My experience with Olympic last fall on several flights to/from Athens and the islands was HORRIBLE. Rude customer service, spending 45 minutes waiting for a bus to bus you 100 yards to the plane, poor ventilation, several very rough landings (made you wonder who was in the cockpit -- I looked when I got out and the pilots did not look too healthy ), mysterious groaning sounds, and the planes looked so dated we took pictures of them on the runway. Reminded me a bit of Aeroflot in the Soviet era, except it was worse.

If there's any alternative (even without FF miles -- can't believe I said that! ) I'd avoid them until they get in shape.

One funny anecdote: I got on an Olympic flight from Athens early once (seated way in the back) and due to all the delays at the gate with no clean restroom nearby I headed to the back to urgently use the lav prior to take-off (we had 25 minutes to take-off, and I wasn't blocking anyone's boarding). The FA blocked my way, explaining that if I flushed before take-off, the contents would flow on to the runway! She advised me to wait until take-off (so presumably the contents could be emptied out in the air over Athens)

[This message has been edited by ermdjdsj (edited Dec 20, 2003).]