Flight review – Eurowings Discover Business Class, Punta Cana – Frankfurt

Following a delightful trip to the Dominican Republic and the USA it was time to return briefly to Europe.

This was done using Eurowings Discover’s long-haul business class, purchased as the return half of a round trip from Paris, which included a superb outbound flight on Air Canada.

My flight was scheduled from Punta Cana at 19:10, landing at 09:30 in Frankfurt. I found this to be more or less an optimal timing for an eastbound overnighter, as it allowed me a couple of hours after take-off to enjoy dinner and a few drinks before settling down for a decent few hours of sleep.

My evening started at the VIP Lounge Terminal A, which is a basic, catch-all contract lounge used by a number of airlines as well as Priority Pass. Although the lounge was nothing special, it was a perfectly decent place to wait and enjoy a couple of pre-flight beers.

Once on board, I took my seat in the centre pair of the 2-2-2 configured business class cabin. In this configuration, I always prefer the centre pair of seats, as it offers direct aisle access to both passengers and avoids the annoying “climbover factor”. As it happened, I was pleasantly surprised not to have a seat neighbour, which proved advantageous later.

Nuts and aperitifs were served shortly after take-off. I opted for a glass of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which was served nicely chilled.

Dinner followed soon after with a choice of courses and a reasonable wine and cocktail list.

I chose the serrano ham to start, which was decently presented and fresh, served with another glass of the Sauvignon Blanc.

The beef tenderloin was my choice for the main, accompanied by the Argentinian Malbec. Beef is often not a good choice on flights, as it is nearly always overcooked. Whilst this was no exception, it was still tender and tasty.

I rounded off the meal with the cheese platter and some more of the Malbec.

After a few cognacs, I reclined the seat into flatbed mode and settled down to sleep.

Although it felt rather narrow, the bed was comfortable enough to sleep reasonably. The one thing I noticed was the foot space was rather small and angled toward the neighbouring seat.

As the seat next to me was unoccupied, I was easily able to slide one of my size 12s over to the other side of the divider, but the configuration could have been awkward if both seats had been occupied.

I managed around 4 hours of decent sleep and awoke around an hour and a half before landing, ready for breakfast.

Breakfast was a Spanish tortilla, served with bread, cheese and fruit, along with orange juice and coffee.

We landed a little ahead of schedule in Frankfurt, with more than enough time to catch my connecting flight to Paris, which will be the subject of my next review.

This Eurowings Discover flight exceeded my expectations. While the hard product is decidedly mid-table in business class terms, the service was friendly and attentive. I had a comfortable flight with a decent meal and a good few hours of sleep. I arrived in Frankfurt ready for the day ahead. For a little over £1,000 ($1,300) for a transatlantic round trip, I couldn’t ask for more than that.