This video is very poignant and meaningful for me! My dear father passed away suddenly a few weeks ago, at age 85. He came to the USA as an immigrant in the 40's, sacrificed, and became a doctor. He was a kind, practical, and intelligent man, who loved people, and his family. I am his eldest son, and remember flying on Olympic B707's every summer as a child and teen growing up the the 60's and 70's. We flew from JFK/NYC nonstop to Athens, and back, usually after 1 or 2 month stays in Greece. I always wanted the 'window seat', as I loved the sight and sounds of this great jet that changed the world! THANKS DAD... I LOVE YOU FOREVER!
AudiophileTubes wow I think we Greek kids growing up WERE INCREDIBLY SPOILED know one but my Greek friends went for 1-2 month vacations that is unheard for everybody else. I remember coming from Greece and always looking different like hitting a growth spurt every summer hahaha
@@Chris08TT Thanks for the comments. No, we weren't spoiled. Our parents worked their asses off, and now, so do we. It's just that life has gotten harder for many. Less vacation time today (especially compared to Europeans), more job insecurity, depression and anxiety, kids on the autism spectrum, super expensive healthcare, life expectancy down compared to previous generation, more litigious society now... the list goes on. In my opinion, life WAS easier then! So was the music!
On December 6, 1967 - on one of these Olympic Boeing 707s from Athens to New York - my parents my brother and I left Greece for America. I was 6 at the time and will never forget the excitement of the trip, the great service, and the thrill of flying. 44 years in America now but my heart belongs to Greece.
I used to take Olympic airline as my favorite airline in all my abroad trips, the company had a regular line from Alexandria, Egypt to Athens and then to any place in the world. I am really sad about closing this airline company, it was perfect with reasonable prices and good food.
ΔΕΛΦΟΙ or DELPHI means ....the CENTER OF THE EARTH Delphi is located in upper central Greece, on multiple plateaux along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo, the site of the ancient Oracle. This semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades, and overlooks the Pleistos Valley. In myths dating to the classical period of Ancient Greece (510-323 BC), Zeus determined the site of Delphi when he sought to find the centre of his "Grandmother Earth" (Gaia). He sent two eagles flying from the eastern and western extremities, and the path of the eagles crossed over Delphi where the omphalos, or navel of Gaia was found.
Pisses me off how EU and euro put greek economy down. Flown Olympic and the service was nice. Shame it doesn't exist anymore. Shame on Brussels. Greetings from Scandinavia love Greece and greek people.
Beautiful video. A340 mirroring the classic lines of B707. I filmed OA B747-200 Olympic Eagle on a flight from NYC to Athens. This AC is now in storage at the old Hellinkon Airport.
@@georgealchemistIts just like Pan Am and AA. Pan Am wasn’t better but it’s the time that flies, AA has now really good service but we miss the old time with Pan Am, TWA and Eastern. AA or Delta seem now normal. But the old time seems much better.
@@jnel4238 Flag carrier airlines have a different mission statement than a regular airline business. They don’t care as much to make a profit because they exist to promote their country and national pride to its citizens. Any losses are subsidized by the tax payers. Not the same for the Aegeans of the world. The flag carrier model is slowly disappearing especially in Europe, and the US never really had a flag carrier. Closest were PanAm and TWA but the government never had a stake in it. So apples and oranges.
Nice! Thank you guys, and all of you who still work at the YYZ Toronto Pearson Intl. Amazingly good video. Oh, Delphi, it's the name of an ancient place here in Greece. It's not "brothers" as you mention on the video. In Greek, brother stands as a single form, adelfos, and in plural form, adelfi.
its too bad Olympic will not be part of the major European carrier heavies. Alitalia,BA, Lufthansa, KLM and Air France all will still fly to Toronto, but without the Olympic A340, it ain't the same.
The end of Olympic started when Onassis handed it over to the Greek Corrupt State, and when the Greek unions launched a 30-year battle to shut it down for good. The unions won...Olympic and the Greek people lost.
My dad worked for OA. He was one of the original people to open OA in YUL. I used to go with him to the airport as a kid. I believe it started flying to YUL in 1974-75. I think it was around that time because my father met Onassis a few times in YUL. As for my favorite aircraft. I like the Jumbo. But my real favorite is the B-707, I flew on it many times to Greece.
The direct charter flights to the greek islands by european carriers rendered OA irrelevant. The travelling public no longer had to connect in the Hellenikon airport dump, and use the * services * of OA to transport them to the greek islands. With respect to the comment on the first flight to YUL, I can confirm in 1971 when we immigrated to Canada that OA was flying with the B707.
Το καλοκαίρι του 2008 γύριζα από Λονδίνο με τους Δελφούς. Υπέροχο αεροπλάνο και πολύ μεγάλο. Θυμάμαι είχε 2 θέσεις δεξιά, 2 αριστερά και στο κέντρο 5 ή 6.
Yeah sure athanati. Did you say that after you retired as a flight attendant at 85 years old? Olympic flight attendants were all rude smoking grannies witha chip on their shoulder.
@greg costa I have never been flight attendant in Olympic ..am not so old misfortunatelly ....and I have been told from many passenger s that if most of the employees of Olympic airways were like me ..then Olympic could be much better ..!!
OA was loosing even when Onassis was owner. There was an agreement with the greek state according to which, the greek state was covering the loss because OA was the only national air transporter. You will be wondering how Onassis was making profits right? The aircrafts did not belong to OA but to another company that also belong to Onassis. OA was renting the planes and that is how Onassis was gaining money. Thus the greek state was paying for OA even during the Onassis era.
One of the best airlines in the world is gone forever. Why Aegean airlines don’t restart Olympic again on overseas flights? What keeps them from flying to USA and Canada?
The aircraft was very dirty and the paint was faded. I miss it, i've been doing this flight for 23 years. Let's see what happends, I think it will come back.
TransAm what airplane did you like better the A340-300 or 747 200 Olympic flew with? i prefered the A340 it looked better in Olympic registry. Also do you happen to know when Olympic flew to Canada for the first time?