Olympic Airlines

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Olympic Airlines
IATA
OA		 ICAO
OAL		 Callsign
OLYMPIC
Founded 1957
Hubs Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport
Focus cities Makedonia International Airport
Frequent flyer program Icarus Frequent Flyer Program
Member lounge Olympic Airways "Melina Merkouri", "Aristotle Onassis" lounges
Fleet size 40
Destinations 78
Parent company Olympic Airlines S.A.
Headquarters Athens, Greece
Key people Dr. Yiannos Benopoulos (Chairman - CEO)
Website: olympicairlines.com

Olympic Airlines (Greek: Ολυμπιακές Αερογραμμές, Olympiakés Aerogrammés - OA) is the flag carrier airline of Greece, based in Athens. It operates services to 35 domestic destinations and to 39 destinations world-wide. Its main base is Athens International Airport, with hubs at Thessaloniki International Airport, "Macedonia" and Rhodes International Airport, "Diagoras".[1] By December 2007, the airline employees about 8,500 staff.[2]

Although the logo resembles that of the Olympic Games, the airline is not named after the biggest international sporting event but rather after the Twelve Olympians, the principal grouping of gods and goddesses in Greek mythology, residing in Mount Olympus.[citation needed] Olympic Airlines is also accredited by IATA with the IOSA (IATA Operations Safety Audit) for its safety practices.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] The Start of Olympic

[citation needed]

The origins of Olympic Airways was in 1930, when the first predecessor airline was established. The airline was called Icarus but after just a few months went bankrupt due to financial problems and limited Greek interest in air transport. G.C.A.T./Ε.Ε.Ε.Σ. (Greek Company for Air Transport/Ελληνική Εταιρεία Εναέριων Συγκοινωνιών) took its place. At the same time, in 1935, a second airline was created, the privately owned T.A.E. (Technical and Aeronautical Exploitations/Τεχνικαί Αεροπορικαί Εκμεταλλεύσεις). Soon after the World War II, in 1947, three airlines were based in Greece: T.A.E., G.A.T./ΕΛΛ.Α.Σ. (Greek Air Transport/Ελληνικαί Αεροπορικαί Συγκοινωνίαι) and Hellenic Airlines/Α.Μ.Ε. (Αεροπορικαί Μεταφοραί Ελλάδος).

The first logo of Olympic, in 1957
The first logo of Olympic, in 1957

In 1951, the poor financial state of all three airlines led to a decision by the Greek state to merge them into one, Hellenic National Airlines T.A.E. The new airline faced serious financial problems so the government closed it down in 1955. There was no interest in buying the airline so the Hellenic State bought the company back. In July 1956 an agreement was made between the Hellenic State and Greek shipping-magnate Aristotle Onassis to sell the company. The company flew under the name T.A.E. until the end of the year and for the first few months of 1957, when, on 6 April 1957, Olympic Airways (Ολυμπιακή Αεροπορία/Olympiaki Aeroporia) was born.

[edit] Olympic in the 1960s

[citation needed]

The new company developed rapidly. In 1960 the first jet aircraft of OA entered into service, the De Havilland Comet 4B. At the same time, Olympic and British airline BEA agreed to create the first codeshare flights. Later on, the companies expanded their cooperation. When Hellenic crews had to spend their night in London, British crews would fly the Greek Comets to BEA destinations, and the same with Greek crews and British Comets. On all BEA and OA Comets, there would be a "BEA-OLYMPIC" sign.

In 1965, Olympic placed its first orders for the Boeing 707-320 jet aircraft. The first was delivered in 1966, bearing the name "City of Athens". The nonstop route Athens - New York City (JFK Airport) was the first to be launched. In 1968, the first routes to Africa were launched and OA received the Boeing 727-200 jet aircraft. In 1969, OA launched a route to Canada and phased out the Comet 4Bs.

[edit] Olympic in the 1970s

[citation needed]

In 1971, OA purchased the new NAMC YS-11 turboprop aircraft to replace the aging Douglas DC-3 and Douglas DC-6, used throughout the domestic network of the company. In 1971, Olympic Aviation/Ολυμπιακή Αεροπλοϊα was created, so that the Greek islands could be more efficiently served. In 1972 Greece was linked to Australia for the first time.

Olympic then purchased the Boeing 720-051B jet aircraft, a derivative of the Boeing 707, and the Boeing 747-200 OA was also interested in the supersonic aircraft BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde. On January 5, 1973, a Concorde landed at Athens International Airport for a demonstration.

The former Olympic Airways logo
The former Olympic Airways logo

On 22 January 1973, an incident occurred that dramatically changed the future of OA. The death of Aristotle Onassis' son, Alexander, in a plane crash came as a shock to the Greek people and a new phase began for Olympic Airways. A few months later, Onassis sold all of the OA shares to the Greek state and died shortly after (in 1975). In 1976, under state management, OA purchased the Boeing 737-200 jet aircraft and created Olympic Catering, which served both OA and foreign airlines. In 1977, in a cost-cutting effort, OA shut down the Australia route, followed by the Canadian one in 1978, when OA also placed its first orders for the Airbus A300.

[edit] Olympic in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s

[citation needed]

In 1984, three more B747-200 aircraft were purchased from Singapore Airlines, and the Canada and Australia routes were reopened. A new Olympic Airways Cargo division was created, by converting the Boeing 707-320 "City of Lindos", but the plans were soon abandoned. In 1986, there were strikes at OA, and financial losses mounted.

The company has faced serious financial trouble since the 80s, mostly because of management problems. Greek politicians and their families travelled free on the airline or for token amounts. Greek governments also made Olympic carry the press with a 97% discount. Olympic AirTours (Ολυμπιακή Τουριστική) was created as a subsidiary of OA, which issues tickets not only for OA, but for other airlines as well. Very soon, Olympic AirTours was renamed Macedonian Airlines and reestablished as a charter flight company.

Boeing 737-400
Boeing 737-400
Airbus A340-300
Airbus A340-300

In the mid-1980s a nonstop route to Tokyo was launched but soon shut down due to limited passenger interest and heavy losses. Olympic purchased Boeing 737-400 aircraft in 1991, as well as the advanced version of the A300, the A300-600R. Due to the rising losses and debts, the government decided to formulate a restructuring program in which all debts were erased. This program, as well as all the plans that followed, failed. A few years later, in an attempt to make OA profitable, its management was given to the subsidiary of British Airways, Speedwing. The result was even larger debts and rising losses. In 1999, Olympic purchased four Airbus A340-313X aircraft, to replace the ageing B747-200.

[edit] Olympic Airways to Olympic Airlines

Very soon the losses became excessive so in 2003 the government decided to restructure the Olympic Airways Group of Companies. The subsidiary, Macedonian Airlines S.A., was renamed Olympic Airlines S.A. and took over the flight operations of Olympic Airways, erasing at the same time all of the airline's debts. The remaining group companies, except for Olympic Aviation (Olympic Airways, Olympic Into-Plane Company, Olympic Fuel Company, Olympic Airways Handling and the Olympic Airways Technical Base), merged and formed a new company, called Olympic Airways - Services S.A.. In December 2004, the Greek government decided to privatize Olympic Airlines, but the sale process ended in failure as none of the buyers was eager to repay the Greek state the almost 700 million euro in state aid declared illegal by the European Commission in December 2005.

In 2005, the Greek Government looked for potential buyers to privatize OA. In April of that year, a short list of potential buyers was submitted that included Aegean Airlines, German LCC DBA and a Greek-American consortium called Olympic Investors.[4] Shortly after Aegean Airlines pulled out followed by DBA. In September 2005, the Greek government signed a non-binding agreement with Olympic Investors to buy the airline.[5] In an interview, Olympic Investors stated that they were backed by York Capital with 6.5 billion Dollars and assured that OA's workers would not lose their jobs. They also stated that the airline would open up new long haul routes including Baltimore, hire more staff, and upgrade the fleet. They stated that OA should continue to operate as an integrated company and that they weren't interested in buying just parts of OA. By the end of the year, the offer fell through because of the huge fine imposed on the airline by the European Commission hadn't been dealt with.

Airbus A300B4-600R
Airbus A300B4-600R

According to Greek media, the government planned to relaunch the company in late 2006.[6] The code name for the project was "Pantheon Airways". In June 2006, Greek media reported that "Sabre Aviation Consulting Services" was contracted by the Greek government to find investors and develop a business plan for an airline to replace Olympic Airlines, aiming to start operating in autumn 2006. Under this plan the government would be a minority shareholder of the new carrier and it will be run as a private airline. The planned re-launch date passed without anything happening, and it appears the plan has frozen. However, Pantheon Airways still exists.

In 2006 OA was thrown a life line, when the courts ordered Greece to repay them almost 564 million euro owed to the airline. The money was owed to OA from legally subsidized routes to Greek islands and costs of the relocation to the new airport. The money will be used to pay back part of the State aid declared illegal by the European Commission in December 2005.[7] Olympic Airlines have re-designed their website to introduce the e-ticket service launched on July 31 2007 in response to the surge of online booking and online check ins. The e-ticket service introduction by EDS meant Olympic abolished their old "Hermes" booking system which had served the company for more than two decades. As of November 2007, the e-ticket service is available on all European and International routes, and on 19 of the airline's 37 domestic routes.[8]

On September 12, 2007, OA won a legal battle with EU Regulators. The Luxembourg-based court ruled that Greece must pay back most, but not all of the money The European Commission had demanded them to repay back. The court found that the Commission failed to prove that some of the funds violated EU state aid rules. Those funds included unpaid taxes on fuel and spare parts, as well as unpaid fees to Athens International Airport. The new amount owed by Olympic is €130 million from the original €160 million.[9]

[edit] The Future of Olympic

ATR 72
ATR 72

On that same day Olympic Investors, the Greek-American consortium that was interested in buying Olympic in 2005, stated re-newed interest in buying the airline.[10] Olympic Investors stated that the previous sale stopped because of EU penalties and that they were confident they would be resolved. They also stated that they believe that the Greek Government will move quick to privatize OA after the elections on September 16, 2007.

There had been rumors that there is major restructuring going on behind the scenes at Olympic lately. These rumors also say that there might be a fleet renewal to upgrade the product fleet wide, in an attempt to make Olympic a better company and turn a profit.

In November 2007, Irish airline Ryanair filed a suit with the European Commission, saying it had not looked into claims by the airline that Olympic has not paid back its debt.

On December 01, 2007 transport minister Kostas Hatzidakis announced that the entire Olympic Airways Group debts amount to 2 billion euro, and that the airline in its present form and size will cease existing in 2008.[11] This seems to be the only way for the European Commission to write off the company's debts to the Greek public sector. He stated that Athens is under more pressure to recover the money Olympic owes, thanks to the Ryanair lawsuit.[12]

Airbus A340-300
Airbus A340-300

According to news information, the government plans to close the airline in 2008, and open up a smaller airline, selling it immediately after.[13]. It will continue its domestic services as well as limited international services at the wish of the EC. Mr. Hatzidakis said that the EU is strongly supporting the Sabena model, in which the airline closed and re-launched again in 20 days in a smaller size. Mr. Hatzidakis announced in a statement that none of the estimated 8,500 jobs would be lost, and service to the islands will be maintained since it is an important mode of transportation for many of the islands while for some it is the only mode. He also stressed that Olympic will not be replaced by another monopoly carrier on domestic routes.[14]

However, according to Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia, Olympic is under attack from its own owner, the Greek state, with Transport Minister Mr. Hatzidakis incorrectly stating in the midst of the holiday season of 2007 that Olympic had relinquished control of joint routes to its rival Aegean Airlines, now owning only 44% of the route traffic. Actual figures show, however that Olympic still retains 49% of the route traffic on destinations that both companies fly to.[15] Meanwhile, Mr. Hatzidakis is under attack from opposition MPs after a statement of EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, stating that the Greek Government never even sought cooperation with the European Commission or provided information as to how OA could be saved.[16]

Despite all predictions, traffic for Olympic in 2007 increased, carrying a total of 5.977.104 passengers (3.115.521 in domestic and 2.681.583 in international flights) as opposed to approximately 5.500.000 passengers in 2006. It is estimated that OA earned approximately 780 million euro in 2007, 500 of which came from international flights.[17]

[edit] Olympic Airways Group of Companies (April 1957 - December 2003)

By December 2003, the Olympic Airways Group of Companies owned Olympic Airways (Ολυμπιακή Αεροπορία), Olympic Aviation (Ολυμπιακή Αεροπλοϊα), Macedonian Airlines (Mακεδονικές Αερογραμμές), Galileo Hellas (Γαλιλλαίος Ελλάς), Olympic Fuel Company (Ολυμπιακή Εταιρεία Καυσίμων), and Olympic Into-Plane Company. Olympic Catering had been sold a few months earlier. A company formed in the 80s called Olympic AirTours (Ολυμπιακή Τουριστική) had already been transformed into Macedonian Airlines.[18]

[edit] Incidents and accidents

[citation needed]

  • October 29, 1959: Douglas Aircraft Company DC-3 crashed near Athens, Greece. All 15 passengers and all 3 crew members perished
  • December 8, 1969: Douglas DC-6 crashed near Keratea, Athens, Greece. All 85 passengers and all 5 crew members perished
  • February 18, 1972: Olympic Aviation Learjet crashed off the coast of Monte Carlo. Both crew members were killed.
  • October 21, 1972: NAMC YS-11 crashed off the coast of Voula, Athens, Greece. Thirty six passengers and 1 crew member drowned, while 16 passengers and 3 crew members were rescued.
  • November 23, 1976: NAMC YS-11 crashed near Kozani, Greece. All 46 passengers and 4 crew members perished.
  • August 3, 1989:Olympic Aviation Shorts 330 crashed near Samos Airport, Greece. All 31 passengers and 3 crew members were killed.
  • January 4, 1998: Dr. Abid Hanson [1], a passenger on Olympic Airways Flight 417 [2] from Cairo to Athens to New York City, who had a history of sensitivity to secondhand smoke requested a non-smoking seat prior. When the family boarded the aircraft in Athens, the people found that the assigned seats were three rows ahead of the economy class smoking area; there was no partition between the smoking and non-smoking section. The family requested a seat further away from the smoking section. The crew did not move the passenger to any of the 11 other unoccupied seats on the aircraft. The passenger felt a reaction to the smoke and died several hours later [3]. The case resulted in the legal case Olympic Airways v. Husain, 540 U.S. 644 (2004).

[edit] Destinations

Further information: Olympic Airlines destinations

[edit] Fleet

The Olympic Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2008:[1]

Olympic Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Routes Registrations Notes
Airbus A340-300 4 295 Long Haul
Europe (London and Paris), North America (Montreal, New York, Toronto)[19][20][21][22] and South Africa		 SX - DFA / DFB / DFC / DFD Owned by O.A.
Airbus A320-200[23] 2 155 Europe SX-???/ SX-??? On order
ATR 42-300 6 50 Short Haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BIA / BIB / BIC / BID / BIM / BIN 4 owned by O.A.,
2 leased from ATR Asset Management
ATR 72-200 7 68 Short Haul
Domestic and Island services. Also flights to the Balkans		 SX - BIE / BIF / BIG / BIH / BII / BIK / BIL Owned by O.A.
Boeing 737-400 15 150 Short and Medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 SX - BKA / BKB / BKC / BKD / BKE / BKF / BKG / BKH / BKI / BKM / BKN / BKT / BKX / BMC 7 owned by O.A. (BKA-BKG),
4 leased from ILFC (BKH-BKI, BKN, BKT),
1 leased from Aviation Capital Group (BKM),
1 leased from Oasis International Leasing (BMC)
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 4 37 Short Haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BIO / BIP / BIQ / BIR Owned by O.A.
Total 39
 Updated January 2008

[edit] Previously operated

[citation needed]

Olympic Airlines has previously operated the following fleet:

Olympic Airlines/Airways Retired Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Routes Registrations Notes
Douglas DC-3 14 28 Short haul
Domestic and Balkans		 SX - BAA / BAC / BAD / BAE / BAG / BAH / BAK / BAL / BAN / BBA / BBC / BBD / BBE / BBF Owned by O.A.
Douglas DC-4 2 Short and medium haul
Domestic and Europe		 SX - DAC / DAG
Douglas DC-6 13 66 (1958), 95 (1967) Short and medium haul
Domestic and Europe		 SX - DAD / DAE / DAF / DAH / DAI / DAM / DAP / DAQ / DAR / DAS, F - BGSK / BGTY / BGTZ 10 owned by O.A. (DAD - DAS), 3 leased from U.A.T. (BGSK, BGTY, BGTZ)
DeHavilland Comet 4B 6 147 (1966), 165 (1968) Medium haul
Europe, Middle East		 SX - DAK / DAL / DAN (first G-APZM) / DAO (first G-ARDI), G -ARJL / APMC 2 leased from BEA (BEA-OLYMPIC) (ARJL, APMC), 4 owned by O.A. (DAK, DAL, DAN, DAO)
Boeing 707-320 8 147 (1966), 165 (1968) Long and medium haul
Europe, North America, Africa, Australia		 SX - DBA / DBB / DBC / DBD / DBE / DBF / DBO / DBP Owned by O.A.
Boeing 717-200 3 105 Short and Medium haul
Greece and Europe		 SX - BOA / BOB / BOC 2 leased from Bavaria (BOA, BOB), 1 leased from Pembroke Capital (BOC)
Boeing 720-051B 7 160 Short and medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 SX - DBG / DBH / DBI / DBK / DBL / DBM / DBN Owned by O.A.
Boeing 727-30 2 Short and Medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 N9233Z, N9234Z Leased from Boeing
Boeing 727-200 10 146 Short and Medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 SX - CBA / CBB / CBC / CBD / CBE / CBF / CBG / CBH / CBI, ZS - NZV 9 owned by O.A. (CBA - CBI), 1 leased from Safair (NZV)
Boeing 737-200 15 123 Short and Medium haul
Greece and Europe		 SX - BCA / BCB / BCC / BCD / BCE / BCF / BCG / BCH / BCI / BCK / BCL, N321XV, N322XV, N501AV, N505AV 4 leased from Aviation Sales Company, 11 owned by O.A. (BCA - BCL)
Boeing 737-300 5 138 Short and Medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 EC - IFV / IOR / JQX / JTV, SX - BLA 5 leased from Hola Airlines (IFV, IOR, JQX, JTV), 1 leased from Boullioun Aviation (BLA)
Boeing 737-400 5 150 Short and Medium haul
Domestic, Europe and Middle East		 SX - BMA / BMB / BKK / BKL, EC - KBO 1 leased from Hola Airlines (KBO), 1 leased from Pembroke Capital (BMA), 1 leased from Oasis International Leasing (BMB), 1 leased from ILFC (BKK), 1 leased from GECAS (BKL)
Boeing 747-100 1 Long haul
North America, Africa, Australia, Asia		 EI - BRR Leased from GPA in 1986
Boeing 747-200 5 426 Long haul
North America, Africa, Australia, Asia		 SX - OAA / OAB / OAC / OAD / OAE, TF - ARO 5 owned by O.A. (OAA - OAE), 1 leased from Air Atlanta for the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay (ARO)
Britten Norman BN2 Islander 15 9 Short haul
Domestic and Island services		 Leased
NAMC YS-11 10 64 Short haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BBG / BBH / BBI / BBJ / BBK / BBL / BBM / BBP / BBQ / BBR 8 Owned by O.A., 2 leased from NAMC (BBJ, BBM)
Dornier Do 228 9 18 Short haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BHA / BHB / BHC / BHD / BHE / BHF / BHG / BHH / BHI 2 leased from Dornier (BHA - BHB), 7 owned by O.A. (BHC - BHI)
Shorts 330 6 30 Short haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BGA / BGB / BGC / BGD / BGE / BGF Owned by O.A.
Shorts Skyvan 4 18 Short haul
Domestic and Island services		 SX - BBN / BBO / BBT / BBW 2 owned by O.A. (BBN, BBO), 2 leased (BBT, BBW)

[edit] Naming of O.A. Aircraft

Naming of the aircraft of Olympic Airways (and now Olympic Airlines) is as follows:

[edit] Aircraft Registrations

The registration of all Olympic aircraft is a two-letter Greek prefix SX- and three more letters. The first of the three letters shows the number of engines (B: Two engines, C: Three engines, D: Four engines). The second letter shows the type of the aircraft (A: Douglas DC-3, etc.) and the third is the number of the aircraft in letters. Some exceptions are the Boeing 747 (where the first two letters are the IATA designator of Olympic: OA) and the Learjet 25 SX-ASO (which stands for Onassis' initials: Aristotle Socrates Onassis)

[edit] The Logo of Olympic

According to the Olympic Airways archives, the first logo of Olympic was a white eagle, bearing much resemblance to a propeller, featuring five rings and the name Olympic. Just two years after the first flight, Onassis asked his associates to design a new logo and the coloured rings were created. Onassis wanted to copy the five coloured rings of the Olympic Games logo, but the International Olympic Committee claimed the rights to the logo and so a new, six ring logo was introduced. The first five rings stand for the five continents, while the sixth stands for Greece. Colours used were yellow, red, blue and white.

[edit] Other

  • The Olympic name came as a result of Onassis' passion for ancient Greece. Many of his companies carried the Olympic name such as Olympic Maritime. He followed the same naming pattern for his ships (with names such as "Olympic Legacy", "Olympic Palm", "Olympic Explorer", etc.)
  • According to OA regulations, all male flight attendants must wear a black tie, thus paying tribute to the late Alexander Onassis.
  • Uniforms for OA flight attendants were created by fashion designers, such as Jean Desses (1957), Coco Chanel (1966) and Pierre Cardin (1969) and, later, Greek fashion designer Billy Bo (Μπίλλυ Μπο).[24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-10, p. 58. 
  2. ^ Olympic 'facing difficult future'
  3. ^ Olympic Airlines IOSA Operators Profile
  4. ^ http://www.luchtzak.be/article8367.html
  5. ^ Olympic Investors interested in Olympic Airlines as one company, its founder says
  6. ^ Globe Merchant Travel Blog » Blog Archive » Pantheon Airways: a future new airline on the ashes of Olympic Airlines
  7. ^ Greece's Olympic Airlines wins cash reprieve from court - Business - International Herald Tribune
  8. ^ Δελτία τύπου & νέα των Ο.Α (Τρέχον Τρίμηνο)
  9. ^ EU court rules on Greek subsidies to Olympic Airlines - International Herald Tribune
  10. ^ FT.com / Mergermarket - Olympic Airlines: Olympic Investors still interested, expects quick sale after elections
  11. ^ Hatzidakis' Fresh Assurances
  12. ^ Olympic 'facing difficult future'
  13. ^ New company to replace Olympic Airlines
  14. ^ Greek Minister Warns of Dim Future at OA
  15. ^ Olympic fights back (in Greek)
  16. ^ Greek MEP Georgiou's question for Olympic (in Greek)
  17. ^ Olympic fights back (in Greek)
  18. ^ Olympic Airways old website (Wayback Machine)
  19. ^ Olympic Airlines S.A. (H.Q.) (OA)
  20. ^ A340 at Pearson
  21. ^ Flight photo Montreal
  22. ^ Flight photo JFK
  23. ^ Neos Kosmos newspaper 15/4/08
  24. ^ To Vima online Φρίντα Μπιούμπι. Οι τίτλοι μιλάνε από μόνοι τους: «Και το όνειρο πάγωσε» (η ζωή και ο θάνατος του σχεδιαστή Μπίλλυ Μπο) (Frieda Bioubi. The titles speak for themselves. And the dream turned cold (The life and death of fashion designer Billy Bo).
    To Vima online translation by Google Quote: Bioumpi Frinta...«And the dream froze» (the life and death of Billy designer Bo)..[sic]

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