR>If safety is your only concern, then Olympic Airways would be an excellent choice. Do not hold any expectation in terms of service and comfort. Not only is there a smoking section (in the back) but sometimes, inconsiderate (most often Greeks) passengers smoke wherever they feel like it unless one informs the flight attendant to take action. <BR>It's probably not that bad but I personally did not have good experiences flying with them. However, I flew routes within Europe/Africa and therefore, could be somewhat biased or have simply been unlucky.

Jennifer B.

Well, I guess I was just swayed by the story of the guy seated in the smoking section who asked several times to be moved, was refused by the flight attendants, and died of an asthma attack on the flight. Sort of beyond the absence of obsequious simpering, wouldn't you say? <BR> <BR>Anyway, I'm very glad you had a decent experience on your Olympic flights.

Jennifer B.

For clarity's sake, my second post was in response to Ron. <BR> <BR>Thanks to both Yvonne and Ron for their info!

Thyra

Jennifer, we flew Olympic airways in between islands in Greece this past October, the planes were a little ratty in terms of interior decor... very no-frills, but the staff was nice and all the flights were non-smoking,,, granted they were only 45 minutes a pop. But they were all ontime, and one flight was actually EARLY if you can believe that. Didn't notice the staff being particularly surly.

Martha

Jennifer - <BR> <BR>I flew Olympic Airways last June and had very good flights. The planes were new Airbuses with individual video monitors in the back of the seats, so you could watch any number of movies or documentaries. The international flights were all on time, and overall a good experience for a long flight (I flew the JFK-Athens route). <BR>Martha <BR>

Martha

Jennifer - <BR> <BR>I forgot to add - all of Olympic's flights are now non-smoking, as of last June. <BR> <BR>Martha <BR>

Susan

We flew Olympic from Toronto to Athens and then on Rhodes. From Rhodes, we flew to Santorini and then Naxos to Athens and back to Toronto. The inter island flights were fine - small planes, sometimes a little late (the one from Athens to Rhodes was quite late). The one from Toronto to Athens was not that comfortable - we were unlucky enough to be seated in the last row of the first section - our seats only reclined a couple of inches. We had brought our own headphones fortunately - the airline didn't have enough so in the interests of democracy, no one got a headphone! They also ran out of wine and beer before they finished the meal service. We made sure that we didn't get those seats on the return flight. There was also smoking on our flight, but as someone else mentioned, the flights to the US are non-smoking now (I'm sure that Canada will go that way soon). The best thing about it was that it was direct flight and getting there quickly is important to me. I would probably fly them again.

Patrick

I know that a lot of airlines occasionally lose luggage, but on our flight from Athens to Chania, Crete, everyone waited and waited at the carousel until they finally made an announcement (in Greek only). It seems they forgot to load all the luggage in Athens so there was none. It arrived about 10 hours later on their next flight. Other than that our inter-island flights were fine.

Art

Hi Jennifer, I flew Olympic from NY to Greece 3 years ago. The flight was fine and the food reasonable except for the smoking. Now that they have non-smoking you should be fine.

xxx

In Oct. 1998 I asked for a seat as far fron as possible on my Athens to NY flight. Unfortunately the front of economy is right behind the back of 1st class, so the area was filled with smoke, and we could not get the staff to keep the curtain closed between classes. I had a headache for two days and a cough for a week afteerwards. <BR> <BR>Twenty years ago it was even worse. i had a seat in the no-smoking section, but the seat was righ across from one of those empty seats that the flight crew liked to sit in for breaks or during turbulence. Even though it was right in the no-smoking section, they made it their own little smoking island. I complained, but was told, "You must understand, smokers MUST have a place to smoke, and if there is no vacancy in the smoking section, they MUST be able to smoke somewhere." <BR> <BR>The staff was NOT surly, but except for one young woman, even in Oct. 98,The had absolutely no understanding or concern re the need to reduce the smoke flow from the rear of 1st to the front of economy. <BR> <BR>By the way, the check-in procedure in Athens was chaotic. The check-in line was still standing still minutes befroe scheduled take off and was still crawling ahead a half hour after the scheduled take off time. The flight left hours late. <BR> <BR>I have heard that all trans-atlantic flights are now non-smoking, but I'd still have some doubts about Olympic. I wouldn't avoid it at ALL costs, but I would be willing to pay $100 more or add and hour or two to the trip to avoid it.