Editing Aristotle Onassis (section)

=== Olympic Airways ===
[[File:Boeing_707-384B_SX-DBF_Olympic_ATH_22.04.73_edited-2.jpg|thumb|Olympic Airways Boeing 707, 1973]]
In 1956, Greek airlines in general faced economic difficulties, whereby companies like [[TAE Greek National Airlines|TAE]] were affected by strikes and cash shortage. The Greek government decided to give this and other companies to the private sector, and, on 30 July 1956, Onassis signed a contract granting him the operational rights to the Greek air transport industry. When Onassis heard during the negotiations that he would not be able to use the five Olympic rings in his logo due to copyright issues, he simply decided to add a sixth ring.
 
Operation effectively started in 1957, with one DC-4, two DC-6s and 13 DC-3s. The following year saw 244,000 passengers transported. The agreement lasted until 10 December 1974, when a number of factors (namely, a series of strikes, shortage of passengers, fuel price increase, and a law from the new Greek government forbidding Olympic Airways to fire employees) led Onassis to terminate his contract.

Following this event, Paul Ioannidis, a high-ranking director from Olympic Airways, said the following of Onassis: "Deep down, [he] did not want to relinquish Olympic Airways. He found it flattering to own an airline. It was something in which he took deep pride. It was his accomplishment. He was married to the sea, but Olympic was his mistress. We used to say that he would spend all the money he made at sea with his mistress in the sky."

Onassis's time at the head of Olympic Airways is known as a golden era, due to investments he made in training and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology. For example, in 1959, he signed a deal with [[De Havilland]] to buy four [[De Havilland Comet|Comet 4B jets]]. Onassis was also renowned for his attention to service quality, which led him to buy gold-plated utensils and candles for the dining service of the first-class section.

During 1974, the last year of Onassis's involvement with the company, Olympic Airways transported 2.5 million passengers and had a work force of 7,356 persons. At the time, his ownership of Olympic Airways distinguished Onassis as one of only two men in the world to own a private airline, the other being [[Howard Hughes]] of [[TWA]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Ioannidis|first=Paul|year=2015|title= Destiny Prevails: My Life with Aristotle, Alexander, Christina Onassis and her daughter, Athina|location=New York|publisher=Significance Press-paperback or kindle edition|isbn=978-0990757474}}
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