Olympic Airlines/Air
Tabs please !
Air France and Alitalia will be watching this with great interest !
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@ BigFraidyCat:
I do not think that Olympic in its sorry state of today is the "pride of the greeks".
It might have been in the days of Onassis.
But the management over the years did not even feel the obligation to name one aircraft after Onassis. Post mortem that is.
Instead they name them after Olympic Gold medal winners, that are still alive and some of them involved in doping scandals.
You name a few suggestions to improve their situation: Well they are restructuring and reorganising for the last 11 years at least, with no visible financial results. They lost money when they were a monopoly, and the employees´ attitudes have not changed a bit since then.
Customer orientation? Not existent! They think Olympic is God´s gift to them to make a living.
Alitalia and Air France are watching this with interest, because if the European Commission gets tough on illegal subsidies, they might be next to get a letter from Brussels.
I do not think that Olympic in its sorry state of today is the "pride of the greeks".
It might have been in the days of Onassis.
But the management over the years did not even feel the obligation to name one aircraft after Onassis. Post mortem that is.
Instead they name them after Olympic Gold medal winners, that are still alive and some of them involved in doping scandals.
You name a few suggestions to improve their situation: Well they are restructuring and reorganising for the last 11 years at least, with no visible financial results. They lost money when they were a monopoly, and the employees´ attitudes have not changed a bit since then.
Customer orientation? Not existent! They think Olympic is God´s gift to them to make a living.
Alitalia and Air France are watching this with interest, because if the European Commission gets tough on illegal subsidies, they might be next to get a letter from Brussels.
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Little to disagree with you here. Many clients will fly anything else except Olympic, citing service (oxymoron here!) as their worst complaint. The sad part is that what they lack in service, they more than make up for with their excellent safety record. That is how I choose an airline.
Yes, that they did not honor Onassis is indeed a shame. Both father and son.
Yes, that they did not honor Onassis is indeed a shame. Both father and son.
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Alitalia and Air France are watching this with interest, because if the European Commission gets tough on illegal subsidies, they might be next to get a letter from Brussels.
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The fact that Olympic is still flying is a miracle! The airline has been used and abused for decades from subsequent Greek goverments using it as a political pawn.
Remember my days in Athens ATC in the early eighties when the airline employed no less than 14000 people!!! when at the same time Swissair with three times bigger fleet only employed 5000!
And we all know what happened to them.
I shall never forget a fam flight to Amsterdam on a 727 when the chief FA told me that 80% of the passengers on that flight were on a freebie!!
It will be a shame though to lose the name which is rightly 100% Greek and should remain so.
Good luck to all the crews and staff!
Remember my days in Athens ATC in the early eighties when the airline employed no less than 14000 people!!! when at the same time Swissair with three times bigger fleet only employed 5000!
And we all know what happened to them.
I shall never forget a fam flight to Amsterdam on a 727 when the chief FA told me that 80% of the passengers on that flight were on a freebie!!
It will be a shame though to lose the name which is rightly 100% Greek and should remain so.
Good luck to all the crews and staff!
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How the EU works
For the benefit of our transatlantic readers, a brief summary of the rules of the EU may be helpful:
1. The Germans make the rules
2. The British and Scandinavians obey the rules.
3. The French ignore the rules.
4. The Italians, Spanish and Greeks don't even know there are supposed to be any rules.
1. The Germans make the rules
2. The British and Scandinavians obey the rules.
3. The French ignore the rules.
4. The Italians, Spanish and Greeks don't even know there are supposed to be any rules.
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i will be one of the sorry ones to see OLYMPIC bite the dust
I spent 2004 based in Athens for Hola Airlines on an Olympic contract. We flew the islands and mainland Europe, carrying one or two local greek attendants, depending on who showed up for work, but overall they have my sympathy and I made several good friends all around. It comes as no surprise that the big guys on top have taken the money and run, leaving the real workers on the hook and Apolo help them all...all the best to my friends there from someone who cares.
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If I were you I wouldn't jump to any conclusion regarding Olympic's future yet.
I think there is a looooong way to this company's end. Maybe a small transformation is quite possible but not the end.
As for the flight deck people the way I see it, is that since they managed to get through all kind of trouble all these years, to find their way somewhere else might be a relief.
And just for the record I think all the complaints are for cabin crew and ground stuff but never for the pilots....
I think there is a looooong way to this company's end. Maybe a small transformation is quite possible but not the end.
As for the flight deck people the way I see it, is that since they managed to get through all kind of trouble all these years, to find their way somewhere else might be a relief.
And just for the record I think all the complaints are for cabin crew and ground stuff but never for the pilots....
Paxing All Over The World
Olympian Your confidence in, and support of, Olympic is admirable but the history of carriers, subsidies and the necessity to establish an even handed approach ... say that the future is not good.
Ultimately, all of the current airlines will have ceased in their present form. Some will be taken over, some will expand before contracting, etcetera. Nothing ever stands still.
Ultimately, all of the current airlines will have ceased in their present form. Some will be taken over, some will expand before contracting, etcetera. Nothing ever stands still.
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HEATHROW DIRECTOR:
JAR–OPS 1.335 Smoking on board
(a) The commander shall ensure that no person
on board is allowed to smoke:
(1) Whenever deemed necessary in the
interest of safety;
(2) While the aeroplane is on the ground
unless specifically permitted in accordance with
procedures defined in the Operations Manual;
(3) Outside designated smoking areas, in
the aisle(s) and in the toilet(s);
(4) In cargo compartments and/or other
areas where cargo is carried which is not stored in
flame resistant containers or covered by flame
resistant canvas; and
(5) In those areas of the cabin where
oxygen is being supplied.
JAR OPS is not forbidding it.. So if Greek government or someone else there will allow smoking on-board, then "new" Olympic could get a good marketing advantage by designating the smoking section like in the old good days
JAR–OPS 1.335 Smoking on board
(a) The commander shall ensure that no person
on board is allowed to smoke:
(1) Whenever deemed necessary in the
interest of safety;
(2) While the aeroplane is on the ground
unless specifically permitted in accordance with
procedures defined in the Operations Manual;
(3) Outside designated smoking areas, in
the aisle(s) and in the toilet(s);
(4) In cargo compartments and/or other
areas where cargo is carried which is not stored in
flame resistant containers or covered by flame
resistant canvas; and
(5) In those areas of the cabin where
oxygen is being supplied.
JAR OPS is not forbidding it.. So if Greek government or someone else there will allow smoking on-board, then "new" Olympic could get a good marketing advantage by designating the smoking section like in the old good days
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Bravo cargo one!! I am not suggesting that smoking be reinstated on short hauls (I suppose I could knock myself out with a sleeping pill), but for the long flights!!! Athens/New York nonstop is 10 hours. For that, smoking should be allowed. It is stressful enough to have to fly, and without a cigarette it is even worse!!!
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And here's some more pressure on Olympic from its local rival Aegean (who is now back to advertising on TV several European cities for 29 Euro):
http://www.flightinternational.com/A...ght+A320s.html
http://www.flightinternational.com/A...ght+A320s.html
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Flown on 30 + airlines. Olympic takes the award for being the worst.
Food sucked. Service varied between ambivalent and aggressive. No duty free. No inflight magazine. No entertainment system on some of the legs. No freebie socks or toothbrush etc. On the leg between London and Athens the interior of the aircraft was in a terrible state. No PA by flight crew. One of the landings felt like we had been shot down.
PLEASE close them down and do Greece a favour. Even the Greeks are embarrased.
Food sucked. Service varied between ambivalent and aggressive. No duty free. No inflight magazine. No entertainment system on some of the legs. No freebie socks or toothbrush etc. On the leg between London and Athens the interior of the aircraft was in a terrible state. No PA by flight crew. One of the landings felt like we had been shot down.
PLEASE close them down and do Greece a favour. Even the Greeks are embarrased.
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Sounds like it will be a while before Olympic goes under, according to the latest government press release picked up by the Athens News:
http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showpl...2072&service=8
Judging from comments made to me by clients who have arrived in Greece using a wide variety of airlines, no one has claimed to have received exceptional service ... whatever that is supposed to mean. What the company needs is a good management team, one familiar with turning around troubled companies and making them profitable. There are people out there who can do just that; Olympic simply hasn't found them yet, nor perhaps been inspired to look.
The Greeks are noted for great turnarounds, albeit at the very last moment.
http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showpl...2072&service=8
Judging from comments made to me by clients who have arrived in Greece using a wide variety of airlines, no one has claimed to have received exceptional service ... whatever that is supposed to mean. What the company needs is a good management team, one familiar with turning around troubled companies and making them profitable. There are people out there who can do just that; Olympic simply hasn't found them yet, nor perhaps been inspired to look.
The Greeks are noted for great turnarounds, albeit at the very last moment.