Spain-based Air Europa is a SkyTeam airline that doesn’t get all that much attention, though the airline operates quite a few longhaul flights. Their widebody fleet includes:
- 12 A330s, 10 of which are A330-200s, and two of which are A330-300s
- 10 787, eight of which are 787-8s, and two of which are 787-9s
The airline has a further 16 Boeing 787-9s on order, which will eventually replace their existing A330s, meaning the airline will exclusively operate 787s on longhaul flights.
Air Europa’s 787s feature fully flat beds in business class, though it’s an odd configuration. They have a 2-2-2 layout, and it’s similar to the seats Royal Air Maroc has on their 787-8s, where seats are angled towards one another in a rather odd way.
Anyway, Air Europa has announced a huge upgrade to their business class product, as the airline will be introducing business class cabins with direct aisle access from every seat on newly delivered 787-9s.
It looks like they’ll be using reverse herringbone seats for the cabins. Their finishes look pretty basic, though I still think the cabin looks nice.
So, when should we expect these new cabins? The first 787-9 with the new business class seats will be delivered in October of this year:
- Air Europa will take delivery of two 787-9s this April and May, which will still feature their current seats
- Then in the fourth quarter, Air Europa will take delivery of three 787-9s featuring the new business class cabins
- The additional 787-9s joining the fleet in 2020 and 2021 will all feature the new seats
It hasn’t yet been revealed if existing 787s will get the new seats eventually, though it doesn’t sound like there are immediate plans for that.
Here are a couple more pictures the airline has shared on Twitter of mock-ups of the new seats:
The airline also has plans to introduce new amenity kits, and also new menus, though I can’t say either of those looks particularly remarkable…
I have a flight booked on Air Europa’s 787-8 from Madrid to Miami in April, so I guess I’ll be experiencing their “old” business class for now.
What do you make of Air Europa’s new business class? If you’ve flown Air Europa’s current business class, what was your experience like?
I just arrived in Lima from Madrid in business class (787-900, with the configuration shown below the picture of the airplane itself). I'm 1,90 and can say that these seats are awful, just unacceptable as a business class product. The plane is great, the look and feel is great, the staff was just really nice, the food was OK, the inflight program is OK (although some videos and games look from the 1980s)... The only...
I just arrived in Lima from Madrid in business class (787-900, with the configuration shown below the picture of the airplane itself). I'm 1,90 and can say that these seats are awful, just unacceptable as a business class product. The plane is great, the look and feel is great, the staff was just really nice, the food was OK, the inflight program is OK (although some videos and games look from the 1980s)... The only thing that makes me warn everyone who wants a comfortable experience are the seats. They are not straight! It's impossible to lie straight on the flat bed, because the angles and walls of the cocoon you lie in are not straight. It's like sleeping on a trapezium bed. The room for your feet is literally the width of their inflight magazine, and one foot has than slightly more "space" than the other. Your head lies against the wall, one shoulder touches another wall whereas the other shoulder doesn't. This makes it just weird. It feels messy, disorienting and not good for sleeping (I hardly slept on this flight of 11,5 hours!). I am NOT looking forward to flying black to Madrid next week, and I will NEVER fly on this configuration again. If you are 1,85 or taller, I would certainly not recommend this business class. In fact, I will ask them to rebook me on Air France or KLM back to Europe, because I'm just rather angry they sell this for so much money.
I've heard mixed reviews about this airline, I'm going to Europe for 2 months with nothing more than a carryon and a bookbag (they allow two carryons for business class passengers, totaling 18kg/39 lbs according to their website).
They seem like a decent airline, with good first class; but with a plethora of complaints about delayed and permanently lost checked luggage. So, here goes my first intercontinental trip with just carryons.. why check a...
I've heard mixed reviews about this airline, I'm going to Europe for 2 months with nothing more than a carryon and a bookbag (they allow two carryons for business class passengers, totaling 18kg/39 lbs according to their website).
They seem like a decent airline, with good first class; but with a plethora of complaints about delayed and permanently lost checked luggage. So, here goes my first intercontinental trip with just carryons.. why check a bag if there's a decent chance it'll be lost?
I flew Air Europa to Rome 5 days ago. They lost one of my luggage pieces, and even though I'm only 2.5 hours north, my piece was flown to Florence Airport. I've called their customer service 3xs a day and I get the same response..."they're working on it, and they will contact me when they are on their way." I leave Italy day after tomorrow and haven't been contacted once! Hey Europa... if you seriously...
I flew Air Europa to Rome 5 days ago. They lost one of my luggage pieces, and even though I'm only 2.5 hours north, my piece was flown to Florence Airport. I've called their customer service 3xs a day and I get the same response..."they're working on it, and they will contact me when they are on their way." I leave Italy day after tomorrow and haven't been contacted once! Hey Europa... if you seriously want to promote your business class sales, you need to take more responsibility for losing your customers' luggage when you lose it.
My experience with Air Europa is also positive. I was fortunate enough to have a seat pair (2-2-2) on my own on each and every long-haul segment. And the crews were always very friendly and helpful. I definitely rate them in the area of any other SkyTeam carrier.
I am so happy to see Air Europa flourish
They have brand new B-737 and B-787 aircraft for their medium and long haul flights
In my experience, their Business Class flight attendants consistently offer a great service
According to Atmosfair Deutschland Index, currently, Air Europa is the world´s 12th airline, due to their aircraft fleet low carbon footprint
https://www.atmosfair.de/wp-content/uploads/aai2018-englischsw.pdf
@criced
Now I have to go on to airlineequality.com and compare them to China Eastern. I've heard such bad things about them.
Seats have no leg rests. Seems like one of the bad/tight variants of reverse herringbone.
@HiAperture
Looks like there is a popup divider between the seats that is currently down. Makes for great couples seating and if it is a divider it looks pretty skookum.
I've noticed pretty good availability when searching AF, so I'm curious why I've never seen a points/miles blogger review of the airline. Looking forward to Ben's review.
@criced it really does depend. I have flown them short haul Y a couple of times and service has been pretty good (in comparison to BA, IB and LH). My parents flew UX long haul J some time ago and the crew was apparently very attentive and friendly, so it's a bit of a mixed bag
One nice thing about Air Europa is that they tend to have outstanding award availability. The downside historically has been the angled lie flats, so this will be a nice improvement.
There are no plans to extend the new business seat to the present fleet. Sad though, as the new seat is so much better.
Air Europa is the worst airline i have flown with in Skyteam. Worse then China Eastern. Really bad crew. Hope they change that also
So is it actually open in the middle for the center pairs as the mockup indicates, or is that just because they are not in place?
Minor detail: Air Europa is based (headquartered) in Palma de Mallorca. They operate a hub in Madrid.
Those seats look similar (or probably is) to the JAMCO seats being introduced to KLM's 787-10 and A350.
"I’m sure I missed a few too. I think EVA and Qatar are the only airlines who introduced an updated product that wasn’t reverse herringbone?"
Add on: Delta, China Eastern
Used to get more excited whenever an airline introduced reverse herringbone as an updated product but given its not my preferred product to fly on with a partner and the amount of airlines who also carry this seat, its sad to see business class starting to lose its diversity in hard products.
Reverse Herringbone Airlines:
Air Canada
WestJet
American
Delta
Aeromexico
Avianca
China Eastern
Air China
Used to get more excited whenever an airline introduced reverse herringbone as an updated product but given its not my preferred product to fly on with a partner and the amount of airlines who also carry this seat, its sad to see business class starting to lose its diversity in hard products.
Reverse Herringbone Airlines:
Air Canada
WestJet
American
Delta
Aeromexico
Avianca
China Eastern
Air China
Xiamen
Hainan
Vietnam
Thai
Garuda
Air France
KLM
Cathay
HK Airlines
China Airlines
EVA
Sri Lankan
Virgin Australia
Saudia
Finnair
JAL
Qatar
I'm sure I missed a few too. I think EVA and Qatar are the only airlines who introduced an updated product that wasn't reverse herringbone?