Background Aegean Airlines has expanded very quickly since its launch in the 1990s and it now has a fleet of 30 Airbus A320 aircraft and is a member of the Star Alliance.
First impressions I arrived at Athens International airport at 1230 for the 1330 departure on flight 602. I had only hand luggage, so printed off my boarding card from the self service kiosks, and went through immigration. The shops and lounges here are before security, while afterwards there are just the gates. I walked past the shops and went to the lounge.
The lounge This is shared by several airlines. Looking at the airline’s website later, I can only assume I went to the wrong lounge, since the one here was not this one. Nevertheless, it had food, drinks and free wifi, and so I worked for half an hour and then went through security. Boarding was commencing when we approached the gate, and a fast track boarding saw us on the plane without a queue. I was offered a glass of water, juice or champagne. We pushed back at 1330.
The seat: Aegean has some 30 A320 aircraft, all configured in two classes, economy and business. Economy class seating is ABC-DEF while business class seating has the middle seat blocked off. This was an A321 and I was in seat 4A. To see a seatplan click here.
The Recaro seats are in blue leather and were comfortable for the flight, reclining a few inches. The flight also had a good IFE system with headphones handed out after take off and the film “We bought a zoo” played in its entirety.
The flight The flight time was over three hours, and we were served drinks and then a full lunch menu. This was extremely impressive, both in the quality of the food, and the wine, and the way it proudly promoted Greek ingredients and produce. To see details of the wines, click here.
The food was well presented.
The service was very good. The business class cabin wasn’t particularly busy (I had the whole of row 4 to myself), but when the flight attendant noticed that my ink pen had exploded, she was very helpful with tissues and extra wet wipes while at the same time serving the other passengers. Shortly before the end of the flight we were offered brandy and a clear liquid which was very potent.
Arrival We landed a few minutes early into Heathrow’s Terminal 1 at 1500. There was no queue at immigration.
Verdict Very good, in service, product, food and wine. Aegean deserves to be better known.
Contact aegeanair.com
Tom Otley
