hughw

Hi,
Thinking about going to Naxos and Paros next year. We've done it before by taking ferry from Athens, but this time would like to fly if possible. When, I go on the UA website (or google flights), nothing is shown although I know there are Agean airline flights that could work in connection with various UA flights from EWR, and also star alliance flights from Munich, etc. Is there any way to book together, or does Agean have to be booked separately?

cmhua777

United doesn�t file airfares to either of those cities. So you won�t be able to buy a single United ticket. You can book award travel, however, since Star Alliance airlines serve them.

I suspect a Travel Agent can combine UA and Aegean tickets into one record. Meaning they can put a UA ticket to Athens and an Aegean ticket from there to the islands together on one record. It would be two tickets, two separate fare rules, but because it�s on one record it gives the receiving airline visibility to your connection, more seamless bag check, etc.

WineCountryUA

According to Wikipedia

ATH-JNX is served only by Olympic Air (OA) or Sky Express
While OA is owned by A3 and is a *A affiliate and MP partner

Should be able to construct a 016 with OA flights
Aegean Airlines (A3) flies seasonally Thessaloniki (SKG) (begins 1 June 2024)

OA threads
Olympic Air (OA) PNR showing in error on UA itinerary?

Olympic Air now a Mileage Plus Partner (but not *A)

jsloan

That isn't how fare filings work. You happen to be correct, but not for the reason you stated. UA does not file fares between every pair of cities in the world. You can put multiple fares onto the same ticket as long as they are combinable. It's handled transparently to the passenger.

The actual problem is that Olympic doesn't seem to want to offer connecting flights to these cities, as they are limiting the ATH-JNX and ATH-PAS fares to being ticketed on Olympic or Aegean, and neither of those airlines seems inclined to sell TATL tickets. Perhaps it's due to EC.261 -- by refusing to allow their flights to be sold in conjunction with other airlines', they remove the possibility of having to pay out €600 due to a missed connection.

UA discourages this practice; most travel agents won't do it; and it confers no real benefits.

uanj

Just to be clear for those who don't run into this often, TAs don't normally issue this kind of itinerary under one PNR. But they will issue two separate tickets for travel or you can book two separate tickets yourself. I do this all the time. A potential downside to the traveler is if the first airline is late, the second airline may not be under any obligation to honor the ticket so pay attention to the fare rules on the second ticket.

Connecting through MUC or somewhere else on one PNR will give you the usual connection protection of rebooking if you can't make the second flight.

hughw

Exactly...no problem purchasing separate tickets, but good to have on o single PNR if there's a late connection.

jpezaris

A3 and OA don't play well with others during ticketing, as has been observed already. Many times when a connecting fare *is* available, it is priced at full Y. Connecting in Athens is reasonably easy, although those not familiar with Mediterranean chaos will need to prepare themselves for what appears to be somewhat less formally organized procedures than in northern Europe.

Some, and only some of the *A benefits accrue on OA because of its arm's length nudge-nudge wink-wink distance from A3. For example, *G supported lounge access is not available when flying OA, even when the ticket was booked on A3's web site and by all outward appearances should be an A3 flight, including getting *G supported baggage allowance.

Beyond the normal connecting between separate tickets issues, of some concern with XXX-ATH / ATH-PAS or ATH-JNX is that your INTL luggage allowances do not apply on the legs to and from the island. On the way there, you will need to collect your luggage in ATH, pass through customs, go upstairs to the check-in level and start an entirely new journey; if you were taking advantage of generous luggage allowance in J on your TATL leg, you may be rudely surprised at the fees you will need to pay for the final leg. Lines for OA checkin can be very, very long, but *G status does get you into the business class A3 lines, and should get you FastLane status for security screening; being in J for the TATL leg without being *G will not give you access to those check-in lines.

On the way back, be aware that the PAS and JNX airports are bus-station sized. You will not have the option for *G treatment. You are unlikely to get priority bag tags for your return flight. I would plan on through-checking of bags not to be available when departing from PAS/JNX. It will be hot (in the summer). You will likely not have a place to sit. There is no A/C to speak of. Flights, especially after noonish, tend to be late from minor delays that accumulate through the day --- often there is only one airframe flying back-and-forth, all day long. Flights can be cancelled due to excessive wind, and alternate travel accommodation will not exist; flights are at capacity during the summer. Personally, I would never book a flight from the smaller Greek islands to ATH with a follow-on connection that I must make without an overnight in ATH.

Also, be aware that equipment used to the smaller islands is usually on ATR-42 / 72 propeller planes. With the expansion of the PAS airport, they are supposed to support jets, but I am not current on whether that has happened yet or not.

I wanted to expand on this idea a little. The chances of flights being cancelled due to wind on the islands are low, but it does happen, perhaps more than one might expect for the seemingly perfect VOR conditions on the ground during the summer. If your flight PAX-ATH or JNX-ATH is cancelled, OA may or may not add a flight late in the day to accommodate passengers displaced by the cancellation (see note above regarding chaos). The primary alternative transportation would be to take a ferry to Piraeus or Rafina, and then make your way by taxi or train to ATH. If money is no object, and you can find an operator willing to fly in the conditions that cancelled your original flight, helicopter service can be booked, but you'd be entirely on your own to figure that out, and the price is shocking.

All of that said, flights to and from the islands in the morning are less likely to be cancelled or late than those later on. The wind typically picks up mid-day, when it does, and cascading delays from wind or other operational issues get reset with each new day.

HAF

Assuming you give up on a UA *A requirement there are plenty of viable ticketing options with EK/GQ or DL/GQ. Although prices look astronomical compared to just flying to ATH and buying a separate ticket to the islands.

jpezaris advice is solid - I always overnight in Athens when connecting to the islands. So usually I buy my US to ATH ticket and the ATH to islands as a separate ticket, departing a day or more after.

Lacking TATL connections to the islands seems to be a big missed opportunity for A3 as part of *A. You would think they would have pursued capturing this market and would have collaborated with UA to file airfares for these connections.

And I guess smart for Sky express that has stepped in to fill in the gap and explains why they continue growing.

--HAF