From Frankfurt to Athens: A Flight Into the Greek Sun
This article details my Aegean Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Athens and the first night of my trip in Greece.
Train to Frankfurt Airport
Having spent the past few days travelling around Germany and the Czech Republic, it was finally time to head to my real holiday destination: Greece.
After a comfortable train trip from Prague to Frankfurt – partly on Germany’s excellent high-speed ICE train – I found myself at Frankfurt Airport.
From Frankfurt, I would take an evening flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines, an airline I have flown many times before in both business and economy class, and which is always a pleasure to travel with.
Frankfurt Airport
Although I’m never really a fan of connecting through Frankfurt Airport, it’s not a bad place if you start your journey there.
This late afternoon, it was actually quite pleasant to fly out of Frankfurt, as the airport seemed deserted and the queues were extremely short.
In no time, I found myself at one of the departure piers for Schengen-zone flights.
Lufthansa lounge
Although I was booked in economy class for my Aegean Airlines flight to Athens, I was still able to visit the Lufthansa lounge at Frankfurt Airport thanks to my Star Alliance gold status.
Lufthansa operates several lounges at their Frankfurt Airport hub.
The Lufthansa business lounges are intended for passengers travelling in business class on Lufthansa or another Star Alliance airline, while the slightly superior Lufthansa Senator lounges can only be accessed by frequent flyers with Star Alliance Gold status, regardless of the cabin they are flying in.
As I only spent limited time in the lounge, having a refreshing shower and a quick drink only, I refrained from taking too many pictures and writing a proper Lufthansa lounge review – so this is something you can look forward to another time.
Generally speaking, Lufthansa lounges are never something to get too excited about, although they are always solid lounges, offering a decent selection of food and drinks and all the facilities you would expect.
Boarding
Having finished my beer, I headed over to the gate, where boarding for our flight to Athens was just about to begin.
The evening Aegean Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Athens was operated by a new Airbus A320neo.
As the first passenger boarding the plane, I was certainly impressed by the immaculate, fresh-looking cabin interior of this Aegean Airlines Airbus A320neo.
Given that the passenger load was extremely light, with perhaps only 40% of all seats taken, I knew I was in for a pleasant flight.
Frankfurt (FRA) to Athens (ATH)
Aegean Airlines – Flight A3 833– Airbus A320neo
Plane registration number: SX-NEO
Economy class – Seat 12A
Departure: 6.30pm – Arrival: 10.15pm
Flight time: 2h45m – Distance: 1,129 miles
Departure
The flight from Frankfurt to Athens would take 2 hours and 45 minutes.
We took off from Frankfurt Airport more or less on time, and there were some beautiful views from the window upon departure, with twilight skies slowly giving way to total darkness.
Aegean Airlines economy class
Whether you fly in business class or economy, Aegean Airlines is one of the better European airlines when it comes to in-flight service.
In economy class, you can still expect a complimentary drink and a meal, which ranges from a sandwich-like snack on shorter flights to a hot meal on longer intra-European flights.
Do read my full Aegean Airlines economy class review which I wrote before to get an impression of what it’s like to fly with this Greek airline.
From Athens Airport to Piraeus
After a comfortable and rather uneventful flight, we landed on time at Athens Airport.
This time, I wasn’t heading into the city centre, but rather took the X96 express bus from Athens Airport directly to Piraeus, the port city adjacent to Athens.
As I had a ferry departure from Piraeus early the next morning, my priority was to get as much sleep as possible, and therefore it made much more sense to stay the night in Piraeus instead of Athens.
A ticket for the X96 bus costs €5.50 and takes between 1 to 1.5 hours to complete its journey from Athens Airport to downtown Piraeus and the port, depending on traffic.
Fortunately, there were still plenty of seats available on the bus, as it can otherwise be a long journey if it’s crowded.
A night in Piraeus
Over the years, I’ve stayed at several hotels in Piraeus, and while they vary in quality, price is always the most important factor for me when deciding where to stay, especially for a quick overnight stay.
This time, I stayed at Phidias Hotel, and I certainly had no reason to complain about my room.
The price (€50) was excellent, and the hotel’s location close to the harbour was perfect.
Catching my ferry
I woke up well-rested the next morning, and after enjoying some breakfast pastries and a freddo espresso from a café by the harbour, I headed to the berth where my ferry to Sifnos, the first Greek island I would visit on this trip, would depart.
Piraeus is the largest port in Europe in terms of ferry passenger traffic.
In Piraeus, the berthing places of passenger ferries are classified as port gates, and it’s important to check exactly from which gate your ferry will depart.
The distance between the port gates in Piraeus can be big, and you don’t want to find out at the very last minute that your ferry actually departs from the far other side of the harbour.
After sipping my coffee in the morning sunshine from one of the quays, I headed down to the gate from where my Aegean Speed Lines ferry would depart.
I’ll detail the experience on board the ferry to Sifnos in the next chapter of this trip report!
Conclusion
Having spent a few days travelling around Germany and the Czech Republic, I began my trip to Greece in earnest by flying from Frankfurt to Athens.
My Aegean Airlines flight from Frankfurt to Athens was pleasant, as the airline offers good service even in economy class.
After a short overnight stay in a Piraeus hotel, it was finally time to board my ferry to the Cyclades and visit the island of Sifnos for some autumn sun!
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘Wonderful Greek Island Escape: My Trip to the Cyclades‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. A Misty Morning Walk Around the Old Port of Hamburg
2. Review: EuroCity Train ‘Berliner’ Hamburg to Berlin and Prague
3. Back to Germany: From Prague to Frankfurt by Train
4. From Frankfurt to Athens: A Flight Into the Greek Sun (current chapter)
5. Greek Ferry Guide: How to Reach the Western Cyclades
6. Review: Speedrunner Ferry Piraeus to Serifos and Sifnos
7. Sifnos Travel Guide: Explore the Best Sights and Beaches
8. Review: Simeon Rooms & Apartments, Sifnos
** rest of the chapters to follow soon **
Hmm, your pic at the top of the interior of the A20N is an old one you are reusing Koen!
How do I know?
Ha I’m curious about that! I’m not reusing it – it is actually a picture which I took on the flight I’m describing. But you are right when you mean that it’s not a recent picture, as this trip through Germany/Greece has already been a while ago 😉 as always, I’m quite slow writing up my trip reports..!
The clue is in the colour blue. TBH, I find the new blue all a bit much, a bit like Austrian is too red. OK though, it’s taken you a while to get round to posting this so I retract my claim 🙂