Our travel correspondent, an inveterate traveler to an antique land, files this report on developments in Greece:
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Travelers who believe that flying a foreign country's national airline reduces the likelihood of encountering terrorism in the air crossed off Greece from their list of possible destinations at the end of 2009, when Olympic Airways announced that it was discontinuing intercontinental flights. Until fairly recently, though, you could get from New York or Newark to Athens and back nonstop via Delta and, briefly, United Continental. No longer. As if there weren't enough reasons not to go to Greece these days, both U.S. airlines have discontinued nonstop flights to and from Athens. This means that Greeks no longer have the spare cash that allowed some of them to visit family and friends in the States; that Greek Americans are sending their relatives in Greece all the financial help they can, making it impossible for them to visit Greece themselves; and that most U.S. tourists and businesspeople have neither the desire nor the reasons to go to Greece that they once did. If you wish to reach the Greek capital from New York now, you'll fly to a non Greek European city and switch to an associated non-Greek European airline if you aren't on one already. From Athens, you take either a non Greek European airline all the way or switch to Delta or United somewhere in Europe. The shortest stops both ways seem to be Frankfurt, Zurich, and Paris, one and a half to four hours; but some "layovers," the websites inform you with the straightest of faces, are 16 to 21 hours long. First class, business, and steerage.
Travelers who believe that flying a foreign country's national airline reduces the likelihood of encountering terrorism in the air crossed off Greece from their list of possible destinations at the end of 2009, when Olympic Airways announced that it was discontinuing intercontinental flights. Until fairly recently, though, you could get from New York or Newark to Athens and back nonstop via Delta and, briefly, United Continental. No longer. As if there weren't enough reasons not to go to Greece these days, both U.S. airlines have discontinued nonstop flights to and from Athens. This means that Greeks no longer have the spare cash that allowed some of them to visit family and friends in the States; that Greek Americans are sending their relatives in Greece all the financial help they can, making it impossible for them to visit Greece themselves; and that most U.S. tourists and businesspeople have neither the desire nor the reasons to go to Greece that they once did. If you wish to reach the Greek capital from New York now, you'll fly to a non Greek European city and switch to an associated non-Greek European airline if you aren't on one already. From Athens, you take either a non Greek European airline all the way or switch to Delta or United somewhere in Europe. The shortest stops both ways seem to be Frankfurt, Zurich, and Paris, one and a half to four hours; but some "layovers," the websites inform you with the straightest of faces, are 16 to 21 hours long. First class, business, and steerage.
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