Does anyone have an inexpensive way to get from Prague to Athens, Greece?

Discount carrier SkyEurope flies between Prague and Athens

http://www2.skyeurope.com/eu/Default.aspx?ext=1376

Do they really have only one flight that goes at 23:00 hours to Athens? Does anyone fly that time of night?

Yes, Skyeurope has one flight, departing PRG at 23:50 and arriving to ATH at 3:30. If that doesn't work for you, it might be worth considering a train from Prague to somewhere in Germany or Austria, where you may be able to catch a daytime flight.

It is not uncommon for flights to land and take off in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East in the middle of the night. I have personally dealt with this ordeal flying in and out of Larnaca, Athens, Cairo and Tel Aviv.

It was once explained to me that the reason dates back to the old days of propeller planes. Apparently, it was too hot, and unsafe, to land and take off during the daytime hours. So, flight schedules drawn up for late at night, when things were cooler. I don't know if this is really true, or not. I imagine some of the experts on this board will know the real reason, if this is not the case.

Nevertheless, there is a 24-hour bus that runs from the Athens airport to Syntagma Square.

According to DeutscheBahn a train will take you 36+ hrs and 3 connections (don't know if that's the most direct routing).

According to the czech railways tariff site (search from praha to athine), the trip will cost you 187.60 EUR.

what's wrong with a nid-night fligth??? that's what I prefer (unless my 6 yr old son is along). Some people have to work the graveyard shift!

also cheaper landing fees (I guess)

I must be older than you, but a midnight flight doesn't work for me. The last time I did that was to Las Vegas and it was awful.

Nowadays, it's all about connectivity. Flights from the Eastern Med have to depart at ungodly hours if they want to make it to a Central or Western European hub in time for flights to the Americas.

A flight from Israel to Frankfurt takes about 4 hours. The earliest USA flights depart at just before 9. If you want to reliably offer connections between the two, your flight from Israel has to arrive in Frankfurt no later than 7. Accounting for the one-hour time difference, that means your flight can't leave Israel much later than 4 am. Same game for Athens, though those flights are shorter.

Also, the overnight runs allow you to increase aircraft utilisation. Send them on a full day's flying around Western Europe, then send 'em East overnight and have them back by morning. Good way to keep your fleet in the air and earning $$.


But back to the OP, you may want to consider backtracking to MUC and flying from there - LH has revamped parts of its fare structure and now has some one-way flights between Germany and Greece for 49€. Book on the Irish website www.lufthansa.ie to avoid the ticketing fee of 13€ charged on the German site. You can also book on the US website www.lufthansa-usa.com without paying a booking fee - you'll be charged in US$ rather than €.

Aegean Air also flys between Munich and Athens.