Why I still love to travel with Olympic Airways...

After nearly 47 years on December 12, 2003, the official name of the airline was changed from Olympic Airways to Olympic Airlines. The name may have changed but fortunately the planes still remain the same!
With all the major airline playas coming up the last dozen years, Aegean (allegedly winner of "Airline of the year" award 4 times out of the 7 last years), EasyJet (yap, still no offices) and upcoming Hellas Jet ("more than a flight") the title itself sounds kinda bizarre...
OA has faced serious financial trouble since the 80s, mostly because of its dubious management. In fact, the management has not only been haphazard, the airline was used as an employment provider for politically connected individuals, and was severely indebted as a result. Olympic Airways is a prime example of the corruption and politically motivated management that persists in many Greek state enterprises — while there are bright spots of excellence, Olympic was recording heavy losses and running at one point flights to Tokyo, which was its most unprofitable route. Furthermore, Greek politicians and their families traveled free on the airline or for token amounts. The political appointees assigned to run the company usually had no relevant background and the overly powerful unions in the company finally consigned it to the grave.
Putting aside all the drama videos like the following one don't help either:


I have to be fair enough though and mention that the Greek pilots of OA are probably among the best around the world. That's why Olympic remains one of the safest airlines worldwide in terms of crashes. But this article has nothing to do with the point I'm tryin to make...it ain't about safety, rivalries,the messy Greek governments or the gorgeous and unreal flight attendants...
It's about sacrificing quality in the name of quantity and $...I hate getting stuck in an airplane seat that doesn't recline and most of all is WAY too small for my sorry ass! The seats in the economy and on charter class flights that most of us take regularly aren’t going to get any bigger in the foreseeable future. That's because today's airplanes are constructed in order to accommodate as many passengers as possible! Translation: Check the pic, travelers and their feet get abused...And where did this came from? A question set by a CEO the recent years: Why not cut the space between the seats in order to gain more seats in a similar type plane??? Those people are mean! They do whatever possible to increase the profits while of course traveling first class....
So while all major new airlines have been equipped with new age airplanes that are safer, faster, bigger (in terms of carrying more people) and supplied with more amenities, OA is stuck with the original fleet provided by its original creator and owner, the great Aristotelis Onassis. So, chances are, when you travel with OA, you'll probably end up with a spooky plane by the name of Ξενοφωντας, Αρτεμις or Θουκυδιδης etc that wont be covering your safety expectations but will DEFINITELY be covering your comfort needs!
I recently took 1 of those flights and the experience was astonishing cause the last past years my memories include journeys where I had to spend 8-10 hours in a seat that was simply too small for me! And no I'm not fat....It was an old, dirty and creepy plane but this piece of aircraft was set up entirely in a business class configuration. Every seat was extra wide and there was extra legroom. Imagine having the biggest, most comfortable seats and plenty of leg room...For a moment I realized (after many years) that a flight can be enjoyable! After just a few seconds I had second thoughts as the bad quality of air in the cabin hit me. Hey, nobody's perfect!
And as a last minute though while remembering that "Complaining about something without providing a solution is a cowardly thing to do" I have to let you know about a wonderful website that displays Airline class amenities and even individual airplane seat info! You've bought your airline ticket - next question: just where is your airplane seat? Airplane seats and seat locations can be very different... and a great seat makes airplane travel more fun, especially long haul flights. Airplane seating choices are more varied than window or aisle. A window seat could be over a wing, for instance, but you won't necessarily know that until you're seated. SeatGuru.com has all the answers you need; you just have to pick an airline and the info pops up free of charge! Oh, and please, don't bother looking for OA, they failed to make it to their list, don't ask why...