Dinner: Aegean Economy Outshines Lufthansa First Class

Last week I flew from Los Angeles to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First Class then connected on a cheap ticket from Frankfurt to Amman via Athens in Aegean economy class. Believe it or not, the dinner on the 807-mile ATH-AMM flight leaving at midnight was better than my main course from LAX-FRA on Lufthansa and is the focus of this week’s Meal of the Week.

I love Aegean, by the way–a great European carrier that I would rank with Turkish as a top regional carrier within Europe. In fact, Aegean was a 2017 winner in the Best Regional Airlines category from Skytrax. For good reason: FAs are wonderful and even without IFE, Aegean is still a traditional European full-service airline.

Anyway, when describing the boisterous passenger on my Lufthansa flight I mentioned that severe turbulence delayed meal service. My steak arrived well-done:

Though still tasty, a well-done steak is never actually “well done”,  just overcooked.

On the Athens to Amman flight, which left at 11:50p, I was served meatballs with potatoes in a cardboard box shortly after takeoff.

It was like eating a gyro meatball with French fries — amazingly delicious for an airline meal. The meat was spiced perfectly, warmed perfectly, and therefore tasted perfect.

Let’s just say the FAs appreciated that I enjoyed the food and ensured that I did not go hungry…

Interestingly, when I asked the FA if this had a name she just shrugged and said, “No, it’s just a meatball.”

Just a meatball…I’m hungry just writing this.