Business class on narrow body jets within Europe is known for being lackluster, generally just consisting of economy seats with blocked middles and improved service. A few months ago there was an exciting announcement, as a Lufthansa Group carrier announced it would install more comfortable seats in business class on narrow body aircraft.
Ironically, it’s not full service airlines like Lufthansa or SWISS that are doing this, but instead, the group’s low cost carrier, Eurowings. I want to provide an update, as this product is now on sale, so we have a sense of what pricing will be like.
In this post:
Eurowings trials Premium BIZ seat concept
Eurowings operates a fleet of roughly 80 Airbus A320-family aircraft. While most of the carrier’s routes are short haul and within Europe, the airline also operates some longer flights.
For example, the airline operates several seasonal routes to Dubai. At nearly 3,000 miles, these are among the more uncomfortable business class flights out there, given that it’s the same disappointing product you’ll find on short haul routes. Fortunately, the airline will soon be running a trial to change that.
In the coming months, Eurowings will be installing “real” business class seats on select Airbus A320neo aircraft. The airline has chosen a reclining business class product from Italian manufacturer Geven, with an adjustable backrest, ergonomic design, and a lot more pitch than you’ll currently find.
For now this is a trial, designed specifically for medium haul routes. What’s interesting is that Eurowings will actually offer two tiers of business class. This isn’t in lieu of the existing business class, but rather, is in addition to it. Eurowings BIZclass will continue to be offered, featuring economy seats with blocked middles. Then there will be eight Eurowings Premium BIZ seats at the front of the cabin.
Here’s how Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof describes this move:
“With our new Premium BIZ seat, we offer business travellers and holidaymakers a completely new level of comfort on medium-haul flights. More privacy and a significantly enhanced feel-good atmosphere make longer flights noticeably more pleasant. We are thus setting a new standard in our market segment and clearly positioning Eurowings as Europe’s leading value airline.”
Eurowings Premium BIZ seat pricing is steep!
Eurowings has now put its Premium BIZ seat concept on sale, for travel on the Berlin (BER) to Dubai (DXB) route as of November 22, 2025. So, what is pricing for this product like? Interestingly, the airline is simply approaching this as a seat assignment fee for those who otherwise booked a BIZclass fare.
For example, I see a flight that has a €309.99 BIZclass fare for the 6hr30min journey.
Pricing for one of the Eurowings Premium BIZ seats seems to be €600 per sector, on top of the standard business class fare.
The airline highlights how this Premium BIZ seat product includes perks like nearly one meter of legroom, an amenity kit and USB port, and a pillow and blanket.
I’ve gotta say, that pricing strikes me as being very much on the steep side. For one, you’d think that upgrade pricing would be attractive at launch, given the lack of familiarity consumers have with this product. Furthermore, Eurowings is a low cost carrier, so willingness to pay for an upgrade isn’t as high as it’s going to be with a full service airline.
If Eurowings has any chance of this being a success, I think the airline needs to be a bit more reasonable with the upgrade cost. I think €300-400 is on the high side of what consumers will be willing to pay for this (and even that might be pushing it).
The pricing also seems downright greedy. Essentially, the airline has eliminated one row of the standard business class to make this cabin possible, meaning the per-seat footprint is around 50% bigger than in standard business class. Yet the upgrade cost is nearly 200% of the typical standard business class fare.
What this new product could mean in the long run
For now, the introduction of proper business class seats is just being described as a trial. However, I think the long term implications could be interesting.
First of all, keep in mind that Eurowings is overhauling its fleet as of 2027, as the airline has 40 Boeing 737 MAXs on order. So it’s possible that whatever is learned from this experiment could be integrated into the cabins of those jets.
Second of all, Eurowings notes that this will “also provide other airlines in the Lufthansa Group with important insights for the future configuration of new aircraft fleets.”
Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll see a “proper” business class introduced on short flights within Europe any time in the foreseeable future (I don’t want to say “never,” but… close enough). However, there are many medium haul markets that might not consistently have demand for wide body aircraft, but where something better than the typical intra-Europe business class is expected.
In the case of Lufthansa or SWISS, we’re talking about destinations like Amman (AMM), Cairo (CAI), Tel Aviv (TLV), etc. These are all destinations where some airlines offer a “proper” business class, while others don’t. Offering a more competitive business class product on narrow body aircraft would allow airlines to better right size capacity while managing expectations.
Bottom line
Eurowings is trialing a new Premium Biz seat concept, whereby the airline will introduce proper recliners in business class on select Airbus A320neos, operating the carrier’s longest routes. Initially, this is intended to address the horrible feedback the airline has been getting about business class on its Dubai route.
However, the airline states that the results of this trial could be used to shape the product offerings on Lufthansa Group carriers in the future. Could we finally see a proper business class product on more narrow body aircraft belonging to European airlines? It would be nice!
I’m afraid that with what Eurowings is currently trying to charge for this product, it’s unlikely that demand will be all that high. But who knows, I could be wrong…
What’s your take on Eurowings’ Premium BIZ seat concept?
I understand when laypeople get the terms wrong but it’s irritating (and misleading) to see an airline referring to leg room when they mean seat pitch.
Flying them in March on a 75 min flight. It was €30 between two of us to pay for a blocked middle seat between us. Add in a few €4.50 beers and we've our own business class lite for next to nothing.
I think you are a bit out of touch in this article. For a six hour plus journey I think that price is reasonable for business class. Check out what full service carriers in Europe, the US and other regions charge for short haul business class. If there are no other airlines for that route then it does help as well.
Pillow €20
Blanket €40
Amenity kit €10
————————-
Total. €70
Hmmm. Is the larger seat worth hundreds more???
This traveller thinks no.
Without a real lie flat it ain't 'real' business class for me.
Hi @Ben,
"Eurowings is a low-cost carrier, so willingness to pay for an upgrade isn’t as high as it would be with a full-service airline."
I disagree. You missed one key detail: they’re testing it in exactly the right market. Business travel is limping at best, while luxury tourism is soaring. And Eurowings isn’t just any low-cost—it’s leisure low-cost. Their customers are the RichTok crowd, or the ones who save all year (or...
Hi @Ben,
"Eurowings is a low-cost carrier, so willingness to pay for an upgrade isn’t as high as it would be with a full-service airline."
I disagree. You missed one key detail: they’re testing it in exactly the right market. Business travel is limping at best, while luxury tourism is soaring. And Eurowings isn’t just any low-cost—it’s leisure low-cost. Their customers are the RichTok crowd, or the ones who save all year (or max out their credit cards) just to splurge on what they perceive as 'LUX' upgrades. You already know the answer, don’t you? ;-)
"mAx OuT cREdIt caRdZ"
Everything must always be seen through an American lens. Even when the topic at hand is a company that literally has Euro- in it.
Next up: complaining about 24h clocks.
I am not a typical EW customer, but I guess if someone is saving the whole year for a luxury flight to lets say UAE to show-off or simply enjoy, them he/she would probably want to pay 2000EUR RT rather for QR or EY suites and not this Air Asia / Norse style business class. If it was 800EUR, then maybe yes.
And to squeeze a credit card is not exactly a typical european way.
when i'm traveling with my partner, which is like 90% of my travel, the #1 value proposition for J is having no randos seated with us. on short- or medium-haul flights, i could care less about whether the seat is wider, i have a gym membership for that.
if all they're offering is enhanced catering and presumably better FA attention, i'd pay (at most) a ~50EUR premium. probably a lot of leisure travelers are in the same boat. good luck selling this.
It's a good six hours to DXB, plenty of people are prepared to pay more than €50 extra for that.
I'd still prefer to fly Turkish or Aegean in Y and stretch my legs in the middle of the journey, but anyone who's got a tight schedule (work, kids returning to school etc) might be happy to pay more for a direct flight.
There is already a European Airline that does that! Ita Airways have a proper business class (fully lie flat) and a proper premium economy (recliners style - like the EW product) on their A321 that operates on mid-haul routes out of Fiumicino - ACC, DSS, DXB, JED, RUH, CAI - and sometimes the same metal operates to the likes of Paris, Madrid or even domestic-
Emirates does not fly to Berlin so I am sure Eurowings can command a premium (to some extent).
Strangest thing about Berlin—no 'airline' actually wants to fly to BER!
I miss Air Berlin!
Yet, its an amazing amazing city!
Well, that's the point, isn't it? Takes up more space = costs more money. That's why no one offers this intra-Europe, because there's simpy no benefit of a huge seat on short distances that would justify the extra cost. Most people are absolutely okay with the empty middle seat (which provides even more separation from their neighbour than this) and elevated service.
It's only a problem when shorthaul planes fly longer routes, e.g. DXB, which...
Well, that's the point, isn't it? Takes up more space = costs more money. That's why no one offers this intra-Europe, because there's simpy no benefit of a huge seat on short distances that would justify the extra cost. Most people are absolutely okay with the empty middle seat (which provides even more separation from their neighbour than this) and elevated service.
It's only a problem when shorthaul planes fly longer routes, e.g. DXB, which is what LHG's trying to tackle here.
but the price of C-Class middle seat setup is not cheaper, at all. point me to any business fare transcon-Europe that is at or cheaper than EUR 300?
SKG-BCN €217.20 all-in one way on A3, take your pick of days basically anytime in the new year.
You're welcome.
Lufthansa also have plenty of P-class fares at about €250 each way, but you do have to buy them as part of a return/open jaw ticket
Isn’t ITA kind of leading the way for European airlines installing better/real business class seats on narrow body planes being used for the MENA region these days?
Also BA used to fly A321’s with staggered lie-flat seats to MENA destinations…they were ex-bmi planes that BA aquired but they no longer use them anymore, sadly. Maybe the market has changed since then.
Back in 2012, I flew from TLV to FRA on a LH A340 complete with full F service, including eggs cooked to order before landing. Very early flight departing at 5AM to make morning bank in FRA back to US, was impressed they offered the full F service on a 4.5 hr flight. Just a few years ago, flew on an LX A330 from ZRH to TLV. However, biz soft product was regional offering and...
Back in 2012, I flew from TLV to FRA on a LH A340 complete with full F service, including eggs cooked to order before landing. Very early flight departing at 5AM to make morning bank in FRA back to US, was impressed they offered the full F service on a 4.5 hr flight. Just a few years ago, flew on an LX A330 from ZRH to TLV. However, biz soft product was regional offering and F cabin was marketed as business class with extra space. Weirdly this was daytime flight (so not as advantageous for beds in J class) as opposed to the late evening departure with 3AM arrival on an A320. So it seems Lufthansa group occasionally sends widebodies to the ME region, when demand supports it.
Prior to Covid LX flew a 330 or 777 twice daily ZRH-TLV-ZRH. I do remember at one time LH flew a 747 FRA-TLV-FRA although they switched to 3x daily narrowbody.
Please do consider that some Pax (originating in the US) did appreciate the full flat flight ZRH-TLV coming after an overnight TATL.
It's a bit salty but not extreme. I expect they'll be refining the pricing and also offering better deals to connecting passengers.
That's deep analysis, bro.
$600 doesn't seem that steep for a biz class seat upgrade like that on a 6h30m flight! On transcon flights in the US, the the upgrade price is often much larger than that. I guess you could argue that the total upgrade cost here is $750 (biz class + seat fee), but even so, it's not crazy. Also I'm sure they pricing will adjust once they understand what the market can bear. I hope this...
$600 doesn't seem that steep for a biz class seat upgrade like that on a 6h30m flight! On transcon flights in the US, the the upgrade price is often much larger than that. I guess you could argue that the total upgrade cost here is $750 (biz class + seat fee), but even so, it's not crazy. Also I'm sure they pricing will adjust once they understand what the market can bear. I hope this is successful and convinces LH to install proper business seats on the rest of their narrowbody fleet.
I had a similar reaction. Also, and this is purely anecdotal, it seems like eurobiz on some of the legacy carriers in Europe can quickly reach the mid-several hundred dollars/euros each way, so in that context, this isn't much of a stretch for the 6.5hr flight.
A lot of those high European business class fares aren't really intended to sell tickets, they're just offered as a way of capturing the odd passenger who is completely price-insensitive while controlling capacity so that they can keep availability for premium connecting pax (business routes) and highish Y fares (leisure routes).
@ 747-400 -- To be clear, I think the pricing is too high partly because we're talking about a ULCC here. It's one thing if the business class fare were just $1K outright, and then business travelers could reasonably book that. But for those traveling for business with a certain travel policy, this essentially being a seat assignment upgrade fee will complicate things.
I expect this trend to start picking up for European airlines. I've always said, the concept of eurobiz is dumb, especially if you know how many seats you want to sell on particular routes.