Windstar Cruises Was Acquired by a Billionaire and Is Again Safe to Book. But How About Hellas Jet?

On this past Sunday's Travel Show, Pauline and I received anxious inquiries about the fate of Windstar Cruises and Hellas Jet. The well-known cruiseline of simulated sailing ships (which rarely use their immense sails but are propelled almost always by their gas-driven motors) went into bankruptcy several months ago, even though it has continued to schedule departures of its three nifty ships. Fortunately, an announcement made in late May has quashed any anxieties. The well-known Denver billionaire, Philip Anschutz, who owns Xanterra Resorts (more than a dozen giant and often luxurious resorts in the U.S. national parks), caused Xanterra to buy Windstar Cruises out of bankruptcy, for what seems a steal ($39 million). All sailings will now proceed as earlier scheduled, and the various people who passed on their worries to us can rest easy. With pockets as deep as Anschutz (and his other successful, leisure-time companies) enjoy, Windstar Cruises is now as secure as almost any other cruise company. Honeymooners especially, who have enjoyed memorable sailings on the sophisticated, trendy Windstar ships (enabling you to dive off the bow of the ship for a swim when it is docked), should now be reassured that the same experiences will undoubtedly be available to others for many years to come.

Hellas Jet is another matter altogether. I can't fathom why we received phone calls asking about its status, from people who were certain that the Greek-owned charter airlines would soon commence scheduled service from New York to Athens. Active in the market for intra-European flights, there have been no announcements whatever that Hellas Jet would soon fly the Atlantic, not even a prediction from aviation commentators.

Have any of our readers heard about such plans? It seems highly unlikely that Hellas Jet would start up so late in the season, and without an advance period for marketing itself to the American population. Nor does it seem that there's such heavy demand for New York-to-Athens service as to justify another airlines jumping into the fray. Is it possible that Hellas Jet has simply scheduled a couple of trans-Atlantic charter flights? I'd be grateful to receive the comments of any reader who has information on the subject.