If you have never turned left, or in this case never walked past the curtain, short-haul business class can seem like an expensive mystery. This Aegean Airlines business class review covers flight A3604 from London Heathrow to Athens on an Airbus A321neo, seated in a 28-seat cabin spread over seven rows. I booked it for work, and I stuck with Aegean because I hold status with them. What follows is an honest look at what you actually get for the money, and where it falls short of the glossy pictures.
In this review
Flight Details
Flight No: A3604
From/To: London Heathrow (LHR) to Athens (ATH)
Departure time: 16:35
Ticket Class: Business
Flight time: 3 hours 38 mins
Frequent Flyer Points: 1,794
Status Points: 1,794
Aircraft: SX-NAK
Aircraft type: Airbus A321neo
Number of classes: 2
Number of seats in flying class: 28
Seat: 4C
Position: Aisle, four rows from the front
Airport Experience
Terminal 2 was busy, which was normal for my late afternoon departure. The first real difference between economy and business showed up on my boarding pass, where a fast track marker let me use the Star Alliance Gold Track security lane. This is a separate queue with its own staff, and it flowed well.
The second difference is the lounge. Aegean uses the Lufthansa lounge at Heathrow, so that is where most business passengers would head. I used my Star Alliance Gold status instead to get into the United Club lounge over at the B gates satellite terminal. Either way, the principle is the same: a quiet room with free food, free drinks and somewhere to sit that is not a plastic bench by a departure board.
For a first-timer, this is a big part of the value. You trade a crowded concourse and a £14 sandwich for a seat, a meal and a drink before you fly.
Boarding & Welcome
The inbound aircraft arrived late, and this is where the Aegean Airlines business class review takes a turn. I walked back from the lounge later than planned and still beat the start of boarding. A large crowd had already formed around gate A17.
Boarding formalities were shambolic. A gate scrum is the kindest description. Staff never called boarding groups properly and simply waved through anyone with any form of priority. I was group 2 and in business class, yet I boarded behind around 30 other passengers.
Onboard, things improved. Even with a full business cabin I found overhead room for my rolling case and slid the smaller bag under the blocked middle seat. Once everyone was seated, the crew came through with a welcome drink of water, orange juice or sparkling wine, then handed out menu cards.
Seat
Here is the honest part. Aegean’s A321neo business class is a European-style product, sometimes called Eurobiz. The seat is the same physical shell as economy, laid out three on each side, with the middle seat blocked off and a fixed table placed over it. There is no lie-flat bed or special recliner seat worth shouting about here.
What you do get is width and elbow room. Nobody sits next to you. The blue Recaro seats are leather upholstered with an antimacassar on each headrest, and they are comfortable enough for a flight of this length. Legroom was good, with room to stretch out under the seat in front.
Seven rows made 28 business seats on this flight. If you are weighing up the upgrade, think of it as buying the empty seat beside you, a proper meal and faster treatment on the ground, rather than a different piece of furniture.
What is the best seat on Aegean Airlines Business Class
On some of their A321s, seat 1F at the bulkhead is the showy pick. It is the most private seat in the cabin and has a huge amount of legroom, because there is no seat in front of you at all.
I would still take row 2. You keep most of the stretch-out room thanks to the gap ahead of the bulkhead, and you keep underseat storage, which bulkhead rows do not have. You can reach your bag for the whole flight instead of standing up to rummage in a locker, and that is the real win of row 2.
Row 2 also sits close enough to the galley for quick service without being in the thick of the noise and foot traffic. Avoid the last row if you want to be served first, because trolley service works forward to back. My own seat, 4C, was a perfectly good middle-ground aisle.
Onboard Experience
The business cabin is fairly large by short-haul standards, though mercifully not the 12-row monster British Airways runs on some routes. Seven rows feels about right. The curtain stays close enough to the front that the cabin feels separate rather than just the pointy end of economy.
There is one toilet at the front for business passengers. It never appeared busy, and I did not see a queue form at any point. It is the same specification as the ones further back, so your reward for the fare is simply better odds of finding it empty.
Service rhythm was steady rather than attentive. The crew worked methodically through the cabin, and nobody was rushed. Noise levels on the A321neo are low, so holding a conversation or working on a laptop was easy throughout.
Food & Drink
Cabin service started about 20 minutes after the crew were released from their seatbelts. Food and wine arrived together on a tray from a trolley. This is the clearest upgrade over economy in any Aegean Airlines business class review: a plated meal with courses, included drinks and real crockery.
The menu opened with a baby arugula salad with cherry tomatoes, olives and graviera cheese from Naxos. Mains, by executive chef Christoforos Peskias, were Cypriot chicken meatballs with bulgur pilaf, herbs and halloumi, or beef fillet with sweet potato purée, roasted courgette, mustard and chicken broth. A cheese course followed, then a pear tart by pastry chef Stelios Parliaros.
The highlight for me is the little jar of olive tapenade, which I scoop generously onto the warm bread, alongside Greek olive oil for dipping. Quality was largely good.
The drinks list ran to two Greek reds, two whites and a sparkling, plus ouzo, Mythos beer, alcohol-free choices, coffee including decaf, and teas. Refills came when I asked, but the crew never offered them.
On the return flight, I had eggplant stuffed with chicken mince (kind of moussaka like), which was also very nice and worthy of a mention here.
In-flight Entertainment
There are no seat-back screens on this aircraft, which surprises some first-time business class flyers. Aegean runs a bring-your-own-device system instead, so you stream content to your phone, tablet or laptop. Bring a headphone adapter and a stand, because a tablet propped against the table over the empty middle seat works far better than holding one for three hours.
The useful part is the internet. Business class passengers get free premium Wi-Fi, and it worked well for most of the flight. I answered email, kept messaging apps running and loaded web pages without much waiting. In economy that same connectivity would cost you, so you recover part of the fare in work you can actually get done.
A moving flight map is included, which is the one thing I always end up watching regardless of what else is on offer.
Arrival
We landed 20 minutes behind schedule, which traced straight back to the late inbound aircraft rather than anything that happened in the air. Nobody on board seemed bothered, and an evening arrival into Athens left plenty of slack for onward plans.
Disembarkation followed the usual order, with the business cabin off first. This is a small benefit, but a real one when you are tired and want to be moving. Being four rows back in 4C meant I was walking up the air bridge inside a couple of minutes of the doors opening.
Passport control was very quiet, so I was through in no time at all. One thing to be aware of for anyone weighing up this Aegean Airlines business class review against an economy fare: Aegean includes a checked bag allowance and priority tags with the business fare, though bags will still arrive when they arrive. If you travel with cabin baggage only, as I did, you walk straight out.
BG1 Verdict
Another good show from Aegean. Seven rows and 28 passengers is probably just the right size for short-haul business class, keeping the service manageable and the cabin from feeling like an overflow section of economy.
Is it competitive? Yes, against other European carriers running the same blocked-middle format. The hearty food is better than most, the Wi-Fi is free and works, and the ground benefits are real. The seat, though, is an economy seat with a neighbour removed, so judge the price on that basis.
It suits business travellers, anyone who wants to arrive fed and able to work, and first-timers curious about premium cabins without paying long-haul money. The boarding scrum was poor, but that stemmed from a late aircraft rather than the product. I would book it again without hesitating.
BG1 Tip
When you return from Athens, leave time to use Aegean’s very nice extra-Schengen lounge.
Full review here: Aegean Airlines Athens Extra Schengen Lounge Review
And if you hold Star Alliance Gold, remember you are not tied to the airline’s designated lounge. On this Aegean Airlines business class review I skipped the Lufthansa lounge for the United Club at the B gates, purely because it suited my gate better. Check what else your status opens before you settle for the obvious option.
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