Although Eurowings isn’t my usual Go To airline, for certain routes it is the only option I have or the more convenient route / time. So every now and then I end up booking Eurowings for flights to and from London. Like last week, when I took connecting flights via Dusseldorf and Cologne for a trip to and from Dresden. To be honest, albeit low-cost, Eurowings is a decent airline. Therefore, I thought I’d share my knowledge and tell you what to expect when flying Eurowings.

*just to be clear, this is not a sponsored post. I did not receive any incentive for writing this post, this is just me sharing my experience with you.

If you have never flown with Eurowings before, you might have a couple of questions. The most common questions about Eurowings probably being:

What booking classes does Eurowings have?

How do I check in for my Eurowings flight?

Is Eurowings a budget airline?

Is Eurowings the same as Germanwings?

Does Eurowings cater during the flight?

Is Eurowings part of Star Alliance?

Read on for the answer to the most common questions and to give you a better idea what to expect when flying Eurowings.

What booking classes does Eurowings have?

Eurowings offers three different booking classes: Basic, Smart and BIZclass, which offer very different levels of service and amenities. It is worth to check before what extras you will require and do the maths which will be the best / cheapest option for you.

Eurowings Basic is the budget fare, which pretty much only gives you a space on the aircraft without any extras:

• You may be able to pick a seat when checking in, but only a very limited number of seats in the back are for free, seats further in the front and/or with more leg room will cost extra (4-10 EUR).
• If you want any snacks or drinks, you will have to purchase them from the onboard menu.
• One piece of hand luggage up to 8kg allowed.
• For an additional 15EUR you can also check in one suitcase up to 23kg (if purchased online in advance. It will be more expensive if bought at the airport). If you need a second checked suitcase, this will set you back a whopping 75 EUR (honestly, by then you might be a lot cheaper just buying a BIZclass ticket).
• Your Basic flight will be non-refundable and non-cancellable.

Eurowings Smart is the standard fare, which includes certain extras:

• Preferred seating is included, seats with extra legroom are available for a fee (4EUR, so cheaper than for Basic travellers).
• In addition to the one piece of hand luggage up to 8kg, you are also allowed one piece of checked luggage.
• You will receive a snack and drink during your flight. Anything extra can be purchased from the onboard menu.
• Priority check in and priority boarding available for an additional fee.
• If you choose the flex option, you can amend and cancel your booking free of charge.

Eurowings BIZclass gives you the premium experience with all the extras of a business class flight:

• Access to the Lufthansa / Star Alliance lounges.
• Priority check in and priority boarding
• You are allowed 2 pieces of hand luggage (and you will have reserved overhead locker space for it) plus two checked suitcases up to 32kg each.
• Choose your seat in the front of the aircraft, with the adjacent middle seat guaranteed to be free.
• Full bar service during the flight. Just picked anything you fancy from the onboard menu (both drinks and snacks/meals).
• If you choose the flex option, you can amend and cancel your booking free of charge.

How do I check in for my Eurowings flight?

Online check in for your Eurowings opens 72 hours before your flight. Just go to the Eurowings website, type in your booking reference and surname and follow the steps shown on screen. Once you’ve selected your seat and completed your check in, you have the option of either getting your boarding pass as a pdf for print out or emailed / sent to your mobile devise if you want to use the mobile pass.

Unlike some other airlines (not pointing fingers here… ahem… Ryanair) you can check in online using your laptop and still get a mobile pass sent to your phone, without actually downloading and using the airline’s mobile app.

When checking in you get the option of picking a seat. Whether you have to pay for the seat (and how much) depends on your booking class, see above.

If you don’t like doing online check in, you can check in at the airport. This is free of charge (unlike with some other airlines). Airport check in for Eurowings usually opens two hours before your scheduled flight and will close latest 40 minutes before departure.

Also if you have checked in for your Eurowings flight online, but cannot print your boarding pass, you can get that free of charge at the check in desk.

How much hand luggage allowance do I have with Eurowings?

Is Eurowings strict with its hand luggage allowance?

Firstly, as stated above, the general hand luggage allowance for Eurowings is one piece of hand luggage with no more than 8kg. This applies both for Basic and Smart customers.

For all of you that regularly fly hand luggage only, I am sure you are aware that 8kg isn’t much. Even if I only fly for two nights or so, my suitcase regularly exceeds the 8kg. Especially if I need to bring work files, tape measure, laser etc (all the gear I need for my site visits).

If you have booked yourself BIZclass, you are then allowed two pieces of hand luggage and you are guaranteed sufficient space in the overhead locker for it.

When I fly Eurowings, I usually try my best to ensure my hand luggage trolley has enough room that I could fit my handbag in it if I am required to. But in experience Eurowings isn’t very strict on their hand luggage allowance. Therefore, if you show up with a hand luggage trolley (within the allowed cabin size) and your handbag / laptop bag, they will usually just let you go through. Since your handbag will go underneath the seat in front of you anyway, it doesn’t really make any difference to the available room in the overhead lockers. I don’t fly Eurowings often enough to give you a 100% guarantee here. But I have never had any issue with my hand luggage, even though it has been over the weight limit and two pieces instead of one allowed. Means I might be on borrowed time here and pushing my luck, but so far it always worked out.

What to expect on board a Eurowings flight?

On short haul flights, Eurowings mainly operates Airbus A320, plus a few A319-100. So you will mostly get the 3 seats a side with middle aisle layout, that are commonly used with other airlines as well.

Eurowings offers well-kept aircrafts with a clean and modern interior design in grey and pink, thin but comfy reclining seats, storage net in front of you, coat hooks for each seat and decent sized tray tables that are suitable for working with a laptop whilst airborne.

In terms of leg room, it varies. The BIZclass seats in the front have plenty of room, the next few rows also offer extra leg room, but you will have to pay extra for it. For the seats in the back, leg room is a bit limited. So if you have long legs or like to stretch your legs, you might want to consider booking yourself a seat accordingly. I am 5’4” (1.63m) and for me the leg room is sufficient, but as Mr T keeps telling me, my legs are very short.

Eurowings do cater on board their flights, but it is not free for everyone.

As mentioned earlier, if you fly Eurowings BIZclass, you can choose anything you fancy from their menu. And there is no limit to the number of items you choose (well I assume as long as you stay within reason and only order things you actually consume during the flight. If they suspect you fill your handbag for the week, they would probably refuse to serve).

If you fly Eurowings Smart, you will get a snack and drink (a choice of coffee / tea, water and soft drinks). If you would like anything on top of that or if you fancy some alcohol, you can purchase this from the menu.

If you fly Eurowings Basic, you can purchase snacks and drinks from the menu, but you will not receive anything for free.

Eurowings accepts Euros and credit cards for any on board purchases.

On one of my recent flights with Eurowings, I also noticed that they now offer Wi-Fi on board (on some flights, not yet on all), just keep an eye out for the little ‘Wings connect’ sticker on the seat in front of you. But unlike Norwegian Air for example, Eurowings doesn’t offer the Wi-Fi for free, you will have to purchase a service package. Just connect to the inflight Wi-Fi and it will direct you to the website. For free you can access flight information and destination information. Or you can select one of three packages to suit your needs:

The smallest package is Connect S, which costs 3.90 EUR and allows messaging and email services, but no actual website access.

Next pack is Connect M, which costs 6.90 EUR and in addition to messaging and email services allows web browsing with a limited speed of 600kbps.

Largest and most expensive package is Connect L, which sets you back a whopping 11.90 EUR. For this you will get messaging and email services, high speed web browsing and video / music streaming with speed limited to 15mbps.

All these passes are valid only for the duration of that one flight. So if you board a connecting flight or have your return flight the same day, you would need to purchase a second package for that.

If you are a Telekom customer in Germany and you have a log in, you should be able to use that to connect to the Wi-Fi for free (but I do not know if that would mean you get access to the largest pack).

Is Eurowings the same as Germanwings?

Yes they kind of are. Both Eurowings and Germanwings are subsidiaries to Lufthansa, serving the ‘low cost’ segment. Nowadays Germanwings is actually part of Eurowings and more and more flights seem to sport the Eurowings livery. But when they first started, it actually was the other way around. Germanwings was there to serve mainly the domestic flights within Germany and some of the neighbouringcountries. As the network expanded, Eurowings was founded. Eventually Eurowings took over, gradually replacing Germanwings on all routes. Today, if you try and check in a Germanwings flight, you will be automatically re-directed to the Eurowings website. And the process, rules and offers are identical. So if you want to find our what to expect when flying Germanwings, you have come to the right place.

Is Eurowings a low-cost airline?

Yes, to a certain extend I would class Eurowings as a low-cost airline. If you book the Basic fare, you will be transported from A to B, that’s it. No extras what so ever. However, if you book yourself a higher class, you will get a lot more service. But even if you sit in BIZclass, it doesn’t quite feel the same as business class in a British Airways or Lufthansa cabin would feel like.

As Eurowings is part of Lufthansa Group, it also belongs to the Star Alliance network. Therefore, if you book yourself a BIZclass ticket, you will have access to the Lufthansa or Star Alliance lounge at the airport. Something you wouldn’t get with a Lufthansa Economy ticket (unless you are a frequent flyer and have Senator status on your Miles & More card).

If you collect Miles & More points, you will be able to collect and use points for your Eurowings flights as well. So that is another bonus and something that sets Eurowings apart from budget airlines like Ryanair or Easyjet.

So what do I think of Eurowings?

I am always a little torn. In many aspects Eurowings feels a little too much like a budget airline for my liking (with all those additional pay for add-ons). But on the other hand, there isn’t really anything wrong with them. So as far as I am concerned, Eurowings are probably the best of the bunch when it comes to budget airlines. And if you get a good deal on a BIZclass ticket, the Eurowings flight can actually be quite enjoyable.

So let me have your thoughts? Anything I forgot about what to expect when flying with Eurowings?