TRIP REPORT
I flew from Cairo to Belgrade this summer (one way). I found a business class fare for 310 euros with Egypt Air and Aegean Airlines, which are both part of Star Alliance, from Cairo to Belgrade via Athens with the first sector operated by Egypt Air and the second by Aegean Airlines. There are currently four daily flights between Cairo and Athens (two each by Egypt Air and Aegean) and I chose my flight so I could spend the evening and the following morning in Athens before continuing to Belgrade.
I arrived at Athens Airport two hours before departure. The airport was very busy at the time. I was already checked through to Belgrade back in Cairo so I could proceed to passport control. Despite there being a lot of people, the line for passport control moved very quickly and didn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Security followed afterwards, which was equally quick.
I have read a lot about the relatively new Aegean Airlines lounge and I wanted to try it. The lounge was packed but it was very large with beautiful views of the tarmac. The buffet food choices were also decent though I found the lounge to be a bit overrated considering how much people praised it. For people with Lounge Key access, a newly refurbished Goldenair lounge has opened at Athens Airport, and I highly recommend it, although it can also get very busy as it is used by several airlines, including Emirates.
The gate for today’s flight was a bus gate on the bottom floor. We were bussed to a remote stand where our A320 was waiting for us. This one was rather old and its age showed inside.
The flight was quite full, and, in the bus, I could notice that the majority of the passengers were younger Greeks. The business class cabin on this flight had three rows with the middle seat blocked in each one. Out of 12 seats, 10 were occupied. I was seated at 3F.
The crew on this flight was pleasant, and the pilot was entertaining over the PA, telling us he would fly the plane like top gun, since we were delayed due to air traffic control restrictions.
We were issued menus before departure, as well as a welcome drink of orange juice, apple juice or water.
We took off with a bit of a delay. Shortly after, the crew served lunch. Unlike Air Serbia, there were no meal choices (Air Serbia provides a selection of three meals on this short flight), however, the actual presentation was much nicer than on Air Serbia, an area I really think the latter should improve on.
The taste of the meal was fine. The trays were cleared shortly after. The crew again offered drinks for a second time after the meal. Despite a sticker on the fuselage that there was WiFi onboard, it wasn’t working.
We managed to make up for our delay and landed in Belgrade on time, where it wasn’t very busy and I was able to pass through the eGates in no time.
And for those interested what it’s like on Egypt Air’s old B737-800 between Cairo and Athens, I leave you with a few images. In short, the flight was excellent, with great crew (on this flight, Egypt Air crew can be hit or miss), numerous food choices and fully functioning IFE at every seat.
Share your travel experience by submitting a trip report to exyu@exyuaviation.com
Very nice trip report.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics too. Thank you very much.
Great price for two legs in business class. It also seems like the Egypt Air flights had more than enough leg space.
ReplyDeleteNice report!
Great carrier! Love them!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that they are increasing BEG to daily from 06.04.2026, much earlier than this year.
Very good trip report. It's nice to see Aegean steadily grow in Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteTheir ATH lounge features the same design as the one they have in LCA. It's not bad but much better compared to what LH, OS or LO offer at their hubs.
The OS one is particularly bad especially in late afternoon.
Aegean will fly daily to BEG and also start flying to Delhi and Mumbai so lets see what connections they're gonna offer!
ReplyDeleteYes that's going to be very important for the huge demand between Belgrade and India. Less that 7,000 people with Indian passports entered Serbia this year
DeleteWith the A321XLR? Thats not a pleasent choice if you consider TK via Istanbul or AUA via Vienna!!!
DeleteYes but in addition to Indians travelling to Serbia, there are also Serbs who go to India.
DeleteAnon 13.19
They are going to have a rather light configuration so the experience should be ok. These won't be your standard A321s.
Also, Austrian Airlines no longer flies to DEL while TK is limited by the bilateral. That is why they had to make a deal with 6E which jumped in with the horrible B77W in a very high density configuration.
NEMJEE is right ! 138 total passengers on Aegean's XLR , 24 bussiness in lie flat bed seats and 114 in economy with I think 34 or 35 inches leg room .
DeleteTK is limited by the literal on India routes that's why IndiGo is starting DEL and BOM to ATH and Aegean with an impressive 5 weekly ATH-DEL and 3 weekly to BOM. Im guessing Air India will also jump on ATH too. ATH is going to work as a hub between India and Europe flights thats what they're pursuing.
DeleteReally good report!
ReplyDeleteEgypt is nearer to Europe than many people realize.
The welcome drink on Aegean that everybody mistakes for apple juice is actually Greek sparkling wine, Amalia :D One of a few airlines to actually offer welcome drinks in Europe, let alone sparkling wine/champagne. Love Aegean overall
ReplyDeleteI flew on JU in business recently and we got a welcome drink. Basically it was orange juice, a nice touch nonetheless
DeleteAegean has emerged into a fine example of well managed airline that understands its market position and adjusts the strategy to remain in competitive market with higher than usual level of service. Usually very punctual (bar recent reduction of Athens air control capacity by 25%) Aegean offers very competitive pricing. Their "Aegean pass" concept is unique and offers bundles of 8, 12 or 20 one-way pre-purchased tickets, which come with a booking deadline of 30, 7 and 0 days (price is adjusted accordingly) and provides the most generous miles in their Miles+Bonus program. For example their 1-year, 8 segments "Balkan" (ATH to/from BEG, BUH, SOF, TIA, SKP and ZAG) bundle with booking deadline of 7 days is 400 EUR (50 per segment), on top of which come taxes (ex ATH usually 35 EUR, to ATH aprox. 25 EUR) paid at the time of booking. The booking class is Y (Flex) and has booking priority and hand luggage 8 kg, plus one 23 kg hold luggage for all *A gold members. Speaking of Gold membership with their Miles+Bonus program, upon reaching it, it is fairly simple to renew it provided 4 segements are flown with A3 and OA and total of 12.000 miles collected. The "Balkan" bundle offers 1.200 tier miles per segment (plus 20% bonus for Gold members). The Aegean lounge mentioned in the report is at the non-Schengen airside section which was expanded during the 2020 lockdown and is really at the top of similar facilities in Europe. Contrary to that lounge, the one servicing the Schengen section is limited in size, very crowded while struggling to provide the same level of service. Unfortunatelly the issue will remain until the expansion of the Schengen zone becomes reality through building of a completely new Northern terminal. The ground works have just started and it will probably take another couple of years to open it. Regarding Aegean presence in Belgrade, their usual A6-A7 gate on arrival requires long walk but it is due to terribly designed flows at the airport, however at departure level, Aegean recently moved its lounge service from sub-par Club Avolta (ex DuFry) to Air Serbia Premium lounge.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't forget that Egypt Air is a 'dry' airline! There is no alcoholic drinks.Even
ReplyDeletewine is missing. They also ignore that small amounts of alcoholic drinks serve as antiseptic.
That's really bad ignoring passenger needs and putting 'religious' beliefs above passenger needs. So for me I avoid them. You even cannot bring your 100ml bottle on board.It is a pity.
Are you an alcoholic?
DeleteDirect and to the point!
DeleteBut seriously, several airlines in the Middle East are dry. @08:11 get a grip and have a bottle before getting on a dry airline if you want :)
@16:47
DeleteAre you an idiot?