Aegean Business Class in the Airbus A321 to Athens

After a long flight hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, we flew with Aegean Business Class on an Airbus A321-200 via Athens to Crete in the fall of 2021. I was curious to see how Aegean Airlines would operate its business class service during the coronavirus pandemic.

booking

We booked the flight from Berlin via Athens to Heraklion during a promotional period in May 2021 via de.aegeanair.com Booked. As an Aegean Miles&Bonus Gold member, I receive four vouchers each year for an upgrade from Economy to Business Class. I was able to easily redeem these for the three of us via the English-speaking hotline. We were originally on the waiting list, but received confirmation of the upgrade about a month before the flight.

Check-in at Berlin Brandenburg Airport

On Thursday morning we drove to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Thanks to a prior reservation (Official websiteThe parking garage directly at the airport (parking garage P8) was only slightly more expensive than various external providers.

Since some German states were on autumn break, we were worried that there would be chaos in the departure area. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded, and we didn't have to queue at the Aegean Business Class check-in counter. In addition to our personal information, our vaccination status and completed Passenger Locator Form (PLF) were also checked. The PLF document is required before entering Greece. on-line to be filled out.

Only the queues at security were long. Although we had the corresponding imprint on our boarding pass, the Fast Track unfortunately didn't work. This was probably due to yet another of the countless technical problems at BER.

Boarding flight A3 821 to Athens

After a brief visit to the Lufthansa Business and Senator Lounge, we made our way to our departure gate A20. Unfortunately, this was in a completely different direction than the lounge and meant a 10-minute walk for us.

Boarding was announced as being conducted in groups. However, when the boarding process began, everything was simply ignored, and boarding became chaotic. There were only a few passengers booked on the flight, though. While Business Class was filled to 80 (%), Economy Class was only 40 (%). As a result, boarding proceeded quickly and with appropriate social distancing.

Aegean Business Class cabin in the Airbus A321

As with most intra-European flights, Aegean's Business Class on the Airbus A321-200 consists of the same cabin as Economy Class. The only difference is that with three seats per side, the middle seat always remains empty. A small table is installed there instead. Legroom on Aegean is ample, and not just in the first row.

Service

We were handed the menus immediately after boarding. There was neither a welcome drink nor a snack. However, our son received a children's surprise consisting of a coloring book, crayons, and a small flight logbook.

Shortly after the start, service began. There were two hot dishes to choose from: chicken leg in a tomato, olive, feta cheese sauce with parsley mashed potatoes, or grilled veal fillet with caper sauce, served with parsley mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach, and cherry tomato confit. The starter was a rocket salad with smoked chicken, apaki, pomegranate, mizuna, cardamom, and flax seeds. Dessert consisted of a selection of cheeses (Graviera from Crete and San Michali from Syros) and a chocolate ganache with orange.

As we had pre-ordered, our son received a special children's meal. This consisted of alphabet pasta with Bolognese sauce, a Greek salad, and vanilla cream.

On the plus side, even though we were seated in the last row of Business Class, we still had a choice between the two hot meals. If you want to be absolutely sure of getting your preferred meal, you can also pre-order it before your flight using the Aegean app.

The selection of drinks was very extensive. Two Greek red and white wines, two types of beer, and a wide variety of spirits and aperitifs were offered. Of course, all kinds of soft drinks, coffee specialties, and tea were also available.

The service during the flight was very attentive. Crew members frequently checked on the Aegean Business Class cabin from the forward galley of the Airbus A321 and offered drinks at any time. This allowed me to enjoy a double espresso and a Chios Mastiha after the meal, among other things.

Our Airbus A321 had no onboard entertainment. Aegean normally offers a service called AEGEAN Stream, which can be accessed via your own mobile device and Wi-Fi. It includes games, newspapers and magazines, as well as a map for the flight. On our business class flight, the Wi-Fi was either deactivated or the necessary equipment wasn't installed. Therefore, we couldn't use the entertainment service.

Unfortunately, we were assigned a parking position on the apron in Athens, so we had to take a bus to the terminal. But there was a separate bus for business class passengers, so we got to the terminal quickly and safely.

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