Goin-2-AA

I am a US based AA flyer. My recent exposure to A3 has left me in awe of their customer service and communication. If only they had a flight to JFK or ORD I would use them for Euro connections as we all know LHR is a hoat rodeo.

just wishful thinking....

unusualtravelblog

One can hope...
In the past they a Greek airline used to fly to the USA with a 747 under the Olmpic Airways brand.

A blast to the past:
https://www.aviationtag.com/en/2021/...f-aviationtag/

Business class cabin:
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Olym...47-212B/232257


Edit: looks like it is too sensitive here to relate Olympic Airways/Airlines to Aegean, although Aegean bought Olympic Air in 2009.

headingwest

Would be good use of an upgrade coupon

KLouis

"they", obviously, means "A Greek airline" and not Aegean...

diburning

Yeah. Aegean didn't pick up the Olympic brand until 2009 after the original Olympic went under. The 747s were long gone by then.

irishguy28

I'm not sure the other Star Alliance players would be happy with that development; and unfortunately for Aegean, ATH's position would put them at a big disadvantage to their competitors when offering connecting itineraries to most of the European continent.

That said, they'd do a brisk trade on just US-Greece O&D demand; Greece has been in huge demand with US travellers and each of the US big 3 serve Athens (at least seasonally). Unfortunately for A3, ATH is still just too far out of range of the US east coast for the new crop of longhaul narrowbodies to be able to offer non-stop service (but ATH-SNN/DUB-USA could be viable....). And I really can't see A3 adding widebodies.

I don't think you can expect US service for the foreseeable future.

What do you think, will Aegean ever start flights to the USA?

AlwaysFlyStar

I agree with both of those.
I think Aegean does what they do very well. They know how to operate an airline that is based in a very seasonal market and make it work, which I find quite impressive, personally.
I don't think there are enough benefits from long haul service to make it worth the risks. It is largely a vanity/prestige thing, and the fares are extremely competitive. If the next generation 321 can get to NY, then I might see them having a conversation considering the possibility, but even then I wouldn't be surprised if they said no because they would need different seat configuration for that flight and spend a lot on the marketing, etc. to build some brand awareness in the US and it just seems like a lot of risk with not so much potential reward.

johnirvine

As a child, I often wondered if pigs could fly. Regrettably, they cannot!

yurtripper

Wouldn't BOS or NYC be within range for an A321 XLR? It's rated at 4700 nm. Some interesting Asian destinations, such as BKK and HAN, should be comfortably within range also, though SGN is right at the limit

yurtripper

This shows the range of an A321 XLR from ATH: A map from Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

irishguy28

A nominal range of "up to 4,700 nm" doesn't mean that (m)any route(s) of that length would actually be technically possible. Pushing the aircraft to the absolute limits of its range would require a much reduced payload, and would require viable diversion airports en-route; you could expect a lot of touchdowns in Gander, or maybe even Greenland, for refuelling on any such attempt to run an East Coast service from ATH with an even partially-full cabin - particularly in challenging weather.

On Airbus' own A321XLR website, for example, ATH is clearly *not* within range of NYC:


https://aircraft.airbus.com/en/aircraft/a320/a321xlr

Given the prevailing winds across the Atlantic are from the West, a crossing into headwinds from ATH to JFK (or even BOS) - which is therefore more challenging that an Eastbound crossing - therefore simply is not possible without a stopover.

DELLAS

Yes wishful thinking . Been discussed many times and nothing has changed . Wont be happening for a long time to come if ever.

Swanhunter

Very happy for Aegean to stick to what they do best. The industry is littered with the corpses of airlines that pushed it too hard.