On our way back from Athens, Aegean Airlines had incredibly attractive fares across all cabins and – as a long-time member of Miles & Bonus whose never actually flown the airline – it seemed fitting to try out their business class on this Athens to Dublin service, A3630.

I’ll deal with their lounge in a separate review, but in summary it was quite excellent for a medium-size predominantly short-haul carrier in Europe; we were quickly admitted and were very impressed by the wide range of snacks, nibbles and – which will come as no surprise to regular readers – drinks, on offer.

Though we didn’t have an abundance of time to enjoy the facility, we had sufficient for two heavily-poured glasses of wine each, while we relaxed, looking out across the airfield as sunset hour approached.

 Before I could find time for a third glass, we had to depart, making our way back down the multiple escalators past the far inferior-looking other lounges, and along towards our gate, which, with ruthless efficiency, was already mostly boarded in just the time it took us to walk from the lounge.

Onboard, and compared to the Europe-wide airline cabin monotone, Aegean Airlines has really gone for a very sophisticated look in the cabin, with navy seats bedecked with snazzy headrest covers and – thankfully – foldable wings on the headrest for snoozing. The business cabin also comes with a proper fitted table in the middle seat, whereas some – mostly, shall we say, the larger – European airlines have even attempted to do away with this simple pleasure.

The most jaw-dropping moment of course was imminent – a pre-departure beverage, served in actual glassware. It was so shocking and unexpected to receive an actual glass of champagne on a short-haul flight in Europe, from a European carrier, that I actually nearly dropped the glass with the fright.

Legroom was respectable for our 4-hour jaunt, and I used the empty middle seat area to stretch out during the flight and enjoy the complimentary non-airline-provided in-flight entertainment courtesy of the increasing steep inebriation of our comrades in 1A and 1C.

Once underway, meal orders were taken after being handed a – I hate to shock and awe twice in three paragraphs – lovely multi-sided paper menu. Meals were furnished at absolutely warp speed no sooner than the seatbelt sign had extinguished and you could count five Mississippi’s.

On this flight, I opted for the chicken kebab, which was really good perhaps in spite of appearances, and served on a single tray along with the starter, and of course the obligatory glass of wine which came – much to my liking – topped off to the brim.

Dessert – whether anyone wanted it or not – was enforced upon us all, again with another delicious glass of wine heartily-poured. This extra nourishment foisted on us was probably a good call…

Unfortunately, as I alluded to earlier, our fellow guests in 1A & C, but particularly A, had probably enjoyed a few additional drinks beyond the necessary in the lounge or somewhere beforehand, and gradually became incredibly intoxicated – through no fault of the crew who probably deliberately made themselves completely scarce after meal service.

They did however, discreetly, bring me another glass of wine later in the flight – though that only allowed Row 1 to also ask for another, which they were brought, the two most pathetic measures I’ve ever seen, but almost certainly more than enough.

As the flight wore on, Row 1 provided entertainment that none of us had asked for through very loud conversation, what sounded like a brief domestic, 1A drinking both her own wine and that of 1C’s as well, trying to become comfortable against the cabin wall but misjudging and clocking her head off the wall instead – and on and on it went. Some people – and I say this as someone who also very much enjoys, though is also relatively an aware, in-flight drinker – probably need to cut down if in-flight drinking doesn’t fully agree with them.

The rest of the flight passed uneventfully and we planted ourselves onto Irish soil bang on time, with the crew no doubt very keen to disembark passengers from the front row, in particular, onwards.

Overall, I can see why Aegean Airlines is so beloved of frequent flyers within Europe – their business class is undoubtedly as good as it gets on short-haul within Europe, service was pleasant and friendly though likely impacted by the need to stem the antics in Row 1, and the flight was punctual with a lounge to really look forward to when departing from Athens.