On this day, April 6, 1957, Aristotle Onassis founded it Olympic Airways. An airline that for decades was the largest in the country and at its peak had a huge fleet and an extensive network of domestic and international destinations.
The beginning had taken place a little earlier, at the end of July 1956, when the Greek state had signed a contract granting Aristotle Onassis the exclusive exploitation of the country’s air traffic.
Until recently, the state-owned TAE (Technical Aviation Enterprises), which Onassis renamed Olympic Aviation, had passed into the hands of the Greek tycoon. On April 6, 1957, “Olympiaki”, as it became known, made the first flight with a DC-3 propeller plane, flying from Athens to Thessaloniki.
The first steps
At its inception, the company had a fleet of 15 helicopters, and a staff of 835 employees. By 1959 it had received its first De Havilland 48 jet aircraft, while its network already connected Athens with many destinations in Greece as well as with Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
In the 1960s the company developed at a rapid pace, with the expansion of the network of foreign destinations and new aircraft purchases. In 1965, the expiration of the four-year employment contract at the company led to a large strike action, which ended with the satisfaction of the workers’ demands. At the end of the decade, the first orders for Boeing 707-320 aircraft began, while in June 1966 the first direct flights to New York began.
In public
In 1972, Olympiaki was now flying to all five continents, while its fleet was constantly growing. However, on October 21 of that year, the company’s first aircraft accident occurred: A YS-11A, returning from Corfu, crashed into the sea just outside Voula, with 52 passengers and 4 crew members on board. 16 passengers and 3 of the 4 crew members were rescued. A year later, in 1973, Aristotle Onassis’ son, Alexandros, was killed in a plane crash. In 1974, after the fall of the dictatorship and in the midst of the oil crisis that shook Western economies, Onassis transferred Olympiaki to the Greek state.
Thus begins a new period of spectacular development of Olympiaki, which, however, in 1976 was marked by another plane crash: On November 23, 1976, flight OA 830 from Athens to Kozani via Larisa crashed into a mountain near Servia Kozani, killing 50 passengers. In 1977, in an attempt to limit costs, the Australian line is closed, while in January 1978, a 35-day strike mobilization with labor and salary demands begins, which ended successfully for the company’s workers.
In 1984 Olympiaki again flies to Australia and Canada, while in 1985 Olympiaci is at its peak, ranking 15th in domestic passenger transport, 20th in international passenger transport and 18th overall among 150 airlines. The company’s staff at that time amounted to 9,859 people, of which 900 worked abroad. The following year, however, passenger traffic falls – while the company’s deficits soar.
Turbulence
At the beginning of the 1990s, Olympiaci received a great distinction, as in 1991 it emerged as the safest airline in the world. Towards the end of the decade, however, the company’s debt is constantly increasing. Since then, the government has been implementing a consolidation plan that includes a statute of limitations on its debts, which, however, is not paying off.
In 2001, an important chapter for Olympic Aviation closes: Hellinikon Airport, the company’s base since 1957, passes into the past and a company flight to Chios, on March 28, 2001, inaugurates the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”. . The following years were marked by a reduction in routes and an attempt to sell Olympiaki to a private individual, in December 2004, through an international tender which was however declared barren.
In 2005 Greece, following complaints from private airlines and a relevant decision of the Commission, was condemned by the European Court for subsidies to Olympiaki in the period 1994-2004 which were deemed illegal, with the state being asked to recover 111 million euros from the company in the coming months. In essence, Olympiaki was called to put a “lockout”.
End
A long waiting period followed, during which the company’s reputation for the services it offered collapsed. In 2008, the transport ministry announced plans to create a new company that would buy the Olympiaki name and brand, but have nothing to do with it. This plan was approved by the European Commission. The flying project would shrink by 65%, while the new company would be privatized.
After stormy negotiations, in March 2009 the company comes under the control of Marfin Investment Group (MIG). On October 1 of the same year, the name of the new company changes to Olympic Air, thus officially ending the history of the country’s largest air carrier for decades, which at its peak flew to five continents.
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