Greece: Olympic Air Begins Operations

BalkanTravellers.com

30 September 2009 | Olympic Air, the successor of Greece’s former flag carrier Olympic Airlines, began operating flights today with a reduced network of European routes.

Earlier this year Olympic Airlines was bought by the Marfin Investment Group, the largest Greek investment fund fir 177.2 million euro, thus ending a 35-year period of state ownership.

The new owners, according to national media, are committed to making the airline a competitive one, taking over 28 international and 26 domestic flight routes that used to be operated by the national air carrier.

Passengers who have tickets for Olympic Airlines flights after September 29 will be able to use them on Olympic Air flights without having to pay any extra fees, the new company said in a statement.

The airline, which employs 5,000 people, currently has a fleet of 32 aircrafts.

Olympic Air retained its predecessor’s 50-year-old logo, which was commissioned by the airline’s founder Aristotle Onassis. Although it resembles that of the Olympic Games, the airline’s logo – made out of six intertwined rings, is said to symbolise the five continents and Greece.

Read more about Greece on BalkanTravellers.com
Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Greece

Post your comment
Previous | Back | Next To Top

Epicure

Greece

Espresso Gains Popularity in Greece

10 June 2009 | Espresso is increasing winning over the hearts (and palates) of Greeks and making its way to becoming the caffeine-loving nation’s favourite type of coffee.
Full Story

Curiosity Chest

Greece

Exhibition of Ancient Greek Theatre Art to be Displayed in the Getty in Los Angeles

14 June 2010 | The exhibition “The Art of Ancient Greek Theatre,” which will open at the Getty Villa in Malibu in August will be “the first exploration in nearly sixty years of the many ways Greek plays and stagecraft inspired classical artists, whose works are often the only surviving evidence of the performing arts in antiquity,” its organisers announced. Full Story

Useful Reads

Greece

In Sfakia: Passing Time in the Wilds of Crete (2008) | By Peter Trudgill

Crete has long been acknowledged as one of the most singular and unique parts of Greece. Its people keep a fierce hold on their traditions, customs and history. Practically a country of its own, this vast island looms over all others in Greece. Nevertheless, as In Sfakia author Peter Trudgill aptly notes in his preface, “some parts of Crete are more special than others, and Sfakia, on the remote south coast, is certainly one of those.” Full Story

BalkanTravellers.com supports the Slow Travel Movement. Read the manifesto

Music

Greece

Unbearable Nostalgia, After Theo Angelopoulos

Eleni Karaindrou | Elegy of the Uprooting |Crammed/Dyukyan Meloman, 2006
Full Story

Photogalleries
A Perfect Shot

Koprivshtitsa Fair, Bulgara. Photographs by Neva Micheva

In Homo Urbanus Europeanus, exhibited May 9-24 in front of the National Theatre in Sofia, Jean-Marc Caracci presents his photographs of people in the urban environment of European capitals.

RED&WHITE SOFIA. On the 1st of March Bulgarians say goodbye to the winter. They buy each other red&white threads to carry around until they see a stork and spring can begin. Photography by Lode Desmet

BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet

360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.

The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22