Aegean moving from Stansted

[fenman]

Aegean are moving their Uk base from Stansted to Heathrow from this Autumn.

May mean more flights but dearer?

[Noopsy]

That is interesting.  I wonder how their fares will compare with the likes of Olympic and BA, what their flight timings will be, and whether they will now offer non-stop flights to Heraklion/Chania or whether they will continue to fly via Athens like the other two.  There are non-stop flights to Heraklion from Gatwick, so why not from Heathrow?

[Rowena & Carl]

That is interesting. I wonder how their fares will compare with the likes of Olympic and BA, what their flight timings will be, and whether they will now offer non-stop flights to Heraklion/Chania or whether they will continue to fly via Athens like the other two. There are non-stop flights to Heraklion from Gatwick, so why not from Heathrow?

I've just booked with them from Heathrow & good prices much cheaper than Olympic & BA £344 return for 2 of us. Flight times are good but all via Athens with a short wait.

Who does the non stop flight from Gatwick? I could only find via Athens out of season.

Rowena

[Graham_and_Karen]

Our Sept. flight is Easyjet from Gatwick. Looks like they fly on Thursdays during the winter

[Rowena & Carl]

Our Sept. flight is Easyjet from Gatwick. Looks like they fly on Thursdays during the winter

Thanks for that will have to have another look, maybe for early 2010, to be honest Heathrow is better placed for us but would consider Gatwick if the price is right

[georgeh]

Looking at late October when we plan to come, Aegean Heathrow to Chania and back (via Athens of course) is about two-thirds the price of Easjet from Gatwick to Iraklion and back. Amazing! Like Rowena and Carl, Heathrow is better placed for us than either Gatwick or Stanstead, and as for the choice between Chania and Iraklion... for me it's no contest, Chania wins on every count!! Admittedly we shall be based in the Apokoronas, but I think the distance to Plakias is about the same from Chania or Iraklion.
I'm also hoping Aegean won't have a 10-15 minute walk to the Heathrow boarding gate as EJ do at Gatwick, and I shall enjoy the luxury of choosing my seats at check-in, rather than having to elbow my way through the crowds of non-Speedy Boarders. There's just a chance the journey might become quite enjoyable again!
Αll in all, this seems pretty good news to me!

[Noopsy]

I'm also hoping Aegean won't have a 10-15 minute walk to the Heathrow boarding gate as EJ do at Gatwick,

Heathrow is a sprawling airport, and a walk to the departure gate can take anything from 5 to 25 mins. depending on which terminal one is flying from.  And I have no idea which terminal Aegean will be based at.  In fact, even though I work there, I didn't even know that they were moving to Heathrow in the first place!    

Noopsy

[georgeh]

A rather belated follow-up to my 10th September posting - I hope it answers some queries and uncertainties.

The cost was about two-thirds of Easyjet, but the service certainly wasn't!  It felt like a civilised airline - as expected, no fighting at the departure gate;  a decent baggage allowance which didn't cost extra;  a decent (by airline standards anyway) meal which also didn't cost extra - quite a contrast with EJ's expensive egg-and-cress sandwiches and the foul burnt tarry liquid they serve in cups marked "Starbucks".  

Aegean fly from Terminal 1, and contrary to Noopsy's fears, the distance from departure lounge to departure gate was perhaps a quarter to a third of the distance to the EJ departure gate at Gatwick.  (But I agree Heathrow is a rambling sort of monster nowadays! A far cry from the first time I flew from there over 50 years ago!)

The stopover in Athens was a little over one hour - a very minor inconvenience; anyway Athens airport is quite a pleasant place as airports go.  It was altogether outweighed by the greater convenience all round of both Heathrow and Hania over Gatwick and Heraklion, and the very much pleasanter experience at the airports and on the flights.

The fact that Aegean can cost less than EasyJet, and certainly costs less than Olympic or the Hania charters, only being fairly reliably beaten on cost by Heraklion charters from major UK airports, is just extra icing on the cake!  Very strongly recommended on all counts.

Hope this helps!    George H

[Ploppy]

A rather belated follow-up to my 10th September posting - I hope it answers some queries and uncertainties.

The cost was about two-thirds of Easyjet, but the service certainly wasn't!  It felt like a civilised airline - as expected, no fighting at the departure gate;  a decent baggage allowance which didn't cost extra;  a decent (by airline standards anyway) meal which also didn't cost extra - quite a contrast with EJ's expensive egg-and-cress sandwiches and the foul burnt tarry liquid they serve in cups marked "Starbucks".  

Aegean fly from Terminal 1, and contrary to Noopsy's fears, the distance from departure lounge to departure gate was perhaps a quarter to a third of the distance to the EJ departure gate at Gatwick.  (But I agree Heathrow is a rambling sort of monster nowadays! A far cry from the first time I flew from there over 50 years ago!)

The stopover in Athens was a little over one hour - a very minor inconvenience; anyway Athens airport is quite a pleasant place as airports go.  It was altogether outweighed by the greater convenience all round of both Heathrow and Hania over Gatwick and Heraklion, and the very much pleasanter experience at the airports and on the flights.

The fact that Aegean can cost less than EasyJet, and certainly costs less than Olympic or the Hania charters, only being fairly reliably beaten on cost by Heraklion charters from major UK airports, is just extra icing on the cake!  Very strongly recommended on all counts.

Hope this helps!    George H

Thanks for the update George.

I got excited reading this as we have yet to book our September flights and Heathrow is just around the corner.

Alas it hasn't  worked out, left it too late I guess as they are significantly more expensive than EJ with naff flight times on the way back and 2+ hour waits in Athens, and why oh why won't some airlines include chages/taxes in the main price you see on screen.

Maybe next year.

[Ploppy]

Hmmmm that was Heraklion.

Chania is better, ummming and ahhhing now.
10% more than EJ.

+
LHR and not LGW
No bun fight for the seats

-
Via Athens adds 2 hours to journey time
7am flight back

Can't decide, maybe i'll leave it up to Marge

[Rowena & Carl]

Hmmmm that was Heraklion.

Chania is better, ummming and ahhhing now.
10% more than EJ.

+
LHR and not LGW
No bun fight for the seats

-
Via Athens adds 2 hours to journey time
7am flight back

Can't decide, maybe i'll leave it up to Marge

Hi Paul

All I can say we've flown Aegean twice now Xmas 2008 & November 2009, great airline, service first class & remember as soon as you board in Heathrow you are in greece, music, announments, food, amstel etc a good way to start your holiday. The wait in Athens is nothing it's a great airport, in fact we thought this time 2 hours wasn't long enough on the way home! & then greek all the way back to the UK. For an extra 10% I recommend it & the added bonus to arrive in Chania. Also your flight to Athens from Chania is an internal flight so no 2 hour check in. When we flew early on New Years day we stayed in Chania on New Years eve which was very enjoyable so another to bear in mind...

Rowena

[Ploppy]

Hi Paul

All I can say we've flown Aegean twice now Xmas 2008 & November 2009, great airline, service first class & remember as soon as you board in Heathrow you are in greece, music, announments, food, amstel etc a good way to start your holiday. The wait in Athens is nothing it's a great airport, in fact we thought this time 2 hours wasn't long enough on the way home! & then greek all the way back to the UK. For an extra 10% I recommend it & the added bonus to arrive in Chania. Also your flight to Athens from Chania is an internal flight so no 2 hour check in. When we flew early on New Years day we stayed in Chania on New Years eve which was very enjoyable so another to bear in mind...

Rowena

Hi Rowena,

Thanks for this, I booked with Aegean in the end and it sounds like it was a good choice.

I read reviews on the web and the Greek food and Ouzo upon boarding sold it to me!

How long is a taxi ride from Chania airport to Plakias?

Paul

[Mike G]

Am I missing something here? Out of curiosity I put the dates of my autumn Plakias holiday into the Aegean website (over 9 months hence) and I was quoted £290pp; plus the inconvenience of changing planes at Athens. This is only slightly less than I am paying for a package and I would rather have the minor inconvenience of a 3 hour Olympic transfer (which could be less as it was for me last May) than a non direct flight. A complimentary ouzo wouldn't be much compensation for this.

Mike

[Ploppy]

Am I missing something here? Out of curiosity I put the dates of my autumn Plakias holiday into the Aegean website (over 9 months hence) and I was quoted £290pp; plus the inconvenience of changing planes at Athens. This is only slightly less than I am paying for a package and I would rather have the minor inconvenience of a 3 hour Olympic transfer (which could be less as it was for me last May) than a non direct flight. A complimentary ouzo wouldn't be much compensation for this.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Horses for courses, Heathrow saves us an hour over Gatwick. We got the flights for £230, a lot more than EJ last year but roughly the same for EJ this year.

Sounds like you got a great price on a package, its the cheapest way to go of course and if you don't mind the transfer then great.

[Rowena & Carl]

Hi Paul

All I can say we've flown Aegean twice now Xmas 2008 & November 2009, great airline, service first class & remember as soon as you board in Heathrow you are in greece, music, announments, food, amstel etc a good way to start your holiday. The wait in Athens is nothing it's a great airport, in fact we thought this time 2 hours wasn't long enough on the way home! & then greek all the way back to the UK. For an extra 10% I recommend it & the added bonus to arrive in Chania. Also your flight to Athens from Chania is an internal flight so no 2 hour check in. When we flew early on New Years day we stayed in Chania on New Years eve which was very enjoyable so another to bear in mind...

Rowena

Hi Rowena,

Thanks for this, I booked with Aegean in the end and it sounds like it was a good choice.

I read reviews on the web and the Greek food and Ouzo upon boarding sold it to me!

How long is a taxi ride from Chania airport to Plakias?

Paul

HI Paul,

I think you will enjoy.

Taxi about 1 hour 15, it's only about 12 km closer than Heraklion.

Rowena