Aegean recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with a brand new look that accompanied the delivery of the A320neo to their fleet. There was a large ceremony in Athens to launch the new brand and aircraft, the neo is set to replace their current A320 fleet over the coming years.
On a recent trip from Zurich to Athens, the stars aligned and I was lucky enough to travel on one of the new aircraft in business class.
Some of the new features in the aircraft include these handy tablet/phone holders, USB charging ports in all seats and business-class offers newly designed pillows. The cabin crew (on the ground) offered inflight menus and a choice of water, juice or Greek sparkling wine. I opted for a glass of water.
INFLIGHT
About 10 minutes after takeoff the inflight service commenced, a few minutes later, my placemat was given to me, followed by a hot towel service.
Aegean offers their ‘Gastronomics’ program where several Greek chefs have worked together with the airline to create the inflight menus. Currently, the airline is working with Christofos Peskias, Stelios Parliaros and Lefteris Lazarou. Their wine consultant is Konstatinos Lazarakis, and what a great job he must have.
If you’re in Athens, I highly recommend a visit to Stelios’ dessert shop called Sweet Alchemy located in Kolonaki. I visited recently and was thoroughly impressed with the dessert I purchased.
The printed menus are well designed and take you on a Greek food journey, and give you some background on the inflight meal program. There are at least two red and two white wine options which are always from Greece.
The menu for this flight included:
There is no choice of entree or dessert, however, there are two main meal choices offered. You can also pre-select your meal if you’re flying in business class up to 24 hours before departure right here. The cabin had nine passengers booked, and only five of us decided to dine inflight.
My entree was delivered promptly, and I drenched my salad in the delicious Greek olive oil that’s provided, the salad was fresh and tasty.
Not long after finishing my entree, the crew member collected my plate and offered me the main meal choices. I was undecided and asked if I could take a look at both options and a few minutes later, she returned with the meals.
I opted for the chicken which was served with some quinoa, not something you see inflight regularly, and I was impressed with the quality and taste of this meal.
Once I finished my main meal, the crew member took my tray away, leaving only the placemat. Dessert consisted of cream of tahini tart, which was delicious, I love Tahini, but I’ve never tasted something delectable. It had the consistency of a creme patisserie, and it was light, fluffy and simply delicious. The crust of the dessert wasn’t too sweet and it was enjoyable to eat. The crew took about 55 minutes to complete the inflight service, and they remained present in the cabin throughout the flight.
I really can’t fault Aegean. They are one of my favourite airlines in Europe to travel with, and the service is always exceptional, whichever cabin you fly in.
ECONOMY CLASS
Economy class meals are still plentiful and free on Aegean, here’s a look at some of my experiences during 2019. On shorter flights expect a small snack box containing a hot snack or meal depending on the time of day.
On a trip in June 2019 from Athens to Cairo, the flight was only 1.5 hours and there was no choice of meals. Included in the snack box was a small hot meal of chicken with rice, as well as some breadsticks and a digestive bar. More than enough food for a flight taking off just before midnight.
On a flight from Amman to Athens leaving at 4 am the cabin crew served a similar snack box; however, the offering was a lot smaller than the previous flight. No complaints here though, I thought the quantity offered was perfectly fine considering our departure time. A small warm cheese pie was provided as well as a sesame bar, quite a typical simple Greek breakfast.
AEGEAN LOUNGE FOOD
A few years ago, the airline upgraded its lounges and food offerings, providing fresher food options, fresh juices, and typically Greek sweet and savoury items.