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Olympic Air

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Greekboy (talk | contribs) at 16:01, 21 March 2010 (→MIG era: totally not needed. plus it is mentioned above in a quote from the CEO that int. flights would resume in the future anyway.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Olympic Air
File:Olympic Air Logo.png
IATA ICAO Call sign
OA OAL OLYMPIC
Founded2009
Commenced operations29 September 2009
HubsAthens International Airport
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programTravelair Club[1]
SubsidiariesMacedonian Airlines
Fleet size32 (+9 orders)
Destinations48
Parent companyMarfin Investment Group
HeadquartersAthens, Greece
Key peopleAndreas Vgenopoulos (Chairman) [2]
Antonis Symigdalas (CEO)[3]
Websitewww.olympicair.com

Olympic Air is the largest Greek airline by destinations served, formed from the privatization of the former national carrier Olympic Airlines. It commenced limited operations on 29 September 2009, after Olympic Airlines ceased all operations, with the official full-scale opening of the company taking place two days later, on 1 October 2009. The airline, which is headquartered in Athens, has its main hub out of Athens International Airport.

The "new Olympic" took over properties like the name, the corporate logo, landing rights and the technical base but not the staff which remains at Olympic Airlines. The new company hired some of them under new conditions and will use the IATA code OA, inherited from Olympic Airlines and the ICAO code NOA. Olympic Air is now using the ICAO Code OAL. They bought for around $ 20 million, and all of their call signs are now OAL again.

On 22 February 2010, Olympic Air and main competitor Aegean Airlines announced they have reached an agreement to merge their operations, phasing out the Aegean brand. The merger is expected to be completed by late 2010.

History

Pantheon proposal

On 16 September 2008 the Greek Government announced a major restructuring of Olympic Airlines, using the "Pantheon Airways" plan to relaunch Olympic as a private airline. Pantheon would operate parallel to Olympic Airlines until April 2009, when Olympic Airlines would be shut down and Pantheon would take over most of its routes. Pantheon would then be renamed using the "Olympic" brand name and the famous six - rings logo. The new Olympic Air would not be a legal successor to Olympic Airlines or Airways, taking up none of the former employees or assets directly.

On February 2009, an international tender concerning the sale of the three companies and the assets of the Olympic Airlines Group (Flight Operations, Technical Base, Ground Handling Operations) and Pantheon Airways collapsed, as the offers presented by the candidates were deemed not satisfactory by the government. After the collapse of this attempt to sell the company, former Transport Minister Kostis Hatzidakis extended an invitation to financial groups to proceed to direct negotiations for the sale of the Group. First to respond was the Marfin Investment Group (MIG), the largest investment fund of Greece, submitting an offer to buy the flight operations and technical base of the Group. Also, Swissport submitted an offer to buy the ground handling operations. After three weeks of negotiations with MIG, on March 4, 2009, Aegean Airlines and Greek-American consortium Chrysler Aviation, also submitted offers to buy the Group. However, Aegean Airlines' offer was not accepted as the new airline would control over 95% of domestic routes, while the government's financial advisors could not determine whether Chrysler Aviation was in the financial position to support its bid.

MIG era

On 6 March 2009, Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced the sale of the flight operations and the technical base companies to MIG. The negotiations with Swissport continued for another week, to facilitate a commercial agreement between MIG and Swissport. However, a deal was not reached and MIG announced it would take over Olympic's ground handling operations as well.[5] As a result, after 35 years of state control and 10 years of failed sale attempts, Olympic once again became a private corporation. The new owners planed to secure approximately 4000 of the 8500 jobs of the Group.

As part of its deal with the Greek state, MIG purchased the assets of Pantheon Airways, some of the valuable slots of Olympic Airlines in New York, London, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Brussels and Bucharest, as well as exclusive rights to the "Olympic" brand name and the six rings logo. It also acquired the right to use the two hangars, the cargo unit of Olympic Airways Services and other facilities at Athens International Airport for 25 years. The new airline planned to only retain 65% of the flight operations compared to Olympic's flight operations in summer 2008, in accordance to a rule imposed by the EU during the approval of the sale.[6] It also had to give up its monopoly on the currently operated state-subsidized island routes, and equally share them with other Greek airlines.[7]

Olympic Air Airbus A320-200 landing at Athens Elefterios Venizelos International Airport.

Olympic Handling, as the new ground handling company is named, commenced its operations on 29 June, followed by the new technical base company, Olympic Engineering[8] and finally, on 29 September, the new airline, officially renamed Olympic Air.[5][9] The new name of the company was announced during a tender to modernize and redesign the logo of the new airline.[10] This tender followed a previous one that called for fashion designers to submit their designs for the new uniforms of the airline. Shortly after the deal was struck, MIG announced the recruitment process for the three new companies, as well as new tenders for the acquisition or lease of new aircraft.

Olympic Air ordered eight new next-generation Bombardier Q400 during the 2009 Paris Air Show, four of which will be the Q400 NextGen, that are set to cover domestic and Balkan routes and will start being delivered in July 2010.[needs update][11] OA also placed options on a further eight of the type.[12][13][14] Olympic leased a total of 14 A320 series aircraft for its entry into service in September 2009, and plans to order its own aircraft from either from Airbus or Boeing in the near future.[15]

In a press conference on 17 September 2009, MIG president Andreas Vgenopoulos, announced new code share deals, and stated that Olympic Air also has plans to join SkyTeam in the future.[16][17] Vgenopoulos further stated that he wanted to make the company a regional leader, and later, one of the largest airlines in the world if possible.[17] Olympic Air planned to employ around 5,000 staff, some of which include the 8,100 staff employed under the state carrier, with new negotiated contracts.[17] Furthermore, Vgenopoulos stated the company would honor its commitment to give the new government three months to re-nationalize Olympic if it desired.[16][17] Vgenopoulos also stated that a new aircraft order would be announced soon, to replace the current aircraft once their leases run out.[18]

During the inaugural flight ceremony on October 1, 2009, MIG president Andreas Vgenopoulos stated that Olympic Air still holds the exclusive rights to the Macedonian Airlines brand name, and plans to re-launch the airline as a subsidiary of Olympic Air.[19] The new subsidiary would be based out of Thessaloniki, with the purpose of serving the tourism and business needs of the region.[20] The airline will begin operations in spring 2010.[21]

In an October 2009 interview with ATWOnline, CEO Antonis Simigdalas stated that Olympic was now carrying around 10,000 passengers a day with a domestic market share of about 30 percet.[22][15] Simigdalas further stated that the new Olympic Air was about 35 percent smaller than the old Olympic Airlines, and that Olympic Air is planning its own long-haul flights, within a time frame of 12 months.[22] Regarding profitability, Simgdalas stated that with the current economic conditions, he expects Olympic Air to make its first profit in 2012.[23] He further noted that the ground handling unit was already profitable.[22] In an interview with Flight International, Simigdalis stated that Olympic Air's domestic market share had grown to 47 percent by December 2009.[15] He further stated that if things go well, he predicts the airline will break even in 2011.[15]

On 6 December 2009, Olympic Air announced that it has been chosen as the official carrier of the Hellenic Olympic Committee for three years from 2010 to 2012. Through this sponsorship, Olympic Air has committed to provide free transportation of Greek Olympic delegations to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and 2012 Summer Olympics in London. On 10 December 2009, the company announced that mobile phone check-in is now available for flights departing Athens Airport, making Olympic the first Greek airline to offer this service. [24] As part of its corporate responsibility program, Olympic announced that it would launch an educational program called "A Day at the Museum", transporting 3500 students from Cyprus to the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, starting from January 29 2010.[25]

Merger with Aegean Airlines

In February 2010, initial shareholder discussions took place to consider co-operation between the Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air fueling rumors of a possible merger.[26] On 22 February 2010, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines announced that they have agreed to a merger.[27][28][29] The newly merged airline will carry the Olympic name and logo, after a transition period in which both airline brands will be used in parallel.[27] The Aegean brand will cease to exist after the transition period. Olympic Ground Handling and Olympic Engineering will become 100 percent subsidiaries of the new company.[27]

The the sole shareholder of Olympic Air, Marfin Investment Group, and the main shareholder of Aegean, the Vassilakis Group, will have an equal shareholding of 26.6% in the combined entity, while the groups of Messrs Laskaridis, V. Constantakopoulos, G. David and L. Ioannou as well as Piraeus Bank will all maintain their proportional equity participation in the form of a 46.8% stake in the new company, thus giving Aegean an 73.4% stake overall in the new company.[30][31] The new company will be listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.[27] The merger agreement is still awaiting approval from the European Competitions Commission,[29] which is expected to be granted by the end of September 2010.[30] According to insiders, it is expected that the merger will be finalized and the new combined airline will begin operation by October 2010 or the beginning of 2011 at the latest.[32][31]

According to a press releases by Aegean and MIG, Aegean Chairman Theodoros Vassilakis and Olympic Chairman and CEO Andreas Vgenopoulos are expected to lead the new company.[33] Vassilakis stated that the merger was brought on by the size of their competitors in the EU, which made it necessary for Greece's two main airlines to merge to create a "national airline champion" with enlarged presence in the European market as well as seamless coverage of even the most remote Greek islands.[34][33] Vgenopoulos further stated that the merger also preserves and strengthenes the Olympic brand name, an inherent piece of Greek national tradition.[35]

Aegean has been accepted into and is in the process of joining Star Alliance by June 2010.[27] The process will continue with the airliners working to guarantee a smooth transition of the merged carrier into the Star Alliance, despite the fact that Olympic Air was forging ties with Skyteam pre-merger.[36] Star Alliance welcomed the proposed merger, releasing a statement stating "The integration teams from both sides will soon meet to assess the necessary steps, in order to guarantee a smooth transition of the merged Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air operations into the Star Alliance network".[37]

Destinations

Main article: Olympic Air destinations

Codeshare agreements

Olympic Air signed codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[38][39]

During 2010, further codeshares with Air France/KLM, Etihad Airways and Cyprus Airways are planned.[40]

Fleet

Olympic Air operates the following aircraft (at 15 February 2010):[42][40][43]

Olympic Air Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers
(Business/Economy) 		Notes
Airbus A319-112 3 0 138
Airbus A319-132 5 0
Airbus A320-214 2 0 12/138 Equipped with Gold Business Class for flights to LHR.[44]
Airbus A320-232 7 0 162
Airbus A321-231 0 1[43] TBA Stored at XFW - To be delivered (NTU*)[45]
ATR 42-300 1 0 46
Bombardier Dash 8-100 5 0 37
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 9 8 78 4 wet leased from Flybe
5 leased from Flybe
Total 32 9

As of 15 February 2010, the average age of Olympic Air's fleet is 3.3 years.[46]

*NTU=Not taken up

Travelair Club

Travelair Club (written as Travelair Club) is the frequent flyer program of Olympic Air, launched in November 2009. Members can earn miles on Olympic Air and Delta Air Lines flights, car rentals and hotels. It consists of three levels: [47]

  • Blue: Offers seat pre-selection, as well as discounts in restaurant, coffee and pastry shops in Greece.
  • Silver: In addition to Blue level privilleges, the Silver level offers 10% additional award miles on Olympic Air flights, meal pre-selection, waiting list priority on overbooked flights, extra baggage allowance, dedicated check-in and discounts on Blue Star Ferries and Superfast Ferries tickets to destinations not served by Olympic Air. Silver level is obtained by earning 8000 status miles within a year.
  • Gold: In addition to Silver level privilleges, the Gold level offers 20% additional award miles on Olympic Air flights, 24 hours free parking at Athens Airport, access to the CIP Lounges of Olympic Air, Fast Lane security control services at Athens Airport, additional carry on luggage and checked baggage allowance, priority baggage claim and 10% discounts on stays at Classical Hotels in Greece. Gold level is obtained by earning an additional 20000 status miles within a year.

All former Olympic Airlines Icarus Frequent Flyer Program members were offered a 3000 award mile bonus to become members of the Travelair Club.

Uniform

New uniforms have been selected in an online vote, after an open invitation to designers for Olympic Air flight attendants. Visitors of the site www.oafashion.gr could vote for their favorite uniforms among three bids. OA flight staff now wear uniforms designed by the renowned designer Celia Kritharioti.[48][49]

The new logo was selected in an online vote, after an open invitation to designers. Visitors of the site Oalogo.gr could vote for their favorite logo among three bids. The logo designed by Giannis Papathanasiou and Panos Triantafillopoulos, heavily based on the existing logo of Olympic Airlines, won the vote.[50] The six rings are said to symbolize the five continents and Greece.[51]

References

  1. ^ "Associated airlines". Olympic Air. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  2. ^ "EPA - european pressphoto agency: New Boards of Directors for Olympic Air, Olympic Engineering and Olympic Handling". Google.com. 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  3. ^ "Olympic Air΄s Head Blasts At Aegean Airlines". Capital.gr. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  4. ^ www.olympicair.com
  5. ^ a b "Kathimerini - "New logo wanted for Olympic Air"". Ekathimerini.com. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  6. ^ a b ΜΠΟΥΛΟΥΚΟΣ, Π. (2009-07-31). "Απογειώνεται η Οlympic Αir" (in Greek). To Vima. Retrieved 2009-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. ^ ΜΠΟΥΛΟΥΚΟΣ, Π. (2009-07-26). "Επιχειρηματικές αερομαχίες" (in Greek). To Vima. Retrieved 2009-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  8. ^ "Olympic Engineering". Olympic Air. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  9. ^ Mihailidi, Likourgo (2009-09-15). "Olympic Air: Έναρξη πτήσεων στις 29 Σεπτεμβρίου" (in Greek). Airliners.gr. Retrieved 2009-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  10. ^ Grreporter.info[dead link]
  11. ^ "EPA - european pressphoto agency: Marfin Investment Group - Οκτώ καινούργια αεροσκάφη Q400 της Bombardier για την νέα Ολυμπιακή, αξίας 224 εκατ δολ". Google.com. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  12. ^ "Paris Air Show: Olympic signs deal for Bombardier Q400s". Flightglobal.com. 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  13. ^ "MIG announces order for eight Q400 aircraft for Olympic Air". Express.gr. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  14. ^ "News - MIG buys Bombardier Q400s for Olympic in Greece". Financialmirror.com. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
  15. ^ a b c d Dunn, Graham (February 16, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Olympic Air CEO Antonis Simigdalas". Flight International. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  16. ^ a b Reuters, Thomson (2009-09-17). "Privatised Olympic Air says set for launch Oct 1". Forbes. Retrieved 2009-09-17. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ a b c d Staff (2009-09-17). "Greece's private Olympic Air to take off Oct. 1". MSN Money. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  18. ^ "Με σύνθημα «Η Ελλάδα ψηλά»". Ant1. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  19. ^ "MIG To Relaunch Macedonian Airlines". Capital News. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  20. ^ "Private OA's maiden flight". ANA-MPA. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  21. ^ "Macedonian Airlines to begin operations in spring 2010 :: emportal :: SEE news". Emportal.rs. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  22. ^ a b c Hofmann, Kurt (2009-11-12). "New Olympic Air takes off". ATW Daily News. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
  23. ^ "ATW Daily News". Atwonline.com. 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  24. ^ "Mobile Check-in from Olympic Air". Olympic Air. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  25. ^ "EPA - european pressphoto agency: ΟΑ-Το Μουσείο της Ακρόπολης θα επισκεφθούν μαθητές από την Κύπρο". Google.com. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  26. ^ "Olympic Air and Aegean Air mulling cooperation". 2010-02-11.
  27. ^ a b c d e Georgiopoulo, George (February 22, 2010). "UPDATE 3-Greek carriers Aegean, Olympic agree merger". Reuters. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  28. ^ Staff (February 22, 2010). "Aegean, Olympic Air Announce Merger". Capital.gr. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  29. ^ a b Staff (February 22, 2010). "Greek airlines agree merger: statement". AFG. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  30. ^ a b Staff (February 24, 2010). "Press release" (PDF) (in Greek). Marfin Investment Group. Retrieved February 27, 2010. {{cite web}}: Text "PDF" ignored (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  31. ^ a b Liliopoulou, Maria (February 26, 2010). "Κοινά «φτερά» ΟΑ και Aegean" (in Greek). Ethnos Newspaper. Retrieved February 27, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  32. ^ Staff (February 22, 2010). "Greek airlines merge". CTV. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  33. ^ a b Straus, Brian (February 23, 2010). "Olympic, Aegean to create 'national airline champion'". ATW. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  34. ^ Staff (February 22, 2010). "Agreement between the shareholders of AEGEAN AIRLINES and OLYMPIC AIR for the creation of a national airline champion". Aegean Airlines. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  35. ^ Staff (February 22, 2010). "Press Release: Agreement between the shareholders of AEGEAN AIRLINES and OLYMPIC AIR for the creation of a national airline champion" (PDF). Marfin Investment Group. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  36. ^ Staff (February 23, 2010). "Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air to merge". Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  37. ^ Bruce, Michael (February 23, 2010). "Greek merger" (PDF). travelweekly.com.au. p. 3. Retrieved February 24, 2010. {{cite web}}: Text "PDF" ignored (help)
  38. ^ Staff (2009-09-17). "Greek airline signs code-share deal with Delta". MSN News. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  39. ^ "Associated airlines". OACodeSite: Olympic Air. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  40. ^ a b c d "Olympic Air΄s Head Blasts At Aegean Airlines". www.capital.gr. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  41. ^ "Application of Delte Airlines, Inc., Comair Inc. and Olympic Air". US Department of Trasportation. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  42. ^ "Our fleet". Olympic Air. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  43. ^ a b "Olympic Air fleet at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-09-28". Ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  44. ^ "Gold Business Class". Olympic Air. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  45. ^ http://airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a321-4067.htm
  46. ^ "Fleet age Olympic Air". Airfleets. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  47. ^ "Travelair Club". Olympic Air. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  48. ^ "New Olympic Airways (OA) crew uniforms". Ana-mpa.gr. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  49. ^ WebDesign Ltd. www.webdesign-bg.eu (2009-06-12). "Olympic's crew members will look a bit different". Grreporter.info. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  50. ^ Oalogo.gr
  51. ^ "Greece: Olympic Air Begins Operations". Balkan Travellers. 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2009-11-01.


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