KLM downsizes Athens
Mar 2, 2012 | 10:25 am
#31
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Thanks, that does indeed make sense. The funny thing is that with both airlines serving different destinations, there was no competition anyway..
Anyway, I was at ATH yesterday and asked at the Olympic and KLM ticket desks.
- Olympic said nothing has been confirmed, but it seems to be final. However there still is a possibility that they will re-add flights to AMS for this summer.
- The OA lady offered me to refund my ticket directly, but also said chances are that Olympic will rebook on other carriers later on. I chose to wait a bit more.
- At the KLM desk it became clear this was a very radical action, with no notice whatsoever to KLM. They confirmed that KLM did indeed reduce capacity on the route due to the OA codeshares.
- The KLM lady expects that KLM will re-add at least one flight, and it should happen soon. The new schedule will go into effect in 3 weeks from now.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to ask Aegean as well, but I doubt they would have been able to tell me anything.
It was good to read that Greek newspapers have judged OA quite a lot on the issue. They ran an article outlining the fact that OA and KL had just recently started a partnership through codeshares, and that OA has changed direction suddenly and without notice. From now on OA will focus more on eastern flights, Israel mainly, and not western Europe.
Is there anybody else here that was impacted by the cancelations? I booked Malev, they went under...I replaced with OA and now thats cancelled too. Meanwhile ticket prices are through the roof, and if I need to rebook myself it will cost at least twice as much from what I originally paid. Anybody else waiting for the right moment to book alternative flights?
Anyway, I was at ATH yesterday and asked at the Olympic and KLM ticket desks.
- Olympic said nothing has been confirmed, but it seems to be final. However there still is a possibility that they will re-add flights to AMS for this summer.
- The OA lady offered me to refund my ticket directly, but also said chances are that Olympic will rebook on other carriers later on. I chose to wait a bit more.
- At the KLM desk it became clear this was a very radical action, with no notice whatsoever to KLM. They confirmed that KLM did indeed reduce capacity on the route due to the OA codeshares.
- The KLM lady expects that KLM will re-add at least one flight, and it should happen soon. The new schedule will go into effect in 3 weeks from now.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to ask Aegean as well, but I doubt they would have been able to tell me anything.
It was good to read that Greek newspapers have judged OA quite a lot on the issue. They ran an article outlining the fact that OA and KL had just recently started a partnership through codeshares, and that OA has changed direction suddenly and without notice. From now on OA will focus more on eastern flights, Israel mainly, and not western Europe.
Is there anybody else here that was impacted by the cancelations? I booked Malev, they went under...I replaced with OA and now thats cancelled too. Meanwhile ticket prices are through the roof, and if I need to rebook myself it will cost at least twice as much from what I originally paid. Anybody else waiting for the right moment to book alternative flights?
Mar 3, 2012 | 12:54 pm
#32
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
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I'm still doubting what to do with various tickets to Greece this summer. KLM prices have shot up to insane height overnight, affordable tickets left over is Transavia or something like Lufthansa/swiss. I'd like to book Skyteam but its getting harder each day this way..
Mar 3, 2012 | 3:44 pm
#33
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Thanks for the link--the speculation on twice a day to amsterdam being replaced by 3 times a week to israel is a bit weird, but then again, so is olympic. The Best skyteam combination for me now is the 4:30 pm flight to CDG connecting to Air France, with a return on he 17:20 KL flight. If they do bring in a new flight, I assume it may be affordable until they fill some seats on it
Mar 4, 2012 | 11:31 am
#34
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
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I'm happy to report that Olympic came through!
They contacted me about the booking and offered me the choice of a refund or rebooking. I asked to be rebooked on an AF (outgoing) and KL (incoming) flights. They accepted and I just received a new ticket. AF in E class, KL in Q class.
So while I'm quite happy about that, prices have increased tremendously and for the rest of my travel to ATH I'm pretty much screwed. Unless somebody indeed adds flights..
They contacted me about the booking and offered me the choice of a refund or rebooking. I asked to be rebooked on an AF (outgoing) and KL (incoming) flights. They accepted and I just received a new ticket. AF in E class, KL in Q class.
So while I'm quite happy about that, prices have increased tremendously and for the rest of my travel to ATH I'm pretty much screwed. Unless somebody indeed adds flights..
May 9, 2012 | 1:31 am
#35
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Sorry to keep on harping about this issue...but I notice that Aegean has started flights to Prague (replacing the cancelled OK flights) AND Tblisi of all places, and NOT Amsterdam--can traffic really be down that much on the route? I'm forced to resort to weird Alitalia/KL combinations at the moment...
May 11, 2012 | 7:03 am
#36
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It seems so. They hinted a couple of times that they might open ATH-AMS, but I doubt it will happen now that the summer schedule has started.
I'm flying through CDG to ATH these days, but it is quite a pain. Last time I flew KL direct it was very crowded, however that was just a few days before easter so the stats might be off on that one. One thing is sure though: Prices have gone through the roof. Where KL flights used to start at 220 euro last year, they are now at least 300+. (Also for the winter season).
I'm flying through CDG to ATH these days, but it is quite a pain. Last time I flew KL direct it was very crowded, however that was just a few days before easter so the stats might be off on that one. One thing is sure though: Prices have gone through the roof. Where KL flights used to start at 220 euro last year, they are now at least 300+. (Also for the winter season).
May 11, 2012 | 7:40 am
#37
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Oh and that's the other thing...AF seems to have 4/5 flights a day--why not give one to Amsterdam AF/KL? Schlepping through Paris or Rome is really not that fun...it turns out I much preferred connections in Prague--super simple.
Dec 11, 2012 | 1:55 am
#38
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Judging from Slide 91 of the Investor Day Presentation, KLM may be downsizing ATH even further in the future!
Dec 12, 2012 | 11:55 am
#39
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The one daily flight they have now is full to the brim, any day, every day. And prices on this flight are generally 50% more than they used to be. They currently have a monopoly on the route (Not counting HV with semi-seasonal service), and are (ab)using that to the fullest.
For sure traffic has gone down, but cutting more would seem too much. At least at this point in time.
I recently flew AMS-FRA-ATH with LH and both outbound and inbound I noticed Greek parties on the AMS-FRA segment. Especially inbound on the return this was very obvious. In other words, the process of moving to competitors is already well underway.. (Myself included, over the next months I will try LH, LX and OS on the route)
Its about time for A3 and OA to merge and expand their international network to AMS. Its becoming quite clear now that OA has been reducing international routes (including Amsterdam) in order to improve chances on getting European approval to merge. Lets get that over with and start offering flights again..
For sure traffic has gone down, but cutting more would seem too much. At least at this point in time.
I recently flew AMS-FRA-ATH with LH and both outbound and inbound I noticed Greek parties on the AMS-FRA segment. Especially inbound on the return this was very obvious. In other words, the process of moving to competitors is already well underway.. (Myself included, over the next months I will try LH, LX and OS on the route)
Its about time for A3 and OA to merge and expand their international network to AMS. Its becoming quite clear now that OA has been reducing international routes (including Amsterdam) in order to improve chances on getting European approval to merge. Lets get that over with and start offering flights again..
Last edited by Xandrios; Dec 12, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Dec 19, 2012 | 6:27 am
#40
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
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New flights!
I just noticed that for S13 a new flight has been added: KL1577 ATH-AMS. Schedule:
7:50 AMS 12:05 ATH
13:05 ATH 15:40 AMS
So far it seems only bookable for saturdays and sundays, and no low(er) fare buckets available. (Starting at T)
For me personally the departure time out of AMS is perfect, albeit I prefer to fly out on Friday. And availability in T only is sad (=expensive eco fare), but that will hopefully change in the future.
[edit]
Thanks to airlineroute to provide some more information: From 1JUL there will be 2 daily flights, 9 weekly from 7SEPT. Yay!! For me personally this is a huge improvement!
7:50 AMS 12:05 ATH
13:05 ATH 15:40 AMS
So far it seems only bookable for saturdays and sundays, and no low(er) fare buckets available. (Starting at T)
For me personally the departure time out of AMS is perfect, albeit I prefer to fly out on Friday. And availability in T only is sad (=expensive eco fare), but that will hopefully change in the future.
[edit]
Thanks to airlineroute to provide some more information: From 1JUL there will be 2 daily flights, 9 weekly from 7SEPT. Yay!! For me personally this is a huge improvement!
Last edited by Xandrios; Dec 19, 2012 at 6:43 am
Sep 15, 2014 | 11:50 am
#42
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Aegean is starting flights to Amsterdam next summer. However there is a huge catch: Not to Athens!
There will be flights to HER and RHO. So obviously the problem is not with slots at Amsterdam. I am baffled why they would not introduce AMS-ATH..
Source: http://airlineroute.net/2014/09/15/a3-s15update1/
There will be flights to HER and RHO. So obviously the problem is not with slots at Amsterdam. I am baffled why they would not introduce AMS-ATH..
Source: http://airlineroute.net/2014/09/15/a3-s15update1/