Eurowings Unveils Enhanced A320neo Business Class
Let’s be honest, flying business class on narrow-body jets across Europe is hardly a luxurious affair. It’s usually just your average economy seat with the middle one left empty and maybe a slightly fancier snack service. So when a Lufthansa Group airline announced it’s stepping up its game with more comfortable seating, ears perked up.
Believe it or not, this update is coming from the low-cost arm, Eurowings, rather than the premium players like Lufthansa or SWISS.
Eurowings Trials a Whole New Business Class Concept
With a fleet of about 80 Airbus A320 family aircraft, Eurowings mostly handles short hops around Europe, but it also stretches its wings with some longer routes. Picture this: cramping up in Europe’s business class to Dubai on a nearly 3,000-mile flight. Uncomfortable, right? But that might be about to change.
Starting in late 2025, Eurowings plans to revolutionize select Airbus A320neo aircraft with real business class seats. They’ve teamed up with Geven, an Italian manufacturer, to create seats that offer an adjustable backrest, a sleek ergonomic design, and just more space overall.
This isn’t just a fluke. It’s a trial aimed at medium-haul routes, and the Berlin to Dubai route will kick things off in November 2025, with ticket sales starting in August 2025.
The twist? Eurowings is actually introducing not one, but two business class tiers. The usual BIZclass with blocked middle seats remains, but there’s an upgrade in the form of Premium BIZ seats—eight plush ones upfront for those who want to fly high, literally.
“With our new Premium BIZ seat, we offer business travellers and holidaymakers a completely new level of comfort on medium-haul flights. More privacy and a significantly enhanced feel-good atmosphere make longer flights noticeably more pleasant. We are thus setting a new standard in our market segment and clearly positioning Eurowings as Europe’s leading value airline,” says Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof.
What’s the Long Game Here?
Right now, these proper business class seats are just a sneak peek, but the implications are worth pondering.
- Eurowings is going through a fleet refresh by 2027, thanks to 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order. The outcome of this trial could very well inform the choices for their next-gen cabins.
- This experiment serves as a potential blueprint for other airlines in the Lufthansa Group to rethink their cabin configurations.
While it seems like true business class on short flights in Europe is still a distant dream, medium-haul markets offer some hope. These are routes where demand might not always justify a wide-body aircraft, but a more upscale business class would be welcomed. For Lufthansa or SWISS, we’re looking at cities like Amman, Cairo, and Tel Aviv. Some airlines already offer a robust business class for these routes, but plenty don’t. Offering a better class on narrow bodies could help meet demand and shape customer expectations better.
Wrapping It All Up
In a bid to elevate its offerings, Eurowings is piloting an upgraded Premium Biz seat on several Airbus A320neo jets on their longest routes. It’s their response to the not-so-glamorous reviews they’ve been getting for their Dubai service.
The feedback from this could eventually influence Lufthansa Group’s overall approach to business class seating. Is an authentic business class for narrow-body jets on the horizon for European carriers? We can only hope!
What do you think about Eurowings’ new Premium BIZ seat concept?