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Taken October 2005 from Athens (Athinai) (Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport) - ATH to London, England (Heathrow Airport) - LHR

A typical example of Olympic Airlines being given everything it needs - a superb new airport in Athens, a newish Airbus A340 - but still being able to ruin the experience.

How can such a new aircraft start its flight with dirty toilets? Why doesn't the in-flight entertainment system work, or when it does consist only of free-issue travelogues and promotional pop videos instead of real films? Why are the cabin crew so universally indifferent and/or downright rude? Why is the food so consistently unpleasant? Why do you have to wait an hour and a half for baggage delivery even at comparatively efficient Heathrow?

Greek mysteries as old as time perhaps, or indications that this is a bankrupt airline with civil-service staff mentality, poor cleanliness and maintenance, and high time it was put out of its misery by privatisation or closure.

These comments relate to the Athens-London flight, our experience on the Boeing 737 operating Gatwick-Athens outbound was even more hideous.

If you have a choice, please don't fly Olympic.