Cretan Airlines was a short-lived airline based in Heraklion, Greece that operated from 1993
to 1995. It is not to be confused with Cretan Airways, an airline also based in Heraklion, that never started revenue flights.
Cretan Airlines was established in 1993 by Cretan businessmen active in the
tourist sector. Their aim was to run an airline for flying tourists to airports
nearby their hotels. Cretan was the first Greek airline to operate AirbusA320 aircraft that were leased from Adria Airways.
Although the main business was charter flights, a route from Thessaloniki to Athens
and Crete was opened. Cretan also planned opening other domestic routes and a decision to
order the Dornier Do-328 was made. Unfortunately, load
factors during the winter months proved to be too low, thus incurring great
economic losses for the company. Therefore, its owners were forced to cease
operations in early 1995. At that time, the company had transported more
than 100.000 passengers and had a staff of approximately 250 people.
