OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 17534 posts, RR: 54 Posted (12 months 19 hours ago) and read 7524 times:
Time to go back to Athens . In the end after much searching the different options I decided to go with Olympic. The times were great and maximised my time with the family.
DATE: 01FEB09
AIRLINE: OLYMPIC AIRLINES
ROUTE: LHR-ATH
A/C : BOEING 737-400
REG: SX - BKD NAMED Αμφίπολη - Amfipoli
CLASS : ECONOMY
SEAT : 23C
I arrived into T1 from my BMI flight and collected my bags and went to T2. When I arrived the check in was not open yet as I was quite early.
After a while the check in opened. I checked my bag and got my boarding pass. Check in was conducted by AZ staff. Not the most motivated bunch of people and not one smile.
I went to the OA ticket desk and gave my Icarus number and asked if it would be possible to block the middle row as I knew there were around 20 seats available. The girl said no problem and called the check in to block 23B . Was nice of her to do it and it cost nothing but would give me some nice space.
I then decided to go and look at the aircraft . I made my way from the main T2 building to the car park.
QF A380 at T4
Top of T2 car park.
It was quite cold so I decided to go back into the Terminal and go through security.
The building of LHR
Security was not the fastest and took around 15 minutes.
Airside.
I decided to go to Cafe Nero which is a really nice place for Coffee.
Then it was time to go to the gate. Along the way I passed the Tarom flight from OTP. Sorry Nick I could not get a proper photo !! RO was hiding .
My A/C.
Soon it was time to board. Announcements were made in English and Greek.
I was greeted by a smiling FA at the door who checked my BP.
Right away I was surprised to see that the cabin interior was really clean and well maintained. I expected it to be worn and tired to be honest.
Footrest.
So I got settled into my seat and there was plenty of legroom and the seat was very comfortable. So far so good.
VIDEO CLICK TO VIEW
VIDEO CLICK TO VIEW
After take off headphones were handed out.
VIDEO CLICK TO VIEW
VIDEO CLICK TO VIEW
Then the meal and drinks service commenced.
The meal was actually really nice. Tender Beef pieces in a slightly spicy sauce. Noodles were cooked just right. The Dessert was really nice also. Traditional Greek sweets. Not bad for a 3hr 30mins Y class . Better than some J class meals Ive had.
After the meal I was a bit tired. I put the Greek music channel on and got some sleep before waking up to stretch my legs.
The flight went quickly and soon it was time to land. It had been a really pleasant flight with good service from an excellent crew.
VIDEO CLICK TO VIEW
I couldnt fault anything. We pulled up to the gate and disembarked. I thanked the crew for a great flight and made my way to baggage reclaim.
Then into arrivals to get the Bus to Piraeus.
After just over an hour I got to the house . Home sweet home .
Then ran out to the Souvlaki shop ( kebab ) for my fav snack.
So thats the end of my report. The OA experience was a really good one. Better than I thought in Y class. I will certainly choose them again.
FLIEGER67 From Germany, joined Sep 2003, 2192 posts, RR: 50 Reply 2, posted (12 months 18 hours ago) and read 7423 times:
Hey, Phil,
good to read something more from Olympic, the future sounds somewhat unclear for OA.
SX-BKD is also a frequent visitor to STR.
Nice pics, as always.
Hope you had a good time in Greece.
Shamrock350 From Ireland, joined Mar 2005, 5388 posts, RR: 17 Reply 3, posted (12 months 18 hours ago) and read 7360 times:
Hi Philip,
Great report, it's nice to read something positive about Olympic. The meal looks very tasty, not something I would have expected at all for a Y class flight, the overall service sounds good as well which is a pleasant surprise.
Quoting OA260 (Thread starter): The meal was actually really nice. Tender Beef pieces in a slightly spicy sauce. Noodles were cooked just right. The Dessert was really nice also. Traditional Greek sweets.
I can see that. Another plus from OA.
Quoting OA260 (Thread starter): Then ran out to the Souvlaki shop ( kebab ) for my fav snack.
This one is nice as well.
Nice TR! I am getting in the mood for flying to Greece.
SQ772 From Singapore, joined Nov 2001, 1772 posts, RR: 4 Reply 6, posted (12 months 17 hours ago) and read 7197 times:
Thanks for your report, very nice pictures. The cabin and meals all looked very good. Unfortunately your links to the videos didn't work. How was the service by the crew in Y?
EI320 From Ireland, joined Dec 2007, 1080 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (12 months 17 hours ago) and read 7158 times:
Hi Phil,
Great report, the cabin pics and videos were very nice. The cabin looks pretty comfortable too, and having IFE on a relatively short flight is a surprise too.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 17534 posts, RR: 54 Reply 8, posted (12 months 16 hours ago) and read 7142 times:
Quoting Rogerbcn (Reply 1): It is probably their white livery which tends to get dirty very fast.
Hola Roger ,
I hate the white livery. I like the original Blue stripe one.
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 2): the future sounds somewhat unclear for OA.
Hi Markus, Yes things are all up in the air at the moment but in the last few days things are moving quite fast and a confirmed bid has been put in my MIG and Swissport so things are looking pretty good. OA always gets something at the last moment LOL... Everyone will breathe a huge sigh of relief if all goes ok.
Quoting Shamrock350 (Reply 3): he meal looks very tasty, not something I would have expected at all for a Y class flight,
Hi Kev, Yes I expected a cold dry sandwich as with most other EU carriers in Y but OA still have great catering in Y which is promising.
Quoting Akhmad (Reply 4): That is quite unique for an European flight.
Yes headphones for an intra EU flight. I cant remember that on any other intra EU airline in Y or even J class.
Quoting LXA340 (Reply 5): I guess you didn't find a good LX deal this time
Swiss have cut down their services to Dublin which is a shame so I had ruled them out. When I changed my dates Swiss were available on those days but the upgrade offer in J was full so was not worth flying LX in Y class for basic miles etc... If Im not earning decent miles then I take the opportunity to fly different airlines for a change.
Quoting SQ772 (Reply 6): Unfortunately your links to the videos didn't work. How was the service by the crew in Y?
Sorry about the videos , They can be seen Via this link
The crew were really nice and smiling throughout. Chatting to the passengers and did a few drinks rounds. All in all a major improvement in the last year or so.
Quoting OA260 (Thread starter): I went to the OA ticket desk and gave my Icarus number and asked if it would be possible to block the middle row as I knew there were around 20 seats available. The girl said no problem and called the check in to block 23B . Was nice of her to do it and it cost nothing but would give me some nice space
Hi Mark,
No I havnt lol.. Just having a break. Will be more LX reports in a few weeks .
Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 9): I didn't think you knew this class existed
Has to be done sometimes and with the service I got on the OA flights there really wasnt much difference except for the meal. IFE / Middle seat blocked lol.. It was DIY J class.
B747forever From United States of America, joined May 2007, 14381 posts, RR: 12 Reply 13, posted (12 months 15 hours ago) and read 6833 times:
Hi Phil, glad to have you back
The pics are really nice.
The meal looks really good and tasty. For a 3.5 hour long flight that is really good. Many carriers supposed to be better than OA doesnt offer that much.
SXDFC From United States of America, joined Dec 2007, 1420 posts, RR: 18 Reply 14, posted (12 months 12 hours ago) and read 6508 times:
gia'sou Phil:
OA should hire you as a PR personal as you always manage to make OA look good! While reading your TR - I kept on staring at the model of "Kilo Delta" on my shelf near the comp, if only you managed to get on it when it still carried its special scheme! I look forward to more OA TRs! along with maybe some pics of ATH! =)
TR1 From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 127 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (12 months 9 hours ago) and read 6208 times:
Great report. I flew on SX-BKD in Jan 2008 from ATH-AMS and was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the aircraft and the service onboard. The breakfast in Y-class had more food than in F-class on NW domestic.
Airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 2206 posts, RR: 20 Reply 17, posted (12 months 9 hours ago) and read 6183 times:
Hi Philip,
interesting reading material again from you We don't see OA covered that much here, and the B734 is harder to get on nowadays. I'm surprised by the service and quality you got on these older machines. When I read the title of you report, I also thought... Philip made a wrong choice with the OA 734 .
So, as far as I can judge, they seem to do very well, and I wouldn't have problems to fly them some day myself.
Although, my next trip to Greece (JMK) later this year is booked on OR.
Hi Eric. No your right and Im about to change that in future. OA gets alot of bad press and some of it is warranted but alot of the time it is not. People talk without even having tried the product or service and just love to take swipes at OA. Its time to tell it like it really is. If I have bad flights in the future they will get critisised also but when they do well they will equally be credited. Its a good airline with good crew and service. Hopefully that will carry on if MIG and Swissport take over.
Quoting Semsem (Reply 18): Over 10 years ago I flew a few times OA from TLV to JFK and LHR and the meals were always good.
Yes indeed the food was always pretty decent on Longhaul and Midhaul flights. Its like airlines used to be in Y . I used to see quite a few LHR-ATH-TLV passengers back in the days when I was a regular on the LHR-ATH route.
GSPSPOT From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 1932 posts, RR: 2 Reply 20, posted (11 months 4 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 5353 times:
Very nice report - thanks for sharing! OA look like they have a good operation. Even thought the a/c is older, the interior looks spotless. Thanks for the great pics at LHR also!
Looking for more & better service at my home airport.
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 17534 posts, RR: 54 Reply 21, posted (11 months 4 weeks 23 hours ago) and read 4909 times:
Quoting GSPSPOT (Reply 20): Even thought the a/c is older, the interior looks spotless
Hi yes I agree before I boarded I didnt expect much , I thought worn interior and shabby seats but the interior seems to have had refit. Didnt expect the nice blue Leather walls at the back either.
Quoting GSPSPOT (Reply 20): Thanks for the great pics at LHR also!
Welcome. I just wish it had have been a brighter day to get some really nice pics.
DALCE From Netherlands, joined Feb 2007, 1249 posts, RR: 17 Reply 22, posted (11 months 4 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 4835 times:
Hi Philip!
Nice to read about your travelling again! It seems OA has really upgraded their service, and the machine looks old styled but maintained quite well!
A real positve surprise I must say!
Thanks for sharing!
Joost (D-ALCE)
flown on : F50,F70,CR1,CR2,CR9,E75,143,AR8,733,735,736,73G,738,753,744,319,320,321,AB6. Next flights AMS-CFU-AMS with OR
OA260 From Ireland, joined Nov 2006, 17534 posts, RR: 54 Reply 24, posted (11 months 3 weeks 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 4425 times:
Quoting DALCE (Reply 22): OA has really upgraded their service,
Hi Joost thanks , yes certainly seems so.
Quoting EIRules (Reply 23): Ugh, just when I thought I had seen the last of them stinking kebabs they make a comeback!
Like I said those Thessaloniki ones we had a 2am were not real kebabs. The Athens ones are much better . We might get to try them soon.
Quoting EIRules (Reply 23): I still think you should have followed my suggestion
I know and it would have been good but I bottled out lol..
25 AlexEU: Hi, Excellent trip report with great pics! Was it better then the A340-300 on the same route? Shame it didn't havre 5 abreast in coach though! I prefe
26 Kaneporta1: I've been flying OA regularly on the LHR run, since 1997 and I have not seen any improvement in service recently. If anything OA used to have the bes
27 OA260: No you cant beat the A340 IMHO. I have been flying the route on and off since 1976 , Admittedly the early years I was in a carry cot But I have seen
28 Aleksandar: Nice trip report! For a moment, the interior looked cramped and strange, but then I realized that read your similar report, but on A340 and it cleared
29 OA260: Its good to know they are still taking part in international fairs etc.. they had a good stand at the London World Travel Market last November. Its a
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