TRIP REPORT | Aegean & Olympic Air [Economy Class] A320 & Q400 BLQ-ATH-CHQ | A3683 & OA344

Join me on this trip from Bologna (Italy) to Chania, Crete (Greece) via Athens (Greece) with Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air in Economy Class. My first time trying out both airlines, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again! The journey didn't get off to a great start though, with a long wait at check-in and very rude staff there (which however wasn't the airline's fault), but everything else went very well. The cabin was well-mantained and the seating fairly comfortable. Furthermore, the crew were very friendly. Onboard, a good level of service was provided, with the distribution of inflight magazines and a hearty and tasty snack. Flying conditions were good and gave us some nice views, especially of Athens during the descent; and we landed in ATH right on time. At Athens airport, passengers were randomly selected for a Covid-19 test, supposedly according to the QR code on their PLF (Passenger Locator Form) - and everyone with a connecting flight had to bypass security again. This wasn't a major issue for me, given the rather long connection. Other than that, I found ATH to be a pleasant airport to transfer through; there were good views of the aircraft movements and the selection of stores and cafés was pretty decent. After 3 hours of waiting, it was time to board the second flight, this one being operated by Olympic Air. The airline is a subsidiary of Aegean Airlines operating regional routes (domestic and minor international), and the two airlines also share the same frequent flyer program and service concept. After a quick safety demo by the friendly crew, we started taxiing and eventually took off for the short flight to Crete. I was impressed to see that, despite the very short flight, they served a snack and water. Not long afterwards, we started our descent, and came for a landing on RWY 11 - which is a bit of an unusual occurrence at CHQ, as aircraft normally use RWY 29. As always, I hope you will enjoy the video; tell me what you think of it and remember that likes and subscriptions are always welcome! Date: Monday, July 27, 2020 Some details about the flights: A3683 BLQ-ATH Aircraft info: *Type: Airbus A320-232 *Registration: SX-DGK *Construction number: 3748 *First flight: March 30, 2009 *Delivered: April 27, 2013 (previously in service with Olympic Air) *Configuration: CY174 *My seat: 14A (source: https://www.planespotters.net/airfram...) Flight info: *Scheduled departure time: 15:45 *Scheduled arrival time: 18:50 *Scheduled flight time: 2h 05m *Punctuality: on-time *Cruising altitude: 37000 feet OA344 ATH-CHQ Aircraft info: *Type: Bombardier Dash 8-Q402 *Registration: SX-OBG *Construction number: 4321 *First flight: 2010 (exact date unknown) *Delivered: December 11, 2010 *Configuration: Y78 *My seat: 8A (source: https://www.planespotters.net/airfram...) Flight info: *Scheduled departure time: 22:30 *Scheduled arrival time: 23:20 *Scheduled flight time: 0h 50m *Punctuality: on-time *Cruising altitude: 19000 feet