What is "Euro-Business"?

When booking a flight within Europe, you might come across the term "Euro Business" or "European Business Class" seats. Euro Business seats are a type of business class seating offered by many European airlines on their intra-European routes. Unlike long-haul business class seats, which typically feature lie-flat beds and extensive amenities, Euro Business seats are more akin to enhanced economy seats but come with additional perks.

One of the primary distinctions of Euro Business seats is the blocked middle seat. In a standard 3-3 economy configuration, the middle seat is kept empty, providing more space and comfort for passengers seated on either side.

Passengers in Euro Business class receive a higher level of service compared to economy. This includes priority boarding, enhanced meal options, and complimentary beverages, including alcoholic drinks. Compare this to economy on major European airlines where you'd be lucky for a glass of water and some crisps.

While the seats themselves are the same as those in economy class, Euro Business seats can provides more legroom. The pitch will vary airline to airline, British Airways for instance offer the same pitch, whereas KLM claim to offer up to 7.5cm more legroom than in standard economy.

Business class tickets generally offer more flexibility, including options for changes or cancellations with minimal fees. Economy class tickets are often more restrictive, with higher fees for changes and cancellations.

You could say that the quieter and more private environment of Euro Business class allows for work to be done. The additional space makes it easier to use laptops and other devices, but you'll know that there is not much space to begin with, so anything extra is better than nothing.

What Euro Business does have as a unabashed positive is the enhanced ground experience for passengers. Services such as Priority Security, Lounge Access, Early Boarding, and expedited baggage are all perks that travellers could enjoy on their journey.

Euro Business style seating is going worldwide, with the US airline Frontier announcing that they would bring Euro Business style seating to the US. Domestically Business Class in the US is sold as First Class, offering a more Premium Economy style seat with onboard amenities aligned with what is offered in Europe. Don't think that Euro Business seating is only limited to flights of less than 2-3 hours. British Airways offer a Euro Business service on their Heathrow - Amman route. According to Flightradar24, this flight has an average flight time of 4hr30, so it's always best to check which aircraft you are going to be flying on to temper your expectations.

Euro Business is a conflicting offering, whereas the ground experience is similar to that of a long haul business class experience, I feel that if you are not prepared with what you can expect on the plane then you would be sorely disappointed. As a taller person, I enjoy the extra space either side of me, but I would be amiss to say I would like some extra pitch too. The catering too is a nice addition, but is not to the standard that you'd find on long haul flights. Euro Business to me comes down to cost, how much more is the fare compared to the Economy one on offer? This is a purely subjective metric, but one that I feel fairly summarises the experience on offer.