You don’t read much about Air Europa, but the private Spanish airline serves two U.S. cities and has taken delivery of several new 787-8 aircraft with lie-flat beds in business class. My 11hr flight to Madrid greatly exceeded expectations.
Air Europa uses the Aerolineas Argentinas lounge in Buenos Aires’ Ministro Pistarini International Airport. You can read a full lounge review here.
Boarding began 55 minutes prior to takeoff. Since I began my journey in Cancun, my boarding pass was printed on Aerolineas Argentinas stock, not Air Europa. An agent checking boarding passes on the jet bridge refused to let me onboard until he had re-printed the boarding pass on Air Europa paper…10 minutes later. Consequently, my cabin shots are not unobstructed.
Air Europa 42
Buenos Aires (EZE) – Madrid (MAD)
Wednesday, August 23
Depart: 12:00PM
Arrive: 5:30AM+1
Duration: 11hr,30min
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Seat: 2A (Business Class)
Air Europa 787 Business Class Seat
The Air Europa business class seat is just like the seat on Royal Air Maroc with one notable difference. Rather than the ottoman being at split levels, they were at the same level.
I liked that the seats were primarily cloth instead of leather and padding was excellent. In all positions the seat was very comfortable.
I did notice some spilled sugar (or salt) on the seat shelf (below the IFE screen) that should have been cleaned, but the cabin appeared quite clean overall.
The seat next to me stayed open so I ended up using the aisle seat to eat and lounge in and the window seat to sleep in.
One advantage of the Royal Air Maroc seat is that your feet are not adjacent to your neighbor’s in the lie-flat position. On Air Europa, you’ll find your feet separated by a plastic divider…but it’s not uncomfortable because the seat is long and wide enough that your feet do not necessarily have to be all the way into the cubby hole.
Air Europa 787 Business Class Bedding
Air Europa has great bedding — the pillow and blanket were tremendous.
Bedding was waiting at each seat upon boarding. The pillow was wrapped in a cloth bag, something I’ve never seen even in first class. That didn’t mean the pillow was necessarily clean, but it seemed that way. Importantly, it was plush as was the blanket. I love blankets that are lightweight but warm.
I did end up sleeping for less time than I wanted—blame that not on the seat or bedding, but the midday departure from Buenos Aires. And the baby…
With 5:52 remaining in the flight (right in the middle of it), a baby began screaming violently for several minutes.
Air Europa 787 Business Class Service
The two ladies working business class could not have been better. They were charming, friendly, and hard-working.
I felt the in-flight service on Iberia was great during the meal services, but severely lacking in between meals (for 8hrs). That was not the case on this fight, at least while I was awake.
FAs constantly monitored the cabin and individually checked in on guests to make sure they were comfortable.
Air Europa 787 Business Class Meals
Service began with a choice of pre-departure beverage. I chose a dark green “toxic cleaner” that tasted a bit like Naked’s Green Machine. I enjoyed it and asked for another glass after takeoff, but was told there was none left and the beverage is only served prior to departure.
Meal service commenced with a slaty snack nicely arranged over a blue tablecloth without a tray. Included were crackers, chips, and assorted meats (prosciutto, salami, and chorizo). I ordered a glass of Spanish red wine to start.
The menu was placed in an attractive blue leather folder. Here’s the menu:
Appetizers included gazpacho, canapes, and “chicken pickle with tomato and pear tartar”. Not the best appetizer I’ve ver had, but good.
I chose beef for the main service, which was served via cart with all dishes displayed. The gorgonzola crust on the meat and thyme butter potatoes sounded particularly good.
The main course was not as good as it sounded on the menu, but still tasty. Unfortunately, the meat was very well done.
The meal continued with a cheese course (goat’s cheese, Roquefort, and Gruyere).
Lastly, a dessert of “Orange Charlotte with Grand Mariner”, a fairly unsubstantial tart. I asked the FA if there was any cappuccino available and she said no, but “I will try”. She actually was able to foam milk very well, making for a nice after-dinner coffee.
Breakfast was served 85 minutes prior to arrival in Madrid. I opted for scrambled eggs, served with bacon, cooked tomatoes, a croissant and white roll, strawberry yogurt, and fresh fruit (grapefruit, pineapple, cantaloupe, and grapes).
Air Europa 787 Business Class IFE
The IFE system was easy to use and intuitive. I watched two movies: Contact (one of my all-time favorites) and Life (2017). I love sci-fi. movies. TV programming, games, and music were also available.
Headphones were cheap, but still noise cancelling.
Air Europa 787 Business Class Internet
Internet worked fast but intermittently and was terribly expensive. Business class passengers are given a small complimentary voucher. I was caught up on work and did not connect after my free pass expired. 20EUR for 100MB? Really?!
Air Europa 787 Business Class Amenities
The amenity kit contained toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, a comb, eye shade, socks, Korres skin product, and a shoe bag.
Air Europa 787 Business Class Lavatory
The lavatory was standard for 787 and featured extra hand wipes and some cologne.
CONCLUSION
I enjoyed the flight very much. The crew was pleasant, the seat comfortable and the food decent. I appreciated the bedding as well. Hopefully Air Europa can drop internet prices in the years ahead as they remain far too expensive to justify.
Technically “100 Mb” are 11,92 MB, about the size of a picture
Interesting. Air Europa has, for years, shown up having cheap business-class flights to Europe in Google Flights as well as decent point redemption for award travel through Delta Sky Miles. Their new business-class looks good for the price — I like the presentation of the meals, the flatware, the menus — but I’d be concerned that not all of the long-haul fleet has the “new” seats. Also, I can see why no other airline except for Royal Air Maroc uses these seats. Your feet are way too close to the neighboring passenger.
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Thanks very much Matthew for the very informative review!!
Stefan
Thank you for reading Stefan!
thank you!
Very nice and detailed review Matthew, I enjoyed the reading. Just on a side note, in Italy (and probably in Spain too) if you ask for cappucino after dinner it will look funny for the locals. Don´t know exactly why, but I always avoid.
Thanks for your comment. Indeed, I now know (especially in Italy) never to ask for cappuccino after noon!