Non-Stop Options For Flying To Greece This Summer

Greece is a very beautiful country with more islands than you can count and an incredibly rich history. It is also a country that has been going through a financial crisis for the last several years. That is not a reason to avoid traveling to Greece, instead, it makes it a great time for the traveler and the country. They need tourist dollars and the USD exchange rate to the Euro combined with the lower prices in Greece right now makes it a great time for the traveler.

Here are some non-stop options for flying to Greece from North America in case you want to take advantage of what Greece has to offer.

Non-Stop Flights To Greece This Summer

The beautiful northern Greek city of Thessaloniki | Courtesy of Shutterstock

Each year, some airlines will run some seasonal routes to Athens and that makes it a great advantage for anyone visiting Greece. The reason it is great is it helps you to avoid airports like London’s Heathrow airport and Paris’ Charles deGaulle airport as you travel to this sun-loving country.

Here are the airlines that will serve you up non-stop from North America to Greece and how you can use miles for these flights. This list does not include airlines that are not in the major alliances.

Air Canada

Air Canada has two different flight options departing North America to Athens.

• Montreal (starting May 2) – Departing at 6:20PM / Arriving 10:30AM / Duration: 9:10
  • Return – Depart Athens 12:00PM / Arriving 3:10PM / Duration: 10:10
• Toronto (starting May 3) – Departing at 4:40PM / Arriving 9:20AM / Duration: 9:40
  • Return – Depart Athens 1:05PM / Arriving 5:05 PM / Duration: 11:00

To book these flights using miles, you can do so with Aeroplan (Air Canada’s program) or, what many people would likely have, you can use United miles. It takes 30,000 miles for coach (one way) with United or with Aegean’s program.

American Airlines

AA is starting up their service to Athens and doing so on the route that used to be flown by US Airways. They are using their A330-300 aircraft on this route that has 28 business class seats (lie-flat) and 263 seats in coach.

• Philadelphia (starting May 5) – Departing at 4:25PM / Arriving 9:15AM / Duration: 9:50
  • Return – Depart Athens 11:35AM / Arriving 3:30PM / Duration: 10:55

To book these flights using miles, it will cost 30,000 AA miles in coach and 50,000 miles in business (until March 22). After the new pricing kicks in, it will cost 57,500 miles in business. The route does continue into the current off-peak calendar of October 15 so it is also possible to book at the off-peak price (now) of 20,000 miles. The schedule runs until October 24.

If you are an AA Executive Platinum member, this route is a great one to use your systemwide upgrades on. It is a long route for the eastern US to Europe with times right around 10 and 11 hours for the flight and the seats are pretty comfortable.

You can also use British Airways Avios but it will cost you 25,000 Avios (because of the distance) and fees ($285) for one way.

Delta Airlines

Delta operates a 767 on this route and it starts on May 2. I have flown this route before with them and it is a comfortable trip, even though it can feel quite long for a Europe-JFK flight!

• New York/JFK (starting May 2) – Departing at 5:48PM / Arriving 10:45AM / Duration: 9:57
  • Return – Departing Athens 12:30PM / Arriving 4:23PM / Duration: 10:53

You can book these flights using Delta miles which should come up at 30,000 miles in coach and 62,500 miles for business (it will vary though because they no longer publish an award chart and the pricing can change fluidly).

United Airlines

United is also launching their service from Newark to Athens and that begins on May 26. They have the smallest window with flights running non-stop only from May 26 – October 5. This flight will also be flown with a 767, like Delta.

• Newark (starting May 26) – Departing at 5:50PM / Arriving 10:30AM / Duration: 9:40
  • Return – Departing Athens 12:15PM / Arriving 4:15PM / Duration: 11:00

You can book these flights using United miles at a rate of 30,000 for coach and 57,500 miles for business (one way). You can also use Aegean miles for a similar 30,000 miles for coach but only 45,000 miles for business.

Summary

Greece is a beautiful place and one that is very popular in the summer. Each of these non-stop flights to Athens make it easy to connect in the US (or Canada) and then you will still have time to connect in Athens to another destination in Greece.

Greece’s national airline, Aegean, is an excellent airline with a tremendous domestic network. Flights can be purchased inexpensively for travel around Greece and, since it is a part of the Star Alliance, you could tack on the flight to your final destination when booking with either Air Canada or United.

Ryanair also operates several flights within Greece as does newer airline Ellinair. You have a lot of options for travel in Greece and hopefully these non-stops will help you be able to visit and maximize your time. Just be aware that award availability has already been taken on several of these flights so try to plan as much ahead as you can if you plan on using miles.