Blog unserviceable due to dream interference

The following "NOTAM" was issued from the blog author:

A9999/09 NOTAMN
Q) LGGG/QBGAS/IV/NBO/A/000/999/3756N02356E020
A) LGAV
B) 0911190000
C) 1009010000 EST
E) BLOG OPR REDUCED PWR DUE CREW SHORTAGE

Plain language:

Effective 2009/11/19 00:00Z until 2010/09/01 00:00Z estimated the blog will be operating on reduced power due to crew shortage.

The blog will "operate on reduced power" for the following 10 months, at least, for personal reasons. Nothing bad has happened, it is just the time of one's life that you go and follow your dreams and have to set some other things aside.
I want to thank everyone who has contributed in one way or another to this blog, by sending pictures, by letting me know of news before anyone else finds out, by writing on this blog and so on. I also want to thank all the visitors, new and returning, for embracing this effort and using it as a valuable resource for the aviation news in our area.
As the time of the next post is not known, i would suggest that you subscribe by e-mail to the blog in order to be notified when a new post will be made. Just follow this link or click on the "Subscribe via Email" link on the top right.
Those who want to contact me in the meantime, are welcomed to do so by sending an e-mail or using the "Contact me" form on the right (middle of the page).

A farewell with my three favorite quotes:
"To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home." (anon)
"To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. To fly is everything." (Otto Lilienthal)
"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky." (Amelia Earhart)

Canadian Air Force Airbus A310-300 registered 15001 arrived in Athens to pick up the Olympic Flame

Canadian Air Force Airbus A310-300, designation CC-150 Polaris, registered 15001 arrived in Athens today in order to pick up the Olympic Flame that was lit in ancient Olympia for the winter Olympic Games which are held in Vancouver. The plane landed at 15:15L on runway 03R coming from OSI (Osijek, Croatia). After landing a short ceremony was held on stand B17 and 3 Mirage 2000 planes did a low pass over the runway 03R.


Airbus A310 / 15001 / arriving in Athens to pick up the Olympic Flame for Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games (photo 27/10/2009)

Olympic Air took delivery of Airbus A320 registered SX-OAM in Athens

Olympic Air took delivery of another Airbus A320 today in Athens. It is registered SX-OAM (c/n 3990) and was delivered from TLS (Toulouse, France) to BOD (Bordeaux, France) where it was painted to full Olympic Air colors. It arrived tonight at 20:05L in ATH from BOD.
Thanks to Alex for the following photo.

Airbus A320 / SX-OAM / just arrived in Athens from BOD

Thai Airways changing aircraft on Athens route using Airbus A340-500

Since today Thai Airways is changing the aircraft type using on the Bangkok - Athens route. From now on an Airbus A340-500 will be used instead of the Boeing 777-200ER. The first A345 to arrive in Athens today was registered HS-TLD.
Thanks to Alex for the following photo.

Airbus A340 / HS-TLD / first Thai A345 in Athens

Emergencies and diversions last night in Athens

Last updated 25/10/2009 17:10

During last night 2 emergencies and numerous diversions occurred at Athens airport. During Blue1's departure from Athens to Helsinki (KF 894), the plane had a problem with the right engine and had to abort the take off and return to the apron. The plane involved was the MD-90 registered OH-BLD. The plane is still parked on stand A38 of Athens being inspected/repaired.
The second emergency happened a little later when Air Arabia flight G9 282 from Athens to Sharjah had to return to the airport after departure because there was a problem with the right engine of the Airbus A320. The plane involved was A6-ABB and is parked on stand A40 of Athens. A replacement A320, registered A6-ABJ, was send to pick up the passengers and is expected to depart at 13:30L from Athens.
Also 3 Thomson, 2 Monarch and 2 First Choice planes had to divert to Athens due to bad weather conditions at CFU (Corfu, Greece) which prevented them from landing there.

Update 25/10/2009
Thanks to "The Aviation Herald", it appears that the problem with the Air Arabia A320 was not on the right hand engine but on the left one (#1 engine). The problem was at the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) of the left hand engine. Also it appears that the plane didn't actually take off but rather aborted take off while it was speeding up for departure. During a runway inspection after the incident an engine access panel was found on it.

KLM "Tour of Inspiration" truck in Athens today

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are celebrating their 90th anniversary this year and throughout the year they organize promotional events in various places in Europe. Such an event is the "Tour of Inspiration", a around the Europe tour of the fully-furnished KLM truck. Today the truck arrived in Athens and was parked in Athens International Airport at the departures level, towards the end of the terminal. It was open to the public from 13:00L to 17:00L. It then departed for its next destination, Milan. Thanks to the friendly KLM stuff, some pictures of the exterior and interior of the truck can be seen below. KLM was founded on 7 October 1919 and has been flying ever since under the same name. This also makes KLM the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. You can check the route of the KLM truck on the official "Tour of Inspiration" website here: http://klmdereis.klm.nl/en/tour-of-inspiration.html


KLM - Boeing - European Tour of Inspiration banner on the departures level in Athens (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM truck exterior view from the side entrance (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM truck exterior view from the back (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM Truck interior with red comfortable chairs to watch the KLM history video (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM truck interior wall with photos, on board offered items and other KLM merchandise (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM truck interior with a sample set of 6 seats in 3 rows demonstrating the comfortable seat pitch and on-seat IFE (photo 12/10/2009)


KLM truck interior with the front part of the truck being converted to an "on board suite" with 2 fully reclining seats and the first class comfort of KLM planes (photo 12/9/2009)

Berkut Air Boeing 757 registered UP-B5701 arrived in Athens, bringing Kazakhstan officials

The Boeing 757-200 of Berkut State Air Company registered UP-B5701 arrived today in Athens. The plane carried the Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan, Mr Kassym-Jomart Tokayev who is taking part at the Fall Meetings that OSCE Parliamentary Assembly organizes. These meetings are held in Athens from October 9th until 12th. Over 200 OSCE Parliamentarians from 49 countries are expected to arrive these days in Athens. The 17th OSCE Ministerial Council is also scheduled to be hosted in Athens on 1st and 2nd of December 2009.
The plane arrived under the callsign BEC003, but the strange thing is that Berkut Air is banned from flights within the EU (see EU ban list).


Boeing 757 / UP-B5701 / about to land on rwy 03R in Athens (photo 8/10/2009)

Mishap in Athens airport: Planes parked on taxiway "B" were moved and pushed due to strong winds

Last updated: 3/10/2009 19:45

A mishap occurred earlier today in Athens airport taxiway "B", where the Olympic Airlines fleet is parked. Due to the strong winds blowing in the area, two of the planes that were parked on taxiway "B" where blown away from their positions. The planes affected were Boeing 737 registered SX-BKF and ATR 72 registered SX-BIF. The Boeing was turned at least 45 degrees counterclockwise and moved into the grass. The ATR was turned almost 180 degrees counterclockwise but only the front landing gear was moved into the grass. It is very lucky that the planes didn't collide with any others next to them, since they are parked very close to each other. Currently there are 26 planes parked on the south part of taxiway "B". The position of the two planes can be seen on the last picture of this post.
The METARs of the time show winds up to 24 knots:
METAR LGAV 030950Z 20024KT 9999 SCT017 SCT080 BKN170 25/18 Q1010 NOSIG=
METAR LGAV 030920Z 20023KT 9999 FEW017 BKN025 BKN160 25/19 Q1010 NOSIG=
METAR LGAV 030850Z 20021KT 9999 FEW018 SCT030 BKN160 25/18 Q1010=
METAR LGAV 030820Z 18019KT 9999 SCT018 SCT030 BKN080 25/18 Q1010 NOSIG=
METAR LGAV 030750Z 18017KT 9999 SCT018TCU SCT030 BKN080 24/18 Q1010 NOSIG=
METAR LGAV 030650Z 22010G22KT 190V260 8000 -TSRA FEW017CB BKN025 BKN080 22/18 Q1011 RETSRA TEMPO TSRA=

Update 3/10/2009
Also the Boeing 747SRF of Elite Airlines registered SX-DCB was turned a little and had to be towed back to its normal position on "B".

Thanks to Panagiotis for the following photos.

Boeing 737 / SX-BKF / turned and moved into the grass next to taxiway "B" (photo 3/10/2009)


ATR 72 / SX-BIF / turned into the grass next to taxiway "B" (photo 3/10/2009)


Taxiway "B" of Athens with 26 planes parked on it. SX-BKF is the first plane of the picture and SX-BIF is the second ATR on the picture (6th plane from the start).

Pegasus Airlines started Izmir - Athens flights today

Pegasus Airlines (H9/PGT) started today direct flights between ADB (Izmir, Turkey) and Athens. The route will be operated three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The flight schedule is as follows:
H9 805 (ADB-ATH)
11:35 - 12:10 1*3*5**
H9 806 (ATH-ADB)
13:10 - 14:00 1*3*5**
The route is operated by IZair and for the inaugural flight, an Airbus A319 registered TC-IZR arrived in Athens.


Airbus A319 / TC-IZR / operating the inaugural flight to Athens, about to land on rwy 03L (photo 2/10/2009)

Olympic Airlines fleet parked in Athens

Almost the whole Olympic Airlines fleet is parked on taxiways "B" and "Z" in Athens, leaving the normal stands of the apron for the Olympic Air planes. All four Airbus A340s are parked now on taxiway "Z" and the rest of the fleet is on taxiway "B". The NOTAM regarding taxiway "B" closure has been updated, extending the period until November 30th 2009. It reads as follows:
"TWY B BTN TAXILINK A1 AND TAXILINK A7 CLOSED. 28 SEP 11:42 2009 UNTIL 30 NOV 23:59 2009. CREATED: 28 SEP 11:43 2009".
On taxiway "B" there are also a Sky Wings MD-83 registered SX-BTG, an Air Comet A320 registered EC-KIK and the 3 of Hellas Aviation Fokker 50s.


Airbus A340 / SX-DFD & SX-DFC & SX-DFA & SX-DFB/ parked on taxiway "Z" of Athens (photo 30/9/2009)


Almost the whole Boeing & ATR fleet of Olympic Airlines on taxiway "B" (photo 30/9/2009)

Olympic Airlines last passenger flight, operated by Airbus A340 registered SX-DFB (farewell low pass)

Last updated 2/10/2009 10:45 (added another better video of the low pass at Athens at the end of the post)

Olympic Airlines performed today their last passenger flight ever. It was the OA424 (Toronto - Athens) flight that was operated by the Airbus A340 registered SX-DFB. As a farewell, the crew of the flight performed a low pass over runway 03L of Athens airport before returning for landing at 10:30L. 152 passengers were on board this last ever flight of Olympic Airlines. This plane, along with SX-DFA which arrived one hour earlier from JFK as OA412 will be parked on taxiway "Z" together with SX-DFC and SX-DFD that are already there (see post).

Special thanks to Ilias for the following photos of the low pass. Click on a photo for higher resolution version hosted on www.airpics.net

Airbus A340 / SX-DFB / farewell low pass over rwy 03L of the last Olympic Airlines flight (photo 29/9/2009)


Airbus A340 / SX-DFB / farewell low pass over rwy 03L of the last Olympic Airlines flight (photo 29/9/2009)


Airbus A340 / SX-DFB / farewell low pass over rwy 03L of the last Olympic Airlines flight (photo 29/9/2009)


Airbus A340 / SX-DFB / farewell low pass over rwy 03L of the last Olympic Airlines flight (photo 29/9/2009)

Update 30/9/2009
Thanks to YULspotter for the following video which is the last departure of SX-DFB from YUL to Athens, where it did the low pass.


Also thanks to Ilias, here is a photo of Airbus A340 registered SX-DFA which arrived from JFK, a little earlier than SX-DFB and was the last flight from New York for Olympic Airlines.

Airbus A340 / SX-DFA / arriving flight from JFK as OA412, the last ever passenger flight from New York for Olympic Airlines (photo 29/9/2009)

Update 30/9/2009 17:10
Thanks to PILOTCH for the following video of the low pass over runway 03L.


Update 2/10/2009
Thanks to panos290788 for the following video of the low pass.

Olympic Airlines Airbus A340s parked at Athens

As Olympic Air is taking over Olympic Airlines routes from 00:01L tomorrow, all Olympic Airlines planes that finish their last route today will be parked on taxiway "B" and "Z" (see post). The first two planes that were towed on taxiway "Z", where the two Airbus A340s that didn't have a flight today. SX-DFC and SX-DFD are parked on "Z" facing west and have enough space behind them in order for the other two (SX-DFA & SX-DFB) to park tomorrow upon arrival in Athens. A brief history of the last flights of these Airbus A340s:
SX-DFA: Is currently en route to JFK (New York, USA) on the last OA411/412 flight and is expected to arrive in Athens tomorrow morning at 09:10L
SX-DFB: Is currently en route to YYZ (Toronto, Canada) on the last OA423/424 flight and is expected to arrive in Athens tomorrow morning at 10:50L
SX-DFC: Performed its last flight on 19/9/2009 as OA412 from JFK and is parked in Athens since then
SX-DFD: Performed its last flight today as OA412 from JFK and is parked in Athens since then


Airbus A340 / SX-DFD & SX-DFC / parked on taxiway "Z" of Athens (photo 28/9/2009)

Olympic Air took delivery of Airbus A319 registered SX-OAV

Olympic Air took delivery of their last Airbus for their start up fleet of September 29th 2009. It is an Airbus A319 registered SX-OAV (c/n 3142) and is an ex Bangkok Airways plane which was ferried to SEN (Southend, UK) for painting to Olympic Air colors. It arrived today at 19:10L and went straight to park on taxiway "B", together with the rest of the Olympic Air Airbus planes.


Airbus A319 / SX-OAV / about to land on rwy 03L at ATH (photo 27/9/2009)

Sky Wings Boeing 757 registered SX-BTH performed a test flight today

Sky Wings Boeing 757-200 registered SX-BTH did a test flight today. It departed around 10:00L as GSW100P and headed to HER (Heraklion, Greece). It returned as GSW101P and landed on runway 03R at 16:55L.


Boeing 757 / SX-BTH / returning from HER on a test flight (photo 25/9/2009)

Olympic Air Airbus A319 & A320 delivery in Athens

The last two days Olympic Air is taking delivery in Athens of their Airbus A319s and A320s that will form the start up fleet of the company (see post).
Until now, they following planes have already arrived:
SX-OAF (A319)
SX-OAG (A319)
SX-OAH (A320)
SX-OAJ (A319)
SX-OAN (A319)
SX-OAO (A319)
SX-OAQ (A320)
SX-OAR (A320)

The following are scheduled to arrive tonight:
SX-OAI (A320)
SX-OAK (A319)
SX-OAL (A319)

For a complete up to date list of the Olympic Air start up fleet, see this post


Airbus A319 & A320 / SX-OAO, SX-OAG, SX-OAH, SX-OAF, SX-OAR / parked on taxiway "B" in Athens (photo 25/9/2009)


Airbus A319 / SX-OAN / arriving from Shannon (photo 25/9/2009)

Olympic Air website launched

The website of Olympic Air has been launched today, even though the access is not possible for many people due to some restrictions on the hosting server. The speed is also a bit slow and the booking engine is also under construction. Some typographic errors and information are not 100% correct but hopefully these problems will be fixed withing the next days. The website was created by Forthnet S.A.
The website address is: http://www.olympicair.com

Here are some screen shots of the new Olympic Air website:

The index page of the website


The e-services page of the website.


The fleet info of Olympic Air

Sky Wings Boeing 757-200 reregistered to SX-BTH

Sky Wings Boeing 757-200 was reregistered today from N410JR to SX-BTH, as expected (see post), in Athens while being parked still on taxiway "B".


Boeing 757 / SX-BTH / a while ago this plane was reregistered from N410JR to SX-BTH (photo 18/9/2009)

Viking Hellas Aviation MD-83 registered SX-SMS in Athens

The first aircraft of Viking Hellas Aviation Ltd, an affiliate company of Swedish Viking Airlines that was formed in Cyprus, joined their fleet yesterday in Athens. It is an MD-83 registered SX-SMS (ex SE-RDI, c/n 49631) that took the Greek registration and Viking Hellas titles while parked on taxiway "B". The handling at Athens airport is provided by Euro Aviation. Simple checks and maintenance operations were conducted today on the plane. An application for AOC is being filed and pending approval. A Boeing 737-800 is also expected to join their fleet soon.


MD-82 / SX-SMS / parked on taxiway "B" of Athens (photo 18/9/2009)

Olympic Air Airbus A320s registered SX-OAQ and SX-OAR arrived in Athens

Olympic Air Airbus A320s registered SX-OAQ (ex F-WWBQ, c/n 3748) and SX-OAR (ex D-AVVE, c/n 3812) were ferried today from DNR (Dinard, France) to Athens. They arrived with 10 minutes separation and upon landing on runway 03R, they were towed and parked on taxiway "B". These are the first Airbus A320s that are joining the Olympic Air fleet in Athens.


Airbus A320 / SX-OAQ / arriving from DNR, about to land on rwy 03R (photo 18/9/2009)


Airbus A320 / SX-OAR / minutes after SX-OAQ, about to land on rwy 03R (photo 18/9/2009)

Olympic Air TV commercials and marketing

The first two tv commercials of Olympic Air had been released on the internet. The marketing campaign of Olympic Air had been assigned to Cream S.A. a couple of weeks ago. The website of Olympic Air, being created by Forthnet S.A., is also expected to be launched in a couple of days. Olympic Air is also the primary sponsor of the "I LOVE GR" production on SKAI TV. More marketing solutions and advertising campaigns are expected to follow in the meantime until October 1st when Olympic Air takes over. The official opening ceremony for the new company is expected to take place on October 15th on the technical base hangar at Athens Airport.

Olympic Air Airbus A320 registered SX-OAI at SXF

Olympic Air Airbus A320 registered VT-DNY that was parked in SXF since August 14th (see post) was reregistered to SX-OAI on September 11th. Along with SX-OAH (ex VT-DNV) they are undergoing a transition check by the local Lufthansa Technik facility in SXF, prior to delivery to Olympic Air in Athens. It is almost certain that the tail logo of those two planes will not be repainted with bigger circles, at least for now.

Thanks to Michael for the following photo.

Airbus A320 / SX-OAI / parked in SXF having its Greek registration applied last night (photo 12/9/2009)

Emergency landing of Daallo Airlines B757 in Athens

A Boeing 757-200 of Daallo Airlines (D3/DAO) registered G-STRX, which operated by Astreus, declared an emergency due to low oil pressure on engine #2. It was flight DAO100 from CDG (Paris, France) to JIB (Djibouti City, Djibouti) with 88 passengers on board. The plane landed safely at 03:51L on runway 03L of ATH. It was then moved to a remote stand and is being inspected, before being cleared to continue to JIB.

Olympic Air startup flight schedule effective 29 September

Olympic Air, the new carrier established in Greece by Marfin Investment Group deployed today its startup schedule. Flights cover the period between 29Sep and 24Oct. The flight schedule for the winter season (effective 25Oct) will be announced through the company's new website. You can view the whole timetable here.

Routes that are abandoned are :
Domestic Network :
- Athens-Syros
- Athens-Kozani/Kastoria
- Thessaloniki-Rhodes (direct flight)
- Thessaloniki-Chania
- Thessaloniki-Heraklion
International Network :
- Thessaloniki-Istanbul
- From Athens to :
New York
Montreal/Toronto
Johannesburg
Kuwait/Dubai
Madrid
Manchester
Frankfurt
Munich
Dusseldorf
Stuttgart
Berlin
Moscow

The announced timetable requires at least 7 A319, 3 A320, 7 DH4 (one based at Thessaloniki Airport), 3 DH8 (1 based at Rhodes Airport) and 1 ATR42. It should be highlighted that the DH8s and the sole ATR will exclusively be used for PSO(Public Service Obligation) services.

There are also some flight numbering changes according to the following scheme :
- All PSO flights are renumbered (if different) between 000-099
- BEG renumbered from 385-388 to 397-398
- TIA renumbered from 117-118 to 317-318
- BEY renumbered from 313-314 to 463-464
- LCA renumbered from 329-338 to 431-438
- ALY renumbered from 327-328 to 487-488
- CAI renumbered from 325-326 to 485-486
- TLV renumbered from 301-302 to 451-452

Long term parking of planes on taxiway "B" at Athens airport

Last updated 26/9/2009 19:00

As was previously written (see post), taxiway "B" (Bravo) of Athens airport has been closed in order to be used as temporary long term parking of planes. The list below will be updated as soon there is a change on the parking status of a plane on taxiway "B". Upon each update, a note will be entered below the list to outline the changes happened.

B747SRF SX-DCB Elite Airlines
B737 SX-BKN Untitled (ex Olympic Airlines, due for NasAir as E3-NAZ)
F50 PH-KVE Untitled (Hellas Aviation)
F50 SX-BRV Untitled (Hellas Aviation)
F50 5B-DCB Untitled (Hellas Aviation)
A319 SX-OAF Olympic Air
A319 SX-OAG Olympic Air
A320 SX-OAH Olympic Air
A319 SX-OAO Olympic Air
A320 SX-OAR Olympic Air

Update 15/9/2009
B737 / VP-BYA Private, was parked on "B" the previous days.

Update 18/9/2009
MD82 of Viking was reregistered to SX-SMS and had Viking Hellas applied to it. Also B737 of Olympic Air that was due for NasAir in Eritrea had the previous registration applied on a sticker above the E3-NAZ. B737 SX-BGH of Aegean Airlines departed Athens on course to USA for storage. ATR42 SX-BPA of Pantheon Airways was moved to the Olympic Air hangar. Hawker HS-125 SX-FAR was moved on taxiway "B". Also the two Airbus A320s of Olympic Air that arrived today were parked there (SX-OAQ & SX-OAR)

Update 25/9/2009
Boeing 752 of Sky Wings was reregistered to SX-BTH and performed a test flight, after which it was parked on A47 and not on taxiway "B". The MD82 registered SX-SMS of Viking Hellas was positioned from ATH to HER on 23/9/2009. The B737 registered SX-BKI of Olympic Airlines departed on 20/9/2009 on return to lessor. The same happened with the B737 registered SX-BGR of Aegean Airlines which departed on 19/9/2009. Airbus A320 registered SX-OAQ of Olympic Air was towed to Olympic Air hangar. Several Airbus A319s and A320s were parked there upon arrival in Athens.

Update 26/9/2009
Two new NOTAMS have been issued today which read as follows:
1) TWY B BTN TAXILINK A8 TO TAXILINK A13 CLOSED. 28 SEP 09:00 2009 UNTIL 30 SEP 09:00 2009. CREATED: 26 SEP 12:21 2009
2) TWY Z CLOSED. 28 SEP 09:00 2009 UNTIL 30 NOV 09:00 2009. CREATED: 26 SEP 12:21 2009
Which means that taxiway "B" will be closed on its full length and taxiway "Z" will also be closed. As suspected on the initial post (see post), the old Olympic Airlines planes will be parked on taxiways "B" and "Z" of Athens upon completing their last flight. Most of the planes will perform their last flights on Monday, September 28th 2009 since from Tuesday 29/9/2009 Olympic Air is taking over and will be using their Airbus planes. Olympic Airlines Boeing 737s are expected to be parked like they are parked now (SX-BKN, SX-BLD etc). The ATRs will be probably be parked next to the Fokker 50s in the same way. The Airbus A340s would either be parked on the northern part of "B" that is closed with the new NOTAM or on taxiway "Z" (most probable since there is more space).


Taxiway "B" of ATH with 11 parked planes (photo 14/9/2009)


Boeing 737 / SX-BKI / ex Olympic Airlines parked on "B" (photo 14/9/2009)


Boeing 737 / E3-NAZ / ex Olympic Airlines SX-BKN, registered and waiting delivery to Eritrea for NasAir (photo 14/9/2009)


Boeing 747SRF / SX-DCB / second in row on "B", behind the 757 of Skywings (photo 8/9/2009)


Boeing 757-200 / N410JR / first parked plane on "B" (photo 8/9/2009)

Dash-8 Q400 registered SX-BIU (ex G-JECW) painted to full Olympic Air colors

Another Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 registered SX-BIU (ex G-JECW, c/n 4152) was painted to full Olympic Air colors. This is an ex Flybe plane that was ferried from BHX (Birmingham, UK) to NWI (Norwich, UK) for painting at 5/9/2009. A week later and having completed the painting job, on 12/9/2009, it was ferried from NWI to EXT for delivery preparations. Upon arrival at EXT it was reregistered to SX-BIU and did some engine run up tests.

Thanks to Keith Newsome for the following photo.

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 / G-JECW / departing from NWI to EXT (photo 12/9/2009)


Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 / SX-BIU / after arrival at EXT, doing engine run up tests (photo 12/9/2009)

Olympic Air Airbus A320s registered SX-OAQ and SX-OAR painted at Dinard

Two more Airbus A320s of Olympic Air got painted at DNR (Dinard, France). They are SX-OAQ (ex F-WWBQ, c/n 3748) and SX-OAR (ex D-AVVE, c/n 3812) which were ferried there from TLS (Toulouse, France) and XFW (Hamburg, Germany) respectively on August 26th. They are expected to depart in a few days from DNR.

Thanks to Nicolas.H for the following photo.

Airbus A320 / SX-OAR / just out of the paint hangar at DNR (photo 13/9/2009)

Thanks to Sylvain Gourheu for the following photos.

Airbus A320 / SX-OAR / parked outside the paint hangar in DNR (photo 27/8/2009)


Airbus A320 / SX-OAQ / parked outside the paint hangar in DNR (photo 27/8/2009)

Olympic Air Airbus A319 registered SX-OAO got painted at Shannon

Olympic Air Airbus A319 registered SX-OAO (ex D-APAD, c/n 1880) got painted on Wednesday at SNN (Shannon, Ireland) in the full Olympic Air colors and had the interior rearranged to standard layout. As has happened with SX-OAN that got painted a few days ago (see post), the circles on the tail are noticeable bigger than the previously painted planes. It is believed that Olympic Air has decided to have the circles painted bigger from now on, possibly to even repaint the tails of all already painted aircraft.
Two close-ups of the tail of both SX-OAO and SX-OAN are shown below. Thanks to Gerry McCready (aerspace.blogspot.com) for the photos.


Airbus A319 / SX-OAO / just out of the paintshop in full OA colors (photo 10/9/2009)


Airbus A319 / SX-OAN / noticeable bigger circles on the tail of this A319 (photo 10/9/2009)

List & map of stored & wfu planes in old Athens airport (HEW/LGAT)

Below is a list of derelict and/or withdrawn from use planes that are currently in the old Athens airport (HEW/LGAT).

Reg	Ex reg	Model	c/n	Owner
SX-OAB	None	Boeing 747-200	20825	Olympic Airways
SX-BAR	N1130J	BAC 1-11	96	Hellenic C.A.A.
SX-CBA	None	Boeing 727-200	20003	Olympic Airways
SX-BCA	None	Boeing 737-200	21224	Olympic Airways
SX-AOS	N224DR	Cessna 421B	421B0570	South East European Airlines
SX-AAZ	OY-BDK	Piper PA-31 310 Navajo	31-604	Athens Air
SX-APU	N4959T	Cessna 411	411-0159	Athens Air
SX-APC	N5251Y	Piper PA-23-250 B Aztec	27-2310	Aviator Airways
SX-HDI	N823C	Bell 206B	976	Avionic
SX-BNE	OY-BHN	Piper PA-44-180T	44-8107012	Airman

On the following link you can also see a map of the airport with the exact location of each plane:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=37.884981,23.740253&spn=0.018764,0.033088&t=h&z=15&msid=100247225391864512386.0004731633b07e6264e50

Olympic Air Airbus A319 registered SX-OAJ heading from Athens to Shannon for cabin rearrangement

Olympic Air Airbus A319 registered SX-OAJ (c/n 3905) departed today at 17:30L on course to SNN (Shannon, Ireland) as NOA007P. It is going to have the interior layout reconfigured, as this was originally a plane for Mexicana and the cabin layout (including configuration, seats color & material etc) was already prepared for them before deciding not to take this plane up. It might also have the Olympic Air circles repainted to bigger ones, as SX-OAN had (see post).


Airbus A319 / SX-OAJ / departing from ATH on course to SNN (photo 5/9/2009)

Thanks to Vasilis for the following video.

Airbus A319 / SX-OAJ / departing from ATH on course to SNN (video 5/9/2009)

Olympic Air Airbus A319 registered SX-OAN got painted at Shannon

Another Olympic Air Airbus A319 got painted in full company colors yesterday at SNN (Shannon, Ireland) by Shannon Aerospace. It is registered SX-OAN (c/n 1727) which is ex D-APAC operated by PrivatAir and was a Long Range version of the A319. During the maintenance operations in SNN they removed the long range tanks and changed the interior to standard cabin layout. The painting job on the second A319, registered SX-OAO (c/n 1880), which is in SNN as well is almost finished and is expected to roll out in a couple of days. A slightly bigger tail logo is visible on this plane, with the circles being larger than all the other planes' already painted. Will have to wait to see if this will happen with SX-OAO as well when it rolls out.

Thanks to Gerry McCready (aerspace.blogspot.com) for the photo.

Airbus A319 / SX-OAN / parked outside the Shannon Aerospace hangar after being painted (photo 5/9/2009)

Athens airport facilities utilization change due to long term parking requirements

In the last couple of weeks many changes at the utilization of Athens International Airport facilities are taking place, mainly because of the upcoming start of Olympic Air operations and the fact that companies require long term parking of their planes (e.g. Hellenic Imperial Airways Boeing 747s, Elite Airlines Boeing 747, Sky Wings Boeing 757, Hellas Aviation Fokker 50s etc).
Both landside and airside changes have occured and more are to follow. Most landside changes have to do with the removal of old Olympic Airlines equipment that was stored inside their buildings, which are now stowed on various car parking areas outside the Olympic Air techinal hangar. More interesting though are the airside changes which are outlined below.

Changes already happened:
1) Stored helicopters registered SX-HIB and SX-HIG, owned by Interjet, were moved from their position outside the small Olympic Airlines technical hangar to the helipad. SX-HIG has no main rotor blades and the rotor is covered, while SX-HIB has the main rotor blades but the rotor is also covered.
2) Hellas Aviation Fokker 50 registered PH-KVE (to become SX-BRM) was towed from taxiway "Z" to Olympic Airlines technical hangar.
3) ex Freedom Airways Fokker 50 registered 5B-DCB was towed from the northern apron to taxiway "Z", along with the other 2 Fokker 50s (SX-BRS & PH-KVF)
4) Olympic Airlines Boeing 737 registered SX-BKN was parked in all white color on the northern apron. SX-BKI was also seen all white and doing ground tests (see post)
5) Aegean Airlines Boeing 737s registered SX-BGH & SX-BGR were parked on the northern side of the satellite building on stands A36 & A38 (see post)

The main upcoming change is that taxiway "B" will be closed between taxi links A1 and A7 from September 5th to September 30th in order to provide space for temporary parking of planes.
The NOTAM issued reads as follows:
"TWY B BTN TAXILINK A1 AND TAXILINK A7 CLOSED. 05 SEP 04:00 2009 UNTIL 30 SEP 23:59 2009. CREATED: 04 SEP 09:07 2009"
The situation will be similar to what happened during the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final that was held in Athens.
The planes that will be parked there may include the following:
1) Airbus A340s, Boeing 737s and ATRs of Olympic Airlines that will not be used by Olympic Air
2) The planes that are currently parked on taxiway "Z" (Elite Airlines Boeing 747 and Hellas Aviation Fokker 50s)
3) Sky Wings Boeing 757 (currently on the southern apron)
4) Hellenic Imperial Airways Boeing 747s that are not scheduled to fly soon

Olympic Airlines Boeing 737s registered SX-BKI & SX-BKN in all white colors

Olympic Airlines Boeing 737s registered SX-BKI and SX-BKN were seen recently in Athens in all white colors, being prepared for redelivery to new operator. SX-BKN did a test flight on 27/8 and is parked in the northern apron since then. SX-BKI came out of the Olympic hangar yesterday and today did a ground engines test on taxiway "B".

Thanks to Alex for the following photo.

Boeing 737 / SX-BKN / taxing after a test flight (photo 27/8/2009)


Boeing 737 / SX-BKI / doing engine tests on taxiway "B" (photo taken 3/9/2009)