I enjoyed a very pleasant flight on Eurowings Discover onboard an A330-200 in premium economy class and found the service, amenities, and even the food excellent.
Eurowings Discover A330-200 Premium Economy Review
Eurowings Discover is owned by the Lufthansa Group and serves leisure destinations around Africa, the Mediterranean, North America, and the Caribbean. I did not set out to book a longhaul on Eurowings, but my destination was Mombasa, Kenya and the schedule of the Eurowings Discover flight from Frankfurt (an overnight flight) lined up perfectly.
I booked this flight as a Lufthansa flight number in premium economy and although business class space was available for booking with miles (using both Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus), I was not able to use PlusPoints to secure the upgrade, since even though Lufthansa owns Eurowings Discover and sold this flight as a Lufthansa flight number, it was not really a Lufthansa flight.
After a long walk to the C Gates and stop in the Lufthansa Bistro Lounge, it was time to board.
Eurowings Discover (4Y) 134
Frankfurt (FRA) – Mombassa (MBA)
Monday, November 28
Depart: 08:10 PM
Arrive: 06:30 AM+1
Duration: 08hr, 25min
Distance: 4,157 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Seat: 12K (Premium Economy Class)
This flight operated from Frankfurt to Mombassa then continued on to Kilimanjaro. Onboard a very junior crew greeted me. Business class features the Lufthansa longhaul seats in a 2-2-2 configuration:
Economy class is arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration:
But today I was flying in premium economy class.
Seat
I’ve flown the Lufthansa premium economy seat before, though it has been several years. After a long overnight flight from San Francisco to Munich in which I got a lot of rest, I was not tired so this seat worked out quite well, despite being an overnight flight. However, I really don’t view premium economy as a halfway between economy class and business class: it’s much more like a larger economy class seat than anything like a lie-flat business class seat.
The seats are made by ZIM and arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration, with 17 seats on my particular aircraft (there are three different configurations of the 4Y A330) and no curtain between economy class and premium economy class. Seats are 18 inches wide with 38 inches of seat pitch, a footrest, and a recline of eight inches, which is about double that of economy class.
Recline is manually adjusted and there is a small storage compartment and power plugs in the center console between seats.
There’s also a small compartment intended for water bottles located in the seat in front of you.
It’s a very comfortable seat if you do not need to sleep.
Sitting at each seat was a very soft and plush blanket and pillow, which is much better than the bedding offered in business class on Austrian, LOT Polish, or SWISS. I had brought a blanket along, fearing an economy class style blanket, but curled up in this blanket and quite enjoyed it.
I may have nodded off for a couple of hours, but spent most of the flight working and enjoying German movies.
I always enjoy mood lighting onboard, which can make any aircraft feel modern.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Each seat on this plane has an individual screen with a library of movies, TV shows, games, and music.
With my work done and plenty of caffeine in my body, I watched a couple of German movies which I quite enjoyed. One, Alles in bester Ordnung, was about minimalism and holding onto material goods (a personal struggle of mine) and the other, called Stasi Komodie, was about a writer in Berlin who was able to review his Stasi file years after the fall of the GDR.
I even watched Oblivion, a 2013 Tom Cruise film I had not recalled watching previously.
I only watch movies on planes and quite enjoyed this binge.
Complimentary headphones were provided.
The screen could be controlled by tapping it or through a passenger service unit.
There was no wi-fi internet available onboard, but there was an intranet system that included a moving flight map, duty-free catalog, option survey, and a selection of magazines.
(the gaming link did not work, producing a very odd page and nothing else)
The views out the window, especially during sunrise and landing, were mesmerizing.
Food + Drink
Dinner was served after takeoff with breakfast prior to landing. Service began with a pre-departure beverage; a thick non-alcoholic orange mango drink that was very refreshing.
After takeoff, dinner service began with a moist towelette.
Dinner choices included a Chinese-style chicken dish or butternut squash ravioli in a mushroom sauce. The ravioli was genuinely excellent (one of my top airline meals of 2022) and I also enjoyed the shrimp appetizer and brie cheese.
I did not think alcohol was included, but ordered Mionetto spritz (like an Aperol spritz) nad was not changed.
Metal cutlery is used in premium economy class.
At the end of dinner, a hot chocolate chip cookie was served, which was another unexpected treat.
Two hours prior to landing (which I felt was at least 30 minutes too early, but was awake anyway), breakfast was served. I was not expecting another substantial meal, but breakfast began with another moist towelette and included scrambled eggs with cooked spinach and tomato chutney, a side of deli meat, yogurt with blueberries and apricot sauce, and a hot bread roll. I enjoyed it and even found the coffee quite acceptable.
Just prior to landing, every passenger was offered a mint.
Eurowings Discover did a great job with catering out of Frankfurt.
Lavatory
The lavatory was clean and featured L’Occitane-branded hand lotion and airline-branded soap.
Amenity Kit
Eurowings Discover uses the same amenity kits as Lufthansa, which for premium featured a reasonable grocery tote bag (I love these) with an eye shade, ear plugs, and socks inside.
Service
Service was outstanding onboard. The crew all looked to be in their early to mid-20s and there was a great desire to serve, which was evident from the moment I stepped onboard. These flight attendants are paid less than their counterparts at Lufthansa and this has prompted some contentious labor battles, but the crew was charming and attentive.
CONCLUSION
We landed on-time in Mombassa, where the majority of passengers remained onboard since this flight continued to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (JRO). Those who did exit were hit with a blast of summer heat…we were not in the Northern Hemisphere anymore! A jetbridge was drawn to the plane, but much of the walkway to the immigration area was outdoors.
I had a much more pleasant flight than I was expecting on Eurowings Discover and while I always prefer business class over premium economy, the product was genuinely not bad. The food was quite edible, the service excellent, blanket superb, and I walked away quite happy I had chosen this route to reach Kenya.
I just don’t understand Premium Economy. Every time I’m on a long haul flight, I generally change before landing, and when I look in to the PE cabin, all the pax look just as tired and exhausted as if they were flying in Y.
Yeah it really does not seem to add much but I guess if pax feel it’s worth it..
For a daytime flight of up to 8-10 hours my wife and I prefer PE to the individual pods for business class. we can actually see each other and converse over meals or whenever. For a daytime flight we are not interested in any serious sleep, and the PE seats are more than adequate for dozing off for a while if we feel like it. Unobstructed aisle access is no big deal either. I’m 6’5″, and the legroom is not an issue.
Unfortunately, many airlines price their PE award seats nearly as dearly as business, rather than closer to an economy award ticket. Also, you can only get that satisfying rush of superiority when you look at the plebes if you are in business I guess.
What a lovely premium economy experience. The food looked wonderful
I would just like to know how eggs are offered on planes.. are they scrambled at the caterer then frozen and reheated. Didn’t know eggs reheat well, if so, never tried it.
Are you serious? The dinner entree looks vile.
It was delicious. Great pasta dish.
Did the footrest make the seat more or less comfortable? Or was it pointless having it?
Also, does having a bulkhead seat give you a leg room advantage in this cabin?
Eurowings premium economy looks like a better product than narrowbody domestic US business class.
Your listed the plane in the header Matthew FYI “Aircraft: Airbus A320-200”
Thanks!
I just read this, as I am embarking on a flight from Atlanta to Cluj Napoca, Romania in a few weeks. I booked with Lufthansa, but, flying Eurowings from ATL-FRA in premium economy. Your article was very encouraging. Vielen dank!
Gerne!