Olympic Airlines History
Olympic Airlines is the major airline carrier of Greece. In addition to extensive service throughout Greece and the Mediterranean, Olympic serves many other continents. It is an airline with a long history, filled with fun facts and a famous figure.
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Alternate Names
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Over the years, Olympic Airlines has also been known as TAE and Olympic Air. As written in Greek, the name for the company is Ολ...μπιακές 'ερογραμμές.
Origins and History
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After a series of state owned Greek airlines failed during the 1930s and 1940s, in 1957 three Greek airlines merged to become TAE Greek National Airlines after a deal was made between the country of Greece and Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. A few months later, the name was changed to Olympic Airways, or as it would be pronounced in Greek, Olympiaki Aeroporia. By the end of the 1960s, the carrier was serving Africa, North America and Europe. In 1972, the first service to Australia began.
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Accidents
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Notable crashes in Olympic's history include a crash in 1969 that killed 85 passengers and five crew members. Another crash occurred in 1976, which killed 46 passengers and four crew members. The most recent incident occurred in 1989, which took the lives of all 31 passengers and the three crew members on board.
Destinations
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Olympic Airlines flies to major airports throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Some notable destinations include New York City, Tel Aviv, Dubai, South Africa, Egypt, Montreal and dozens of European cities. Service to Australia is no longer available.
Flight Attendant Fashion
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Olympic's flight attendants are some of the most stylishly attired workers in the sky. Throughout the company's history, famous fashion designers that have created uniforms for Olympic have included Jean Desses, Coco Chanel and Pierre Cardin. Since 1998, the uniforms have been designed by Artisti Italiani.
End of State Ownership
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As of March 6, 2009, Olympic is no longer run by the Greek government. After 35 years of state ownership, Olympic's flight operations and technical base was sold to Marfin Investment Group, a large Greek investment fund.
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