Airbus A300
Olympic Airways began on 6 April 1957 by shipowner Aristotle Onassis. Onassis took over Greek National Airlines which had been operating since 1951. This takeover allowed Olympic Airways to begin operations with a fleet of DC-3s used on domestic and local- regional routes between the islands. Alongside the DC-3 fleet was a single DC-4 medium-range airliner. In 1958 Olympic introduced DC-6Bs and started an Athens to London service which stopped at Rome and Paris along the way. The Jet Age began in 1960 with the introduction of Comet 4Bs which replaced the Douglas pistons on the European route. Olympic Airways leased Comet 4Bs from British airline Channel Airways during the mid 1960s to supplement their fleet needs. The Comets were used on the Athens - London (Heathrow) route until the late 1960s. Boeing 707-320C 'Intercontinental' jets were introduced to fly Olympic's new long-haul Athens to New York service from 1 June 1966. Later in the 1960s long-haul routes to Australia and South Africa were also flown by the 707s.
Boeing 737-400
By 1969 Boeing 727-200s were introduced, gradually replacing the Comet fleet and taking over on the main European route to London-Heathrow. A fleet of NAMC YS-11A twin turboprops were purchased in 1970 to replace the DC-3 fleet on the domestic and island services. By 1970 most airlines had retired their DC-3s and only the military C-47s were used due to their pure cargo capabilities (large rear double-door access) so Olympic was probably the last European major airline to use the type on scheduled services. From 1972 the DC-6Bs were retired after fourteen years of service and replaced by a fleet of medium-haul Boeing 720B jets. The DC-4 had long disappeared by this time. Olympic introduced widebody Boeing 747-200 jumbo-jets in the mid 1970s to keep up with other scheduled airlines flying intercontinental routes. The Boeing 707-320C was a classic of the 1960s and could not compete with passengers' expectations during the 1970s - the era of the big jet. During the first part of the 1970s the oil crisis put Olympic in difficulties and for a couple of months during 1974 the airline suspended its services. Financial problems continued and so the Greek government took over the airline on 1 January 1976 to avert Greece's most important airline going bankrupt. With nationalisation the airline became the Greek national carrier and was reorganised with many unprofitable routes dropped. This 'profitability-first' policy worked and the airline began a recovery. In 1974 the privately owned Olympic Aviation was taken over by the Greek government and became a subsidiary of Olympic Airways when it became government owned in 1976. It had previously flown local Greek-island routes as a faster option to the Greek ferry-boat operations within the islands. After it became part of Olympic Airways it flew to those island destinations that its parent company could not operate into due to runway limitations.
The 1970s and 1980s saw many regional and island routes being flown with a new fleet of Boeing 737-200s. These new jets were also ideal for Olympic's holiday charter operations and they could operate into shorter holiday-island runways than the Boeing 727-200 jets. Airbus A300s were also introduced by the 1980s and replaced the Boeing 707s and Boeing 727s on most routes - the older Boeing jets were eventually sold as the new fleet types took over. The Airbus A300s were supplemented with and Airbus A300-600s and a single Boeing 737-300. A new fleet of Boeing 737-400 jets were appearing by 1992. Although most of the Boeing 707 and 727 fleet was sold some were retained and a few Boeing 707s were converted to pure CARGO operation. A new livery was introduced in the 1990s which was a variation on the age-old Olympic Airways livery. The blue colour was lightened and the cheatline was more stylised. A white leading-edge was added to the fin. Airbus A300 in 1990s modified livery at Heathrow in 1998 - Lars Blomberg Airbus A340s were introduced in the late 1990s to supplement the (now) 4 Boeing 747-200 jets.
