Review: AEGEAN Airlines Business Class

Celebrating a milestone year – its 25th in business – AEGEAN Airlines has seen strong growth since its inception in 1999 when it had just two aircraft and flew to only two destinations from Athens. Now flying to 47 countries and priding itself in promoting lesser-known Greek destinations and local products, this Star Alliance member caters for the still undiscovered Greece as well as the well-known. Today, the airline continues to expand its horizons, most recently ordering four A321neo LR aircraft which can cover distances of up to 7.5 hours, making the Persian Gulf, India and Central Africa accessible from Greece.

The plane and route

We flew Business Class on an Airbus A320-200 on a direct service from Manchester (MAN) to Athens (ATH), as well as from Athens to Manchester.

Check-in

There’s a generous luggage allowance of 2 x 32kg cases for the hold, and a 13kg bag plus a personal item on-board. Given that we were staying in Athens for just 5 nights, the latter was more than ample for us, so we were able to check in online and head straight for the Fast Track route to security, without the need to check any bags, although we did call at the desk just to get printed boarding passes.

Lounge access

From Manchester, AEGEAN fly out of Terminal 2, with Business Class passengers having access to the Escape Lounge.

There’s a lengthy bar (as well as a smaller one which was closed at the time of our morning visit), plenty of cooked breakfast options, as well as fruit, yoghurts, pastries, tea/coffee, etc.

Out of Athens, AEGEAN’s primary base, there’s a relatively new lounge (opened in 2022) that was considerably more modern and more spacious. Again, we had an early flight and I think it had not long since opened when we arrived, so it was very quiet and felt very spacious.

There was a large island with muffins and pastries, and facilities for hot beverages.

There are also a range of seating options – comfortable sofas as well as tables with more upright seating,more suited for doing some work.

There were also extensive additional food options – sandwiches, wraps, mini burgers, mini souvlaki and more – as well as chilled drinks.

Recliners can be found overlooking the airport apron – perfect for anyone needing some rest if facing a delayed flight or a more lengthy layover.

The seat

On each flight, there were four rows of business class seats on this service, with three seats on each side of the aisle. The middle seat of the three has a cabin separator, reserved as a central table, meaning 16 Business Class seats in total. As well as this extra width, the additional leg room is of course a major plus. The seats also recline around 4-5 inches, more than enough to get a little shut eye, and all you need really for short haul flights.

In-flight entertainment

The AEGEAN Portal gives access to free entertainment content, including movies, news, documentaries, music, a moving map and a selection of games, via WiFi. There is free Stream WiFi option on board for Business Class passengers, providing speeds of up to 15Mbps. With your device flight-mode enabled, you would simply connect via aegeanwifi.com or scan the QR code displayed on the back of the seat in front of you.

It is only a short flight (less than four hours outbound), however, so if you take a book or pre-load a device with a movie or two, you can easily pass the time. The current issue of the inflight magazine, fly smart blue, consisted of over 300 pages; unsurprisingly, perhaps, there are lots of ads, but there are still a good number of articles, and this edition included one detailing Athens’ new culinary projects, as well in-depth pieces on Chios, Marseille, Vilnius, Andalusia, Rhodes and South Chania – all easily accessible via AEGEAN’s route network, of course.

Food and drink

For our outbound flight, breakfast on board consisted of a fresh fruit platter with Manouri cheese, plus a choice of a morning roll or croissant, with butter and a strawberry marmalade. There was also a hot entrée choice by Executive Chef Lefteris Lazzarou of Omelet with Smoked Chicken, Leek, Mushrooms and Thyme (pictured) or Omelet ‘Stourgato’ with Smoked Salmon and Spicy Tomato Sauce.

For our return, we had the selection of pastries.

There’s a regular drinks service, too, with a selection of beverages to choose from, including local drinks of ouzo and tsipouro, plus eight different Greek wines to choose from (had it not been morning, I would have possibly been tempted by one!).

The Gastronomics team behind the AEGEAN Business Class experience includes some of Greece’s most distinguished Executive Chefs, including Christafaros Peskias and Alexandros Tsiantinis, Pastry Chef Stelios Parilaros and Master of Wine Konstantinos Lazarakis.

The cost

Out of season, you can travel Business Class from Manchester to Athens and back for as little as €461.90 per person This is based on a search for next January. In peak season, you can expect to pay more than €1,000 per person for a roundtrip Business Class fare.

Miles+Bonus – AEGEAN’s own frequent flyer program – rewards loyal customers with miles for flights and other activities. Members can redeem these miles for various benefits, such as free flights, upgrades and other services. The program is divided into three tiers: Blue, Silver and Gold.

Frequent flyers might also like to look into the AEGEAN Pass which allows passengers to create their own flight package and secure prices for a whole year, with unlimited ticket changes. You can customise your AEGEAN Pass by selecting a route or group of routes that suit your needs, the number of flights you prefer, and the minimum number of days prior to the flight’s departure. This will afford you additional unique benefits such as the maximum Miles+Bonus Award and Tiers Miles for Economy Class Flex fare with each flight booked.

The service and final thoughts

As expected, the cabin crew were friendly and professional.

The arrival in Athens was very efficient and made a real difference with how quickly we were able to make it to the city centre. Business Class passengers were able to disembark very quicly after taxiing to the gate and make their way to a bus that took just the 16 of us to the airport building immediately, rather than waiting for other passengers. This proved to be a major plus.

When we reached passport control, there was no queue whatsoever, so we were through customs and making our way to the centre of Athens in a matter of minutes.

Overall, flying Business Class with AEGEAN had been a highly enjoyable experience. The spacious seating and the excellent quality of the lounge in Athens were two key attributes that really stood out. The swift and efficient arrival in Athens was also a major plus, saving us valuable time and allowing us to start our trip without delay.

Disclosure: Our trip was sponsored by AEGEAN Airlines.