Alternative flights for cancelled Olympic Airlines services

As part of it's privatisation process, Olympic Airlines has cancelled all services on 15 routes until further notice, including flights between Athens and Frankfurt, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich & Stuttgart.
Passengers looking for replacement flights are using Aegean Airlines on the europebyair.com.au FlightPass as their replacement on these routes and more, since passengers using the FlightPass have been completely unimpacted during this turbulent time in Greek aviation.

Originally established as Aegean Aviation in 1992, Aegean Airlines last year carried more passengers than state-owned Olympic Airlines and now boasts a route network of 38 European & Greek cities.   In addition to the cities above, Aegean Airlines links Athens with London, Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Milan, Rome & Venice as well as regional cities Cairo, Bucharest, Larnaca, Paphos , Sofia & Tirana.   Domestic points include Mykonos, Santorini, Corfu, Heraklion, Rhodes & Samos to name but a few.

All the above flights are available on the europebyair.com.au FlightPass, a flat-price discount ticket that allows passengers unrivalled flexibility to change their ticketed flight dates and even their destinations for free. 

Featuring bright, fresh cabin decor with leather seats, Aegean Airlines fleet currently consists of 21 Airbuses, 4 Boeing 737s, 6 Avro RJ100 jets manufactured by BAE Systems (British Aerospace) and 2 ATR-72-500 which operate to the smaller island airports.  The future prosperity of the airline is underscored by an order of 27 more Airbus A320/321 aircraft to be gradually delivered by 2010.

European flight prices reduced in time for Christmas

And coming in perfect time for the Christmas holidays, europebyair.com.au today announced an immediate reduction in the cost of FlightPasses in Europe. 

Now AU$119.00 per flight, the Mini FlightPass applies on more than 220 domestic & short-haul flights throughout Europe.  The most popular of the three passes, the Classic FlightPass, has been reduced to AU$149.00 and is valid on more than 350 flights including perennially popular Rome, London & Paris to Split & Dubrovnik as well as 90 flights across the continent to & from Brussels plus more.

europebyair.com.au has even stepped in to help passengers disrupted by the cancellation of Olympic Airlines flights by reducing the Premium FlightPass (applicable on international flights to/from Greece) to AU$169.00 per flight.

The FlightPass allows passengers the flexibility of changing their reservations for free, even changing their destination and/or airline for free if they want to.  By paying any applicable taxes at the airport prior to checking in, passengers are saved the inconvenience of having to have a traditional BSP ticket reissued just for the sake of a few dollars tax adjustment if they change their plans.

This makes the FlightPass the most flexible and best value airpass available in Europe.

What's more, there are no passenger check-in nor baggage check-in fees with the FlightPass - each airline's standard checked baggage allowance is included free in the ticket, unlike many other discount carriers.

The reduced prices apply until the end of this year.  For full details see www.europebyair.com.au.
 

FlightPass benefits for frequent flyers

This year sees the 20th anniversary of Croatia Airlines, one of the most popular airlines in the europebyair.com.au FlightPass programme.  To celebrate, Lufthansa Miles & More members can earn double status miles for travel on Croatia Airlines prior to 31st October, 2009.

And more good news is in the offing for Star Alliance travellers:  both Croatia Airlines and Aegean Airlines have been accepted as future members of the alliance.  Full participation including frequent flyer benefits is expected during 2010.

---

  European flight prices tumble by 20%

With the Aussie dollar climbing in value against other currencies, Europe by Air now passes on savings of up to 20% on the ever popular europebyair.com.au FlightPass. 

Effective immediately, the Mini FlightPass, valid on more than 290 direct flights throughout Europe, has been reduced to AU$139, and for 54 international flights to/from Greece where the Premium FlightPass applies, the new fare is AU$189.  The most popular FlightPass of the three, the Classic FlightPass, valid on more than 400 medium haul flights, has been reduced to AU$159, a reduction of 20%.

Prices shown are per person, per flight and do not include taxes/surcharges as these vary from flight to flight, but do include free baggage allowance with no check-in fees nor baggage check-in fees, unlike many internet/discount carriers such as Easyjet & Ryanair etc.

Most importantly, the FlightPasses allow passengers to change not only their dates for free, but also allow passengers to change their routes and even their airlines for free, something no other European air pass offers.

  Star Alliance welcomes FlightPass partner airlines

Star Alliance, the world's largest airline partnership, recently streamlined its processes for regional carriers to join its ranks  thus paving the way for two FlightPass founding airlines, Croatia Airlines and Aegean Airlines, to join the group.  This of course  brings the usual benefits to passengers who are members of Star Alliance frequent flyer programmes.

Aegean Airlines has had a meteoric growth since its inception 10 years ago, now operating a fleet of 31 aircraft over a network of 47 destinations including Athens, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Cairo, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Heraklion, Larnaca, London, Milan, Munich, Mykonos, Paphos, Paris, Rome, Santorini, Sofia, Stuttgart, Tirana and Venice.

Aegean's near neighbour Croatia Airlines is also enjoying remarkable growth in the past few years with the continuing popularity of the Adriatic, in particular the port cities Rijeka, Pula, Split & Dubrovnik which are linked with flights to cities throughout Europe including London, Paris, Lyons, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Munich, Zurich, Rome and Vienna.  This allows passengers using the FlightPass to fly into one of these coastal cities, board a ferry to island-hop along the Dalmatian coast to unspoilt islands such as Cres, Kornati, Brac & Hvar before flying out of another city.

Routes recently added to the network also link Zagreb with Barcelona, Copenhagen, Pristina and Podgorica.

Click here to see the interactive map flights available in the FlightPass and to check the rules & conditions.  Prices shown do not include taxes/surcharges as these vary from flight to flight.

---

 The Earlybird gets the savings $$$$

With the Aussie dollar having stabilised at about 30% below the July 2008 levels, it's inevitable that like most other wholesale products contracted in foreign currencies, the cost of the europebyair.com.au FlightPasses will have to increase.   We've refused to increase prices for the last 4 months meaning Aussie & Kiwi travellers have seen even greater value and savings than normal on intra-European airfares, but the continuing economic situation means we will have no option but to increase prices next year.

So our Christmas present to all earlybirds is purchase FlightPasses prior to 31st December 2008 to avoid increased prices.

The Mini FlightPass at AU$129.00 is valid on more than 300 flights throughout Europe, as well as the Eurostar between London and Paris, Disneyland, Brussels & Lille.

The Classic FlightPass is valid on more than 500 flights including the perennially popular destinations of Split & Dubrovnik, and is currently AU$149.00.

For international flights to/from Athens, the Premium FlightPass at AU$169.00 currently links 13 cities to this historic capital and gateway to the Greek islands, including flights to/from Cairo, Frankfurt, London & Rome.

Fares do not include the standard taxes/surcharges as these vary from flight to flight and can be advised at the time of booking.  No taxes/surcharges apply on the Eurostar.

For full details see www.europebyair.com.au or call europebyair.com.au on (02) 8213 9099.
 

---

  Watch out for new flights to & from Athens

We've spoken previously about the convenience & exceptional service of Aegean Airlines flights available on the Mini & Premium FlightPasses to, from & within Greece.  Their popularity continues to grow to such an extent that they have now expanded the number of flights on several routes to cater for demand, and will commence daily services between Athens & Paris in the new year.

On top of this good news, the airline yesterday announced it intends to commence services to Brussels, Berlin, Barcelona, Venice & Vienna by next Summer after it has taken delivery of another 10 aircraft.

By mid-2009, Aegean Airlines expects to operate 24 international routes and to 23 domestic points with more than 200 flights each day.  This is outstanding growth by any measure, but is particularly impressive considering most airlines are scheduling back their services in view of the current global economic outlook.

Furthermore, Aegean is currently negotiating with authorities for rights to fly between Athens and Istanbul & Tel Aviv. 

Anyone travelling to Greece next year will have a lot more choice of where they fly to/from using the europebyair.com.au FlightPass, the most flexible flight pass in Europe.  Passengers can not only change their dates for free but can also change their cities for free, something no other discount airfare allows.
 

---

  Extra flights to, from & within Greece

Despite many airlines cutting their schedules in Winter, one airline is bucking the trend and defying a dismal economic outlook by increasing services & launching new routes, such is the demand for Aegean Airlines.

• The airline will launch a new daily service between Athens & Paris (Charles de Gaulle) on 12th November which will increase to twice-a-day in March 2009.
• Aegean is also adding a third daily service between London & Athens to cater for demand. 
  Both this extra flight and the Paris flight are daylight flights timed for convenient direct connections to & from the Greek Islands.
• Dusseldorf will have its services increased to 5 times a week non-stop from Athens and daily non-stop from Thessaloniki.

Aegean Airlines growth is so strong that the airline has ordered 27 new Airbus aircraft to be delivered within the next two years, giving it one of the youngest fleets in Europe.

Since scheduled services commenced in 1999, Aegean Airlines has grown to become Greece's second largest carrier, transporting more than 5 million passengers in 2007 between 13 domestic cities & islands and 17 international destinations.   Privately owned, the company is isolated from the turmoil surrounding flag-carrier Olympic Airlines, and boasted a healthy profit of €5.5 million in the first half of 2008, with a 13% increase in passenger traffic year-on-year.

Aegean Airlines has just been awarded the 2008/09 Airline of the Year Gold Award by the European Regions Airlines association for the second time.  It is the fifth accolade it has received from the ERA in the last five years, and has also won many other awards.

Based in Athens, the airline was one of the original carriers to join the europeby air.com.au FlightPass programme.  This is the easiest & most flexible ways to book Aegean Airlines flights.  The fares are currently a flat AU$129.00 for travel on any domestic flight or AU$169.00 for travel on any international flight plus applicable taxes/surcharges.  This airpass allows flexibility like no other to change dates and/or cities without penalty.  For full details see www.europebyair.com.au.

 

 A word to the wise....

Given the current global economic situation and the volatility of the Australian dollar at the moment, many tour operators have had to increase their prices in the past couple of weeks.  Although no-one can be 100% sure of what the future holds, the one thing everyone can be 100% sure of is that anyone buying a FlightPass now pays the current prices.  To avoid any risk of paying higher amounts if the fares increase, we recommend you purchase your FlightPasses NOW!

---

 Network expands to include Turkey...

Coming in response to requests from both agents and passengers to make the Turkish treasures more accessible & affordable, effective immediately passengers can fly to Antalya in on the southwest coast of Turkey, a picturesque city ideal for exploring the fabled Turquoise Coast (named from the intense colour of the Mediterranean waters) as well as the dramatic sights of bizarre Cappadocia & the thermal pools of Pamukkale.

It’s not only the destination that's impressive -  so are the fares:  AU$269 one-way from Hamburg to Antalya is fantastic value in itself, but particularly more so considering this includes all taxes & surcharges.  Competitor prices can be more than twice as much. 

Reservations can be made in advance by calling Europe by Air on (02) 8213 9099.   For details of the flights available, see the interactive map at europebyair.com.au

...and Bulgaria

Relatively unknown to Aussies, the Black Sea cities of Varna & Bourgas have long been alternative resort destinations for Europeans particularly as their location affords them more mild summers than the Mediterranean with an average temperatures of 26°C.

Bourgas is known at the "City of Festivals" including Bourgas and the Sea, Festival of Bulgarian Rock Music, International Folklore Festival and a Beerfest.  It is also a cultural city with more than 10 art galleries and a swathe of classical architecture & public buildings from the 19th & 20th centuries.

Ornithologists the world over come to visit Lake Atanasovsko and the marine marshes in the area where more than 300 species of birds have been recorded.  Autumn is the peak bird-watching season when hundreds of thousands of birds migrate south following the Via Pontica, one of Europe's largest bird migration routes.

Flights from Germany operate to both Bourgas and Varna whilst Sofia is connected to Athens on the Premium FlightPass.  Australian passport holders are given visas for a max 90 day stay on arrival.

---

  European air fares reduced again

At a time when 'inflation' & 'interest rates' are the words on everybody's lips, europebyair.com.au has reduced the prices of their ever-popular FlightPasses for travel in Europe.

Effective immediately the Premium FlightPass has been reduced $30.00 down to AU$169.00 and the Classic FlightPass comes down to AU$149.00 with the standard taxes/surcharges being paid at the airport prior to check-in.

The Premium FlightPass is valid on international flights to & from Greece, including Cairo, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Munich, Stuttgart & Sofia and the Classic FlightPass is available on flights between 180 other European cities, including the ever popular flights between Rome, London, Paris and Dubrovnik & Split.

  New Mini FlightPass offers maxi savings

 We have also released a new Mini FlightPassto complement the well-known Classic and Premium FlightPasses.

At AU$129.00, the new Mini FlightPass covers domestic sectors throughout Europe as well as trans-border sectors such as France to Spain, Italy, Germany or Benelux, or Switzerland to Austria, France, Germany or Italy. 

The new pass also applies on the Eurostar between London and Paris, Brussels or EuroDisney as well as to flights between the UK and Benelux.  (Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg are considered one country, as are Denmark, Norway & Sweden).

  New FlightPass routes announced

Starting this month, long-term airline partner Aegean Airlines will commence flying between Athens & London twice daily.

Using brand new Airbus aircraft, the flights will operate to & from Stansted, London's third busiest airport, connected to central London by both express train and coach services, so passengers avoid the headaches of Heathrow.

Also announced are new eastern Mediterranean services between Manchester & London and Larnaca, Cyprus, operated by another airline partner of long standing, Monarch Airlines.  Monarch is the UK's largest charter & holiday airline.

This summer Aegean Airlines continues to expand its route network with new destinations Tirana the Albanian capital, and Kefalonia & Limnos in Greece now available.

   New contact details for europebyair.com.au

Please note our new phone number 02 8213 9099 & new fax number 02 9960 8781.  There are no changes to our email or address.

More than 700 flights throughout Europe are available on the europeby air.com.au FlightPass.  Click here or go to europebyair.com.au to see the interactive map of 180 cities available on the FlightPass and to check the full details of the programme.  Don't forget, these FlightPasses allow flexibility not matched by any other discount fares in Europe.  Prices shown do not include taxes/surcharges as these vary from flight to flight.

---

  Alpi Eagles flights suspended but europeby air.com.au passengers protected

Venice-based carrier Alpi Eagles has suspended all flights pending the renewal of their licence by ENAC, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority.  Creditors have reportedly petitioned the court in Venice to the tune of 6 million euro.

However in a statement released by Alpi Eagles, the carrier advises that all tickets will be honoured when the licence is renewed.  This applies to BSP tickets, tickets purchased on their website, and the Europe by Air FlightPass.

The statement from Alpi Eagles made no comment as to what their refund policy would be if their licence is not renewed, however with SAVE, the Venice Airport Authority, a creditor to the tune of 4 million euro, it is widely anticipated that passengers who booked on the company's website will find it difficult to get a refund.  This does not apply to passengers who purchased the europebyair.com.au FlightPass since they would immediately receive a full refund for cancelled flights if they so choose.

General Manager for Europe by Air in Australia, Mark James, says "Naturally we're disappointed at this development as Alpi Eagles has been a popular carrier in the FlightPass programme over the past 6 years.  However with another 712 eligible flights in the FlightPass programme, we don't expect there to be much impact."

He continues,  "Not only can Europe by Air FlightPass passengers immediately change to another carrier free of charge, but they are guaranteed a full, immediate refund if the Alpi Eagles licence is not renewed."

Alpi Eagles has no office nor GSA representation in Australasia to further clarify the situation.
 

---