I'm trying to book a morning flight from Santorini to Athens, either on Olympic Airways (OA) or Aegean Aviation. Once we arrive in Athens we will catch a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul departing at 10:30 a.m. <BR> <BR>The Aegean Aviation departure time fits our schedule better (departs at 7:55 a.m.) and costs about $53.70. The OA flight costs $66.70 and departs at the early hour of 6:45 a.m. <BR> <BR>Has anyone had any experience with either of these airlines? Which would you recommend? <BR> <BR>Thanks! <BR> <BR>Eunice

Flew Olympic from Athens&lt;&gt;Naxos a couple of years ago. Prop plane that held 18; we were 4 so we had to sit in the four corners to balance the plane. Tang was the complimentary beverage.

i don't place that much emphasis on airplane food or drinks but i seriously hope they can do better than tang!... <BR> <BR>btw, can anyone enlighten me as to olympics's punctuality?

I've only flown Olympic once and that was from New York to Athens. It was a nice flight and punctual, but a 747. <BR>

Hi, <BR> <BR>I flew both of these airlines last summer between different islands. They are the same. Both were small planes.The Olympic flight was late to leave Santoini. I do not know why. The Aegean was on time leaving Rhodes. I have taken Olympic before when it was on time. Who knows. Good luck.

We flew Olympic Airways the summer of 1999 from New York to Athens. We took off about 11/2 - 2 hours late. They had us board about 45 minutes late and then we sat and waited. We heard from other passangers that there was a bomb threat so all the luggage had to be removed. As soon as we took off dinner was served --and it took them forever to clear the dishes. I was "yelled" at for stacking dishes but after all that waiting I had to vist the restroom. The lady in front of us had a very loud cat under her seat and the poor lady across the aisle got sick anytime food or water was brought around--fortunately for her that wasn't very often. <BR>All in all I wouldn't rate them a 10 but we did make it safely and in the end that's all that really matters. <BR>

Our international flight on Olympic (Toronto to Athens) left a lot to be desired, but I thought the inter-island flights were fine. We first flew from Athens to Rhodes, then Rhodes to Santorini, and finally Naxos to Athens. The Athens to Rhodes flight was late departing, but I don't expect a lot from any airline these days!

My experience was the same as Susan's. The flight from NY to Athens was ghastly, but the inter-island flights were fine. I don't recall any problems being late. It's basically bus service.

I took both Aegean and Olympic airlines on my last trip to the islands. The Aegean flight was on time and the 3 Olympic flights I took were delayed (between 30 to 90 minutes). Also, the Aegean plane was new and the Olympic ones were not. A local travel agent told us that since Aegean is a privately owned company, they are more customer oriented and service is generally better than on Olympic which is government owned and run.

IN a nutshell.....six of one, half a dozen of the other!