After three nights at the spectacular Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, it was time to fly to Athens, the last stop on our five country European adventure. While I had visited Greece earlier this summer, in this case we were just briefly returning for a wedding.
Continue reading: Review: Aegean Airlines Business Class Airbus A321
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Why didn't this, or anything else, post to @boardingarea over the last 30 or so hours?
Did the laptop survive?
Years ago I managed to spill water on my brand new laptop while rushing to leave a hotel in FRA 55 minutes before flight time. At my next destination I realized my laptop was fried UNLESS I used it plugged in with the battery removed. never made any claim (protection from AMEX), just used it on travel plugged in.
So, do you know if the laptop is OK?
If not, will there be a claim against the airline?
Why didn't you order your meal ahead of time? If you order in advance, you can choose from 3 options, plus, you can choose from any of the special meals. I always take the seafood meal, because then they also give you a seafood starter. When I flew AMS-ATH last month, the starter was prawns and octopus, and the main was salmon on pasta.
I have *A Gold through A3 and love using the four free J upgrade coupons provided annually. Their service for me (based between California and Italy) is worth routing via Athens (though the Aegean lounges aren’t so stellar), esp. because upgradeable coach fares are usually so affordable, especially from London (three flights a day!). They have kept all the little touches that the other legacy carriers have cut, like sweets and liqueurs, large sanitizing wipes, menus as you shared, and hot meals (I’ve had much better culinary luck than it would appear you boys had, condolences). The soft product/service kinda gives me the warm fuzzies, generous with that Southern European warmth. (Plus, being LA-based, Gold means *A lounge at LAX, so even if A3 were mediocre, status is worth keeping IMHO.)
Well, it is a real stretch to call Aegean an airline when practically is just a flying coach company...
I flew the 321 business class in September with my wife Mykonos to ATH. May have been 30 min flight if that. Typical European hard product which isn’t that great. But, the service and the fact we got a meal and a drink (ouzo for me) in that short of time was great. And, when we landed in ATH and deplaned, they stopped everyone from getting off until my wife and I got off and into an empty but that took us to the main terminal. It was like getting a private car service except it was a large bus just for the 2 of us!
I find the food and drink on Aegean Business class exceptionally good. I always preselect a Sea Food menu which I think gives you better food. Aegean offer top class wines and spirits and the filter coffee is very good. Never had a problem with the middle table. I think the author was by very unlucky.
The Aegean cabin crew are exceptional, nothing is too much trouble.
My only issue is the lack of a usable lounge at Berlin and no fastback security but this isn't Aegean's fault.
Flew Aegean business class ATH to LCA last month, food and service were outstanding, better than all other intra European carriers i ve flown so far. Not exaggerating at all. Try Aegean Business, you ll see they ‘re really, really good…
Just a comment. It always cracks me up that I assume your audience is overwhelmingly American but you call things "rocket" and "beetroot" instead of Arugula and Beets. Not saying you should change at all. I always get a smile out of it, wishing I was in Europe to have rocket and beetroot.
Most intra European flights are under 2 hours and low price carriers have a sizable chunk of the market which itself is price sensitive. Given all this, it is unrealistic to expect airlines will invest in power sockets and wifi. Frankly, I also don't hear many people complaining about not having these facilities. Try to enjoy the solitude without being constantly connected :-), especially how rare it is to get it these days .
Reviews are supposed to critique a product. Telling a reviewer to "just enjoy" defeats the purpose of a review. Understand that in most cases a reviewer is not personally complaining, they're giving a detailed account of the product offered. It helps the consumer decide between buisness or economy, or even another airline. The review also helps the airline understand what may work, or be lacking in their service. Honest criticism helps the airline improve. This is beneficial for the consumer and the airline.
Plenty of other airlines, including LCCs and ULCCs, offer wifi and have power ports across their fleet of smaller jets. It's not much to ask an airline to provide these on their buisness class product. That's the point of a review.
Looks better than the CRAP they serve in Swiss and Lufthansa with their fancy name menus! thats for sure!
I flew Aegean Business Class in July from ATH to CHQ (a 37 minute flight) and I was totally impressed that they served us a cold meal and drink in that time with real glassware, silverware, etc. But the best is the private shuttle bus that whisks you away to the terminal. I've been flying Aegean since 2006 but this was my first time flying Business Class. Totally worth it in my opinion. The flight attendants were great.
Thank you for this report.
I also find that Aegean offers an excellent service in business class and, overall, the price/quality ratio is one of the best among European carriers. I would advise readers, who plan to fly in BC with them, to reserve a meal in advance - online - as the selection is more interesting than the one catered onboard.
Hey buddy, how do you fly from California to Italy via ATH to maintain the *A Gold? Using United to ATH than onward with Aegean on one ticket, or somewhere else in Europe than buying another flight with A3? Thx
The real question is whether or not you had the mastiha. My wife loves that stuff.
Hi Ben, I've flown Aegean Business Class this year and if you are flying one of the A320 Neo planes you get WiFi and a USB charging port as standard - even in Economy.
Totally agree with the comment about selecting your food in advance - you get a much better choice.
Flew Business on Aegean on 22 November, from Athens to CDG
At check in counter, the agent would not give me a ticket for the second portion of my flight" CDG-LAX. Said it couldn't be done. Caused all kinds of problems when I arrived at Paris. Thankfully, I had a very helpful security agent and a Boarder Agent to help me get to the right terminal. Since I had no ticket, I could not get through customs to go to the correct terminal . Later, Air France that was incorrect on Aegean's side.
Flew Business on 22 November.The most dreadful l boarding process I've ever experienced: No lines; everyone was first. The crowding was almost like a riot and the boarding agents said and did nothing.
Flight attendants were very polite . However, they were out of everything . My "breakfast " was disappointing to say the least. Never again on Aegean!!!