Olympic Airlines get a couple of cheers – Now you can fly from Sitia to Heraklion and return. A medium sized, modern, 37 Seat DH8 now plies this route with flights from Sitia also to Rodos (Rhodes), Karpathos and Kasos.

There are also occasional (not daily) flights to Athens and Alexandroupoli.

So have a look at the hotels in the east of Crete and see where you could be enjoying and dreaming, during a break from the rest of life…fly into Sitia and off you go!

Flights schedules will be updated to include these by 23 January or earlier on the great resource for flights to Crete at http://www.CreteTravel.com/flights

CHANIA AIRPORT has offered a very large free parking area for the last two years. Further to walk from the terminal, than the paid parking opposite the entrance, but most useful for longer forays away, the area is now reserved for employees only.

In the future ( ! ) there will be a new “long-term” parking area created, but for now this useful patch of tarmac has in effect, vanished.

Icelandair via its “LUCKY FARES” offers email alerts of great deal fares not only to Iceland but to some European cities. Prices are often easily low enough to add paying for another European flight to hop on to say…Athens!

Lufthansa offers LOW fares to several European cities from a few North American gateways.

Both airlines offer email alerts about these special fares on their websites:

- http://www.icelandair.com/
- http://www.lufthansa.com/

Simple link to the authority concerning what is allowed on flights from and through the UK including Heathrow and Gatwick and all UK Airports :

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_about/documents/page/dft_about_612280.hcsp

Fly Athens to the island Kalymnos on Olympic airlines’ new route.

Olympic are offering 10 flights a week.

Some flights are direct others land at Astypalia on the way.

INFROMATION on: Other flights of fancy, interest, joy or practicality to and from Crete can be found at http://www.cretetravel.com/To_and_from_Crete/Flights_Crete.htm

Air Sea Lines, the new face of convenient travel within Greece, have just started a twice-daily seaplane service between Patras and Corfu.

An enjoyable 40 minute scenic and most convenient flight, seaplanes will gradually serve more and more islands (we are impatiently waiting for our first chance to try the service – wishing Air Sea Lines rapid expansion….why not ? ). Their plans are to expand to running a fleet of 30 aircraft in the next 4 years.

It is planned for Ithaca and Lefkada to be the next locations to be served by the sea plane service.

Mooted new name for Olympic Airways is ” Pantheon Airways ” – well there have been many off-beat airline names….

Olympic Airways name and logo (brand) would be auctioned off

All this subject to final negotiations, discussions, wrangling and big bad EU approval !

The story of privatising Greece’s flag carrier has been fraught with delays. We hope this will be the last stage of the process to bring a new baby and a healthy adult into the airways linking Greece, its islands and the world.

24 hour operation capability and permitting for Chania airport (CHQ), will pave the way for an increase in flights from many European centres.

Demand is continually growing for access to Chania and the West areas of Crete.

(So do please “come on in EasyJet……Roll on down Ryanair!” – we would welcome your serious consideration. Why not add Chania to your route network….better get there soon, before I start my own new airline . . . ).

British Airways will increase the frequency of flights from Gatwick (UK) to Heraklion (Crete, Greece) for 2006.

The service will resume (after its winter close) on 28 March 2006 until 27 October 2006.
There will be four flights a week on these days > Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.

We expect this will be most successful – we have had good reports from visitors to Crete who have enjoyed the GB Airways flights during this year.

The timetables for 2006 Will be shown on the flights to Crete resource> http://www.cretetravel.com/flights

Ask at STA travel (several offices in USA) for some special fare offers for New York to Thessaloniki and also from Miami to Athens – Only for departures between 1-12 November 2005

Worth a try

Lufthansa offers fares to Athens as low as $724 today only on their http://www.lufthansa-usa.com website.

We’d love ya’all to visit! Then when you have the flight we’ll help you find the Greece you’ll love at http://www.SuperbGreece.com or the Crete You Are Looking For (TM) at http://www.CreteHotelRooms.com

OK – ready to travel!

Best wishes on a 36 degree (centigrade) day in Crete!