Intra-European business class is known to be quite a sad product, especially when it comes to the seat. While regional business class in Asia consists of at least a recliner (and in many cases, flat beds), and domestic first class in the U.S. offers at least a recliner seat, business class in Europe largely consists of an economy seat with the middle seat blocked. This means that redeeming miles and finding cheap fares for premium intra-European travel isn’t very exciting.
Here are a few airlines that counter the trend, and offer much more desirable products on some of their intra-European fleet. Now, this isn’t necessarily just because the airline has a competitive advantage – for some of the below airlines, they may just be using some of their longhaul aircraft on regional routes, or they may not be European carriers altogether (when a non-European carrier operates a route intra-Europe, this is called a fifth freedom route, which I’ve written about here – there may be some overlap). However, I thought it’d be worth exploring which aircraft offer “real” business class products intra-Europe, and how to fly them.
What intra-European business class is normally like
Intra-European business class typically is just economy class with a blocked middle seat. While this sometimes does the trick if you just need a little bit of extra space on a flight where you’re connecting off business class, intra-European business class in itself is rarely something worth paying extra for. If you exclusively fly within Europe, there’s no point getting into the miles and points space, since the “reward” of flying upfront within Europe is so disappointing.
Intra-European business class is nothing to get excited about
Is this a problem for the genuine business traveller? Not usually – the thickest business travel routes within Europe are very short (<2h), and most business travellers just need a bit more elbow space and a place to work. However, this isn’t great value for the aspirational premium cabin traveller, and also an annoyance for the business traveller who wants to recline and get some rest.
Here’s a list of “real” business class products that fly within Europe, in no particular order. Some of these will be airlines that offer a “true” business class seat within Europe, and some of these will be airlines that offer isolated flights with real business class seats.
Turkish Airlines business class
Let’s start with an airline that’s quite uncomplicated. The vast majority of Turkish Airlines’ regional fleet consists of a “real” business class seat. This is because while Turkish Airlines is technically based in Europe (and many airlines fly their intra-European business class seat to Istanbul), the airline competes quite fiercely with the “big three” Middle Eastern carriers, and the airline uses the same aircraft on many of their Middle Eastern routes.
Turkish Airlines operates most of their European routes with A321neos and 737 MAX aircraft, which feature recliner business class seats. These are perfectly comfortable for flights of 3-4 hours, and many of them are even shorter. Here’s a review of my flight from Gatwick to Istanbul.
Turkish Airlines offers a “real” business class product on a vast majority of their fleet
However, sometimes you’ll find some longhaul aircraft operating some higher-capacity routes, which may feature A330s, 777s, 787s, or A350s. These aircraft feature flat bed seats in business class, either in a staggered configuration or in a forward-facing 2-2-2 or 2-3-2 configuration. These aren’t exactly cutting-edge seats for longhaul flights, though are a treat for a shorthaul flight. Here’s a review of one such flight on the A350.
(Turkish Airlines does have a small subset of their fleet with enclosed suites in business class, though those aircraft don’t consistently operate any intra-European routes, and are randomly deployed throughout the shorthaul network.)
On some routes such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc., you may even find widebody aircraft with flat bed seats
How to fly Turkish Airlines business class: If you’re flying Turkish Airlines shorthaul, you’re most likely going to be using a Star Alliance points currency such as Aeroplan to redeem your ticket, or Turkish Airlines’ own Miles&Smiles programme. Cash fares do tend to run quite expensive if you’re just flying intra-Europe, though may make more sense if you’re connecting onto Asia or beyond.
Aer Lingus’ AerSpace A321LR/XLR business class
Aer Lingus offers AerSpace, their version of regional business class, on many of their higher-yield regional routes. In many cases, this is just economy class with a blocked middle seat (I flew one such flight from London to Cork in 2024, and reviewed it here).
However, sometimes the airline deploys A321LRs/A321XLRs on these routes, which feature staggered, fully-flat business class seats. While this is an okay business class product for a longhaul transatlantic flight, it’s definitely an awesome regional product on these 1-2 hour flights. You can find these seats flying between Dublin and London, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as between Shannon and London/Paris. I flew one of these flights from London to Dublin – perhaps the best thing is that this cabin is priced substantially lower than what you’ll see with other airlines in business class.
Aer Lingus operates some of their longhaul A321LR/XLR fleet on their shorthaul routes
The best thing about this cabin is the four solo, or “throne” seats in rows 3 and 5, where you get direct aisle access, and an incredible amount of shoulder space. While the footwell is tighter than you’ll get in the other seats, for these short hops this will almost never be a problem. These throne seats don’t cost any extra to assign, so I’d highly recommend one if it’s free on your flight.
Aer Lingus’ four throne seats have an exceptional amount of space for a short flight
How to fly Aer Lingus’ AerSpace: Unfortunately there’s no way to redeem miles for this product. Cash fares for AerSpace are generally lower than you’ll see for an intra-European business class product, as the product is marketed as a premium economy product. If you use a credit card that gives you extra points earnings on airfare, that’s probably the best way to experience this product.
Singapore Airlines business class (between Barcelona and Milan)
If you happen to be flying between Barcelona and Milan, I’d recommend checking out Singapore Airlines’ business class. The airline operates between Barcelona and Milan as a “tag” flight after flying between Singapore and Milan, and these are awesome business class seats to spend an hour in. I flew this route in 2023, using some KrisFlyer miles that were expiring (there wasn’t award space, so in this particular case I found it good value to use the Pay with Points programme).
The catch is that cabin crew won’t typically convert the seat into a bed for you on this short flight, so the most you’ll get is the limited recline (these seats “fold over” to become beds on longer flights). In addition, the actual food menu on these flights is usually quite scant, though the full drinks menu is available.
Singapore Airlines’ A350 Business Class
How to fly Singapore Airlines’ business class (on this route): Singapore Airlines consistently charges around £310 one-way between Milan and Barcelona, or £520 roundtrip. Is this worth it for a 1h 30m flight? Probably not (unless your company is paying, as other business class products are around the same price). However, if you’ve got expiring KrisFlyer miles, you can use the Pay with Points programme.
Sadly, I’ve never seen an award seat open up on this route, even though you theoretically can redeem KrisFlyer miles for it.
Air Europa business class
Spanish carrier Air Europa operates some longhaul widebody aircraft on routes as short as Barcelona-Madrid. Apart from Barcelona, these aircraft also fly to Amsterdam, Gran Canaria, Istanbul, Milan, Rome, and Tenerife. Air Europa’s 787-9s feature reverse herringbone seats, whereas their 787-8s feature fully-flat forward facing seats.
Air Europa operates some widebody aircraft, including within Spain
How to fly Air Europa business class: Air Europa is a SkyTeam airline, so you’ll be able to redeem Flying Blue miles or Virgin Atlantic miles if there’s award space. Alternatively, Air Europa charges industry-average prices if you’re looking to fly business class.
Finnair business class
Finnair operates various A330s and A350s throughout their shorthaul network. These planes feature the airline’s no-recline business class seats, which I reviewed once in 2023 (I’ve also flown this route in premium economy before, which I’ll be reviewing soon). Amsterdam, Brussels, London, and Munich are the usual prime suspects for Finnair’s longhaul fleet deployment – the first flight of the day to London has been operated by an A350 quite consistently for a number of years.
Finnair A350 business class, which you’ll find on some routes to London, Amsterdam, etc.
How to fly Finnair business class: Finnair regularly makes their shorthaul business class award space available to their Oneworld partners. American Airlines AAdvantage and Cathay Pacific are key partners where you can redeem for Finnair award space, and of course you can also use Avios
Iberia business class (London-Madrid)
As far as I know, Iberia only operates one widebody route within Europe, which is their afternoon/evening turn between Madrid and London. This route is operated either by an A330 or an A350, and in both cases you’ll get a staggered business class seat (I know some of Iberia’s A350s have enclosed suites in business class, though I don’t think those planes usually operate this route).
Iberia also sometimes operates their A321XLRs within Europe, though the fleet allocation on these routes is more random.
Iberia’s A350 business class, which you can find between Madrid and London
How to fly Iberia business class: Iberia regularly makes their shorthaul business class award space available to their Oneworld partners. American Airlines AAdvantage and Cathay Pacific are key partners where you can redeem for Iberia award space, and of course you can also use Avios
Ethiopian business class
Due to Ethiopia’s high altitude, the airline operates a few fifth-freedom routes across the world. Some of these are in Europe – you’ll be able to fly Ethiopian between Manchester and Geneva, Stockholm and Oslo, and Copenhagen and Vienna.
Ethiopian Airlines’ 787 business class
How to fly Ethiopian business class: Ethiopian Airlines sometimes makes their Stockholm to Oslo route bookable using Shebamiles – award space is generally more abundant on their intra-Asia routes (I don’t tend to find much award space on the other two routes). Alternatively, some of the shorter routes go from £120 one-way.
Smartwings 737 MAX 8 business class (Prague-Gran Canaria/Tenerife)
Smartwings is a quirky hybrid airline based out of Prague. Most of their fleet doesn’t have a dedicated business class cabin, though they do advertise recliner business class seats on flights to Tenerife and Gran Canaria. These are 5h flights, so it’s fair enough that the airline has dedicated business class seats on these routes.
Smartwings 737 MAX 8 business class
How to fly Smartwings business class: Smartwings isn’t part of any airline alliance, so you’ll most likely have to purchase a cash fare on them. Cash fares go from £700 one-way and £1,400 round-trip, which is not cheap for a 5h flight in a recliner.
Luxair business class
Luxair operates some 737 MAX 8s with business class cabins. These are normally operated on the 8h flight from Luxembourg to Dubai, though the aircraft operates short turns intra-Europe, including to Porto, Rome, and Catania. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to when these 737 MAX 8s are used, though.
Look for a flight with an “extra reclining seat”
How to fly Luxair business class: Luxair isn’t part of any airline alliance, so you’ll most likely have to purchase a cash fare on them. Fares average around £450, and you’ll have to hunt for these aircraft a bit, given that there’s not much rhyme or rhythm to which flights they operate.
Lufthansa 787 business class (Frankfurt-Munich)
Lufthansa operates their 787 between Frankfurt and Munich on a fairly regular basis. These planes feature flat beds in business class, though the flight time of 30 minutes is one of the shortest out of any airlines on this list.
Lufthansa 787 business class
How to fly Lufthansa business class: Lufthansa may release award space to Miles&More, their award programme, or other Star Alliance partners. Unfortunately, cash fares are sky-high on this route.
Swiss also currently operates their A350s on a few shorthaul routes, though I won’t feature this separately, as they are phasing the A350s out.
Conclusion
Intra-European business class isn’t a fun product, though these are a few opportunities to fly a “real” business class seat within Europe. These can contribute to an elevated experience, where you’ll be able to relax in a more spacious seat on your short flight (and maximise the miles you use, given that they cost very similarly to an intra-European business class product).
Are there any intra-European business class products that I’ve missed?
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