Review: Eurowings Discover Airbus A330 Business Class (Mauritius to Frankfurt)

Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.

I recently enjoyed a sunny holiday on the beautiful island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. You can read my trip reports here:

Review: Austrian Airlines Boeing 777 Business Class from Vienna to Mauritius
Review: One&Only Le Saint Géran Mauritius
Review: The Oberoi Beach Resort Mauritius
Review: Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita
Review: Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius
Review: Eurowings Discover Airbus A330 Business Class from Mauritius to Frankfurt (today)

Today: Eurowings Discover Airbus A330 Business Class (Mauritius to Frankfurt)

I recently flew Business Class in a Eurowings Discover Airbus A330-300 from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) in Mauritius to Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. Eurowings Discover is the newest leisure airline of the Lufthansa Group, flying to leisure destinations across the Americas, Asia and Africa. The airline launched in July 2021 with two flights to Zanzibar and Mombasa, each of which departed from its hub in Frankfurt. The carrier has steadily expanded since its launch and currently has a fleet of 10 Airbus A320s and 11 (ex-Lufthansa) Airbus A330s. Eurowings Discover is not to be confused with Eurowings; although both airlines are closely related and use the same branding, they’re actually two separate airlines: Eurowings is a low-coast airline that focuses on short-haul flights from Germany, whereas Eurowings Discover focuses on medium- and long-haul flights.

On its longhaul destinations, like Mauritius, Eurowings Discover operates its A330 aircraft, which offer a Business Class product that is 100% identical to the one offered by Lufthansa. From the Business Class cabin layout and seats to the amenities and meals, I couldn’t tell the difference with a regular Lufthansa Business Class flight. It is actually nice and refreshing to see a leisure airline (considered to be low-cost) offering the exact same premium product as its full service sister airline. And although I read some negative reviews about Eurowings Discover prior to my experience and was expecting the worst, I was pretty happy with my flight and the excellent onboard service. Of course, the 2-2-2 Business Class layout has become a dated product but it might still work on leisure routes, where passengers are often families or friends who want to sit together.

Have you ever flown with Eurowings Discover? If so, what was your experience? Leave a comment.

Trip: Mauritius (MRU) to Frankfurt (FRA)
Airline: Eurowings Discover
Aircraft type: Airbus A330-300
Aircraft registration number: D-AIKD
On time departure: 9:30 am (no; a 30 min delay because of a medical emergency)
On time arrival: 19h (yes)
Miles: 5710 miles (9190 km)
Flight time: 11 hours and 30 minutes
Seat: 4K
Class: Business Class

In this review (more information & photos below my Youtube clip & slideshow):

1. LOUNGE

Mauritius’ only international airport is located in the south east of Mauritius, about 48 km or 30 mi (a 45 minutes’ drive by car) from the capital city Port Louis. The airport, which has a capacity of 4 million passengers is named after Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first Prime Minister of Mauritius. It features a modern terminal, constructed in 2013 and designed after the “traveler’s palm”, a tropical plant that grows on Mauritius. The airport has two lounges and Eurowings Discover’s Business Class passengers have access to the Amédée Maingard Lounge, the flagship lounge of the island’s flag carrier, Air Mauritius.

The Amédée Maingard Lounge is spread over two floors but only the downstairs area was open during my visit (which was rather disappointing since – based on reviews of other bloggers – the upstairs floor seems to offer a better experience). The space is divided into a sitting area and dining area, with plenty of seating available. Unfortunately, the downstairs lounge doesn’t have windows, although a green wall adds a colorful and lively design touch, which lifts the ambiance a bit. A buffet is located next to the main seating area, offering both hot and cold food options (mostly soups and rice dishes), salad, fruit, and drinks.

Other facilities at the lounge include a selection of newspapers and magazines, flat-screen TV with satellite channels, showers and free Wi-Fi.

AMEDEE MAINGARD LOUNGE AT MAURITIUS AIRPORT: ENTRANCE

2. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN

Eurowings Discover’s A330-300 features 30 Business Class flat-bed seats with 180 degrees recline, 28 Premium Economy recliner seats, and 225 standard Economy Class seats.

Located in one large cabin in the front of the plane, the 30 Business Class seats are arranged in a 2-2-2 layout and spread over 5 rows. The windows seats are staggered by a few inches (cm), while remarkably, the center seats are angled slightly towards one another. The latter is great for couples but not for solo travelers, since the feet compartment is located right next to the one of your neighbor, and it is possible that your legs and feet occasionally touch the ones of your neighbor while resting or sleeping. Overall, all seats lack privacy, and there’s not even a divider or privacy screen between paired seats, although I assume this might work for a leisure airline (with most passengers being couples, families, or friends traveling together).

As already mentioned, the Business Class cabin is exactly the same as the one offered in Lufthansa’s planes (with some subtle differences, such as headcovers with the Eurowings Discover logo instead of the Lufthansa logo). The cabin has a clean and unremarkable yet very German-esque design, with white cabin walls and grey seat covers creating a neutral color palette. The only colors you’ll see are the wooden panels between paired seats.

Click here for the seat map of Eurowings Discover’s Airbus A330-300.

EUROWINGS DISCOVER BUSINESS CLASS — EUROWINGS DISCOVER A330 BUSINESS CLASS CABIN

3. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)

The Eurowings Discover A330 Business Class seat is quite comfortable in the upright position, with a pitch of 162 cm (64 inch) and a width of 52 cm (20,5 inch). A reading light is located next to the head rest. The center arm rest holds the seat controls, a handset for the inflight entertainment, and a fold-out tray table. The other armrest – either along the window or the aisle – can be lowered or raised, allowing for more comfort in the seat’s flatbed position.

Each seat is equipped with its own entertainment screen, whose position can be slightly adjusted according to the passenger’s need. A storage drawer is located below the TV screen, as well as a small footrest (ottoman) that becomes part of the seat when fully reclined. As mentioned above, paired seats in the center of the plane share their ottomans, with a small divider in between (although not sufficient to prevent accidental feet cuddling with your neighbor), while the footrests of the paired seats on the side are separated by a large console.

At the push of a button, the seat reclines into a full lie flat-bed with a length of 78 inch (198 cm). The seat feels a bit firm though and unfortunately, Eurowings Discover does not provide a mattress to enhance the sleeping comfort.

What are the best Business Class seats on Eurowings Disover’s A330?

All seats, except for those in the first and last row, are quiet good for couples. Make sure to prebook your seat online (which can be done free of charge) to avoid disappointment at the airport, since Eurowings Discover’s flights are often fully packed.

What are the worst Business Class seats on Eurowings Discover’s A330?

The 2-2-2 Business Class layout does not make the cabin very attractive for solo travelers, since you will always end up sitting next to a stranger. And unfortunately, there is no screen between adjoining seats for added privacy.
Window seats don’t offer direct aisle access.
Passengers seated in the first row of both cabins may be bothered by the noise of the galley and passengers going to or returning from the lavatories.
I also suggest to avoid the last row of Business Class, which is just in front of the Premium Economy bassinet seats.

4. AMENITIES & BEDDING

Eurowings Discover’s Business Class passengers receive the following amenities on longhaul flights:

A Lufthansa Group amenity kit, which is wrapped inside a reusable tote bag. The kit features the essential travel items (e.g. toothpaste, toothbrush, socks and a single breath mint) as well as some L’Occitane toiletries. To reduce waste, eye masks and ear plugs are not provided inside the bag but are available in the lavatories
A comfortable, thick pillow
An excellent blanket
AKG noise cancelling headphones

5. MEALS

Two meals were offered on this Eurowings Discover’s day flight from Mauritius to Frankfurt: a light breakfast after takeoff and a 3-course dinner prior to landing.

Breakfast service comprised:

Yoghurt on crispy muesli with fresh pineapple, blueberries and orange
Smoked salmon with creamy horseradish
Scrambled eggs with dried tomato and broccoli
Rolls, croissant, selection of ham, honey and Nutella

I had the following selection from the menu for dinner:

Appetizer from Norway’s Fjords: cold smoked salmon filet on pea- and cauliflower crème, pickled carrots and pumpernickel crumbles
Salad: mixed leaf lettuce with tomato, olive oil, and balsamic dressing
Main course (described as ‘German classic meets Italian classic’): braised beef cheeks in aromatic gravy, purple gnocchi, and sautéed Zucchini
Dessert: passionfruit cake with raspberry compote

Food was actually quite good and the dishes were nicely presented (except for the main course of my dinner, which had a rather unappealing look, although it did taste excellent).

6. ENTERTAINMENT

Eurowings Disover’s inflight entertainment is similar to Lufthansa’s, and that’s not good news. The system is controlled by a handheld remote, but unfortunately, scrolling with the handset through the selection of movies and TV shows is very slow. The TV screen has a low resolution and the program itself has a dated layout, but nonetheless it offers a large choice with more than 100 films in up to eight different languages. Hollywood blockbusters, new German and European productions and films from Japan, China, India and many other countries cater for all tastes. There are also 200 TV programs available as well as a big choice of entertainment content for families and children. The audio section features a large selection of CDs, audio books, playlists and podcasts from around the world.

7. ONBOARD INTERNET

WiFi was not available on this flight.

8. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES

# CREW: The Eurowings Discover flight attendants on this particular flight coudn’t have been better. They were professional, efficient and discrete, and seemed to love doing their job.

# LAVATORY: Eurowings Discover’s A330-300 features two lavatories for Business Class passengers, both of them located in the galley between the two Business Class cabins. The lavatories were stocked with Vervaine toiletries.