After a late afternoon arrival into London Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic, we connected to Stuttgart on a Eurowings A319…in the last row of the plane to be precise.
Eurowings A319 Economy Class Review (LHR-STR)
I booked these tickets for 6,000 United miles + 38.00 USD in taxes each. This was a last-minute trip and paid tickets were 199 USD for “basic” without a carry-on bag or 249 USD with a carry-on bag (we each had one). United miles are still useful for some things…
After taking the bus from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2, we checked in for our flight at the transfer desk and obtained boarding passes…for whatever reason, online check-in had failed. Perhaps there was some advantage to checking in with an agent, because we were assigned seats together…with open middle seats…in the last row of the aircraft (two people per side).
The flight turned out to be otherwise full, so the extra space was quite fortunate.
The Lufthansa Lounge was closed for renovation, but we stopped at the Plaza Premium Lounge and were among the last to board our flight to Stuttgart.
Eurowings 2465
London (LHR) – Stuttgart (STR)
Wednesday, September 25
Depart: 7:00 PM
Arrive: 9:35 PM
Duration: 1hr, 35 min
Distance: 471 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A319
Seat: 26A, C, D, F (Economy Class)
Onboard, we found our seats…in the very last row of the plane. Wiped by this point, we settled in for the short journey across the English Channel to Stuttgart.
Seat
This aricraft had 150 seats onboard (26 rows) of 3-3 seating, though the first three rows were designated for business class with the middle seat blocked (but the size of business class could be adjusted based upon specific flight loads by moving the curtain forward to back).
The seat is quite uncomfortable…the Recaro BL3520 “NEK” slimline seat with 30 inches of legroom. Seats are 17.7 inches wide. There is no recline in last row.
Even so, we took a nap during the flight…it had been a long day.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi was available onboard, with three packages available for purchase:
- Chat (instant messaging for the full flight) – 2.90 EUR (or 1,000 Miles & More miles)
- Connect 30 (30 minutes of internet access) – 3.90 EUR (or 1,300 Miles & More miles)
- Connect Premium (full flight internet acess + entertainment access) – 7.90 EUR (or 2,600 Miles & More miles)
With flight time so short, I did not bother to connect…my work was done anyway (I had done double duty the night before).
Food + Drink
There is no complimentary service onboard except for the highest tier of economy class fares and in business class. Buy-on-board service commenced shortly after takeoff and quickly concluded…there did not appear to be many takers.
You can see the menu here.
Lavatories
I was going to skip this review altogether, but then I stopped into the lavatory (there are two in the rear of the aircraft and one in the front) and found it in deplorable condition. The mirror was damaged and the trash can was taped shut.
I do not understand this. Why would Eurowings not fix this? How hard is it to replace a mirror when a plane sits overnight at a Eurowings hub?
CONCLUSION
We landed on time at a very quiet airport in Stuttgart and quickly proceeded through passport control and were soon on our way. Eurowings got us to Stuttgart on time, but the in-flight experience was very no-frills…it’s a definite budget product.
No lounge review?
No change, really, from the last time (other than massive crowds):
https://liveandletsfly.com/plaza-premium-lounge-london-heathrow-t2-review/
Just find it kinda funny how UA and DL miles are useful for non-UA and DL redemptions. I guess it’s a form of consolation.
Not sure that was worth the 6000 miles and $38.
No excuse for a restroom like that, even on a budget line.
Well, better than paying $250. Was the only viable nonstop so I had to take what I could get.
BizClass is not adjusted: its always three rows. (Unless it’s an all-Economy class flight. Then it’s zero rows 😉 )
Drinks/food are never complimentary in short-/medium-haul econom class.
Fun fact: United MileagePlus Gold members (and above) have Lounge Access even in Basic Economy, even though Eurowings is not in the Star Alliance. (LH FTL only have access when traveling in Smart).
Not sure if you could’ve accessed the United Club at LHR with a Eurowings flight…?
Just checked: when traveling in Eurowings Economy,
UA *G may only access Lufthansa Lounges.
So no access to contract lounges, no access to Austrian or Swiss lounges…
Looks like Eurowings got a deal on an ex-AA 319 !!