Olympic Airways has finalised its order with Boeing for the Next Generation 737, and concluded a $408 million deal for eight 737-800s.
The Greek flag carrier, which revealed its fleet-renewal plans in August 1997, will begin receiving the new 737s in early 2000. Olympic now operates a short-haul fleet of 11 737-200s, seven 737-400s and nine 727-200s, while eight Airbus A300s are flown on its medium-haul routes. The airline will re-organise its short-haul operations around the 737-800, and the initial deal for eight -800s is expected to grow eventually to 25.
The other component of the airline's fleet-renewal strategy will see the four Boeing 747-200s, which are operated on long-haul services, replaced by Airbus A340s. Olympic holds orders and options for six A340-300s, and eventually plans to have up to ten aircraft, with the ultra-long-range A340-500 and -600 being evaluated for the longer term.
Source: Flight International
