AlitaliaMD11 From Spain, joined Dec 2003, 4068 posts, RR: 20 Posted (4 months 2 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 1273 times:
I flew Aegean Airlines for the first time on Wednesday from Mykonos to Athens on an A320. Although the flight was only 15 minutes, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable flight.
I was reading their in-flight magazine, which is very similar in size to the likes of Vogue and Vanity Affair, about some facts I was not aware of. Such as the fact that the airline is now Greece's largest and is the largest operator at ATH. The airline has also recently placed a fleet renewal order for A320 + A321 aircraft to replace older 737-400 + Avro aircraft.
With their expanding route network throughout Europe and growing prosperity, would it make sense for the airline, or do they have plans I am not aware of, to someday start long haul flights from Greece? The airline offers low fares and great service and could potentially enter into a high fare plagued market like NYC-ATH with positive results. With the airlines new relationship with Airbus, they could alter an A32X order or two for an A330-200 or A350.
Delta, Continental, and Olympic all fly from NYC to ATH but have very expensive fares and from personal experience, the cheapest way to get to Greece, or even Turkey for that matter, from New York in the summer is via another European city with a connection. If Aegean entered into this market, even if only a seasonal summer flight, offering low fares and a great product, the could seriously shake things up.
OA260 From Greece, joined Nov 2006, 16712 posts, RR: 53 Reply 1, posted (4 months 2 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 1247 times:
A3 will not go it alone on longhaul, they stated that last year. It had been discussed on English and Greek aviation forums and most agreed it would not be beneficial for A3. They need to keep doing what they are good at and thats Small ,efficient and now a member of Star Alliance ( soon ) . They will feed longhaul traffic to the MUC and FRA hubs under the current codeshares. It makes no sense for them to go it alone.
I would also expect A3 to codeshare with Swiss and others also after entry into Star. ATH is becoming a strong base for Star Carriers. A3/LH/LX/TG/SQ/LO/OS/US. Im sure I have missed one.
It will certainly be an interesting 12 months.
Olympic Air " Η Ελλάδα ψηλά " - ''Flying Greece Sky High''
Superfly From United States, joined May 2000, 29861 posts, RR: 88 Reply 5, posted (4 months 1 week 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 825 times:
Quoting AlitaliaMD11 (Thread starter): Delta, Continental, and Olympic all fly from NYC to ATH but have very expensive fares and from personal experience, the cheapest way to get to Greece, or even Turkey for that matter, from New York in the summer is via another European city with a connection.
That is something I noticed when I bought my ticket from Athens to New York a few years ago.
Price wasn't an issue for me as I was determined to fly Olympic Airways A340 to New York.
It was $300 more expensive than Delta and Lufthansa required a layover.
Personally I felt the higher cost was worth every penny but I know most travellers don't think like that when buying a ticket.
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