Let me remind everyone of some facts concerning Olympic (Airways-Airlines) case.
1. Olympic is a state owned, flag carrier. Like every other 100% state owned company, Olympic suffers from "diseases" called POLITICIANS. All the Greek goverments from 1975 were using Olympic for their own purposes. Recently an Air Transport university professor mr Lainos made an account of all the money that the state owns Olympic from various things like newspapers transport, free traveling for state employees, presidential flights etc. The sum is 2 billion Euros!
2. EU rules is something that surely does not apply to everyone. Alitalia, Air France and Iberia cases can verify that. Ask Mr Berlouskoni for legal ways around them...
3. Aegean Airlines is a good REGIONAL company. Mr Vasilakis has put a great effort in making some room in the Greek air transport market for his company. Somehow he "conviced" the politicians to shrink Olympic so Aegean could have a piece of the pie. I like this guy. He's using the system from within!
But this is a professional pilots forum so I think we should be focusing on how the Aegean pilots feel...
4. Greece is not ready to let Olympic go down. The political cost is too high.
5. Olympic has too many problems but all of them are results from a bad (state) management. If the goverment really wants Olympic to survive, the company has to be sold immediately. Then with a real boss above Olympic (and not some stealing gang called political party) will show its potential.
6. The marketlevel in Greek air transport market is something that this very good bussinesman Mr Vassilakis has invented. He decided that his professional pilots are not worth paying them more than greek taxi drivers so he set the numbers accordigly.
7. I don't really know if HALPA is yet open to every pilot from all companies, I think they are in the process of that. If not I agree that HALPA should not represent Greek pilots in IFALPA. Maybe we should send AEGEAN PILOTS ASSOSIATION....
GreekPilot747 do you have their number ;-)