Find cheap Eurowings flights

Ubiquitous across the airports of Germany, Eurowings is a subsidiary of the flag-carrier Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline group. Since its founding in 1996 it has been through several incarnations, most recently as Lufthansa Regional and then in partnership with the ill-fated Germanwings before both brands were dropped in favour of a unified Eurowings brand.

That rebrand also saw its focus shift to a low-cost carrier serving short-haul destinations from base airports across Germany. It also operates a clumsily named subsidiary, Eurowings Europe, under the Eurowings brand with bases across Europe. I’ve flown with Eurowings more times than I can count and consider it among the best budget airlines in Europe with a wide-ranging network, modern fleet and above average onboard experience.

Fleet and network

As the name suggests, Eurowings’ primary focus is on European destinations. Yet it also reaches farther afield, with routes reaching into North Africa and the Middle East and a few destinations beyond the norm, such as Erbil in Iraq.

Previously, Eurowings also served a handful of long-haul destinations in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Routes were, however, severely underserved (initially with just one plane!) and suffered marathon delays and endless customer complaints. Within two years it had been shuttered and spun off by parent group Lufthansa as a new airline called Eurowings Discover, since rebranded again to Discover Airlines.

Today Eurowings operates 11 bases across Europe, serving 149 domestic and international destinations across 41 countries. In 2023, it carried just under 21 million passengers, well up on the 17 million of the previous year but a far cry from its peak period in 2018 when it carried more than 38 million holiday makers and business travellers.

The Eurowings fleet extends to around 140 aircraft, all narrowbody Airbuses in the short to medium-haul class. The majority are A319 and A320 models, with a few A320neos, A321s and A321neos. It operates wet lease partnerships with several other airlines to cater to added demand in the summer but always with planes in the same class. The fleet is modern and the cabins in my experience well maintained.

Fares and classes

Despite being a low-cost carrier, Eurowings fancies itself as slightly more superior than the budget competition. As such it’s one of the few to dip a toe in business class territory with its BIZclass fare – although cynics like me might think it little more than a naming and marketing ploy. Otherwise, it’s the standard approach – three fare types in Basic, Smart and BIZclass – and the usual array of add-on services.

BASIC

Basic is exactly that – your flight fare, a randomly allocated standard seat and the usual 40 cm x 30 cm x 25 cm underseat bag allowance. You’ll also earn points if you’re a member of the Lufthansa Miles & More rewards scheme. You can add a range of extras during or after the booking process, from a carry-on bag that comes with automatic priority boarding to numerous checked bags priced depending on weight and number.

Once upon a time, I loved Eurowings even more, as it didn’t charge to travel with ski equipment, even with its cheapest fare. This made it my go-to airline for ski trips, but those days are sadly gone and now you’ll have to pay for sports luggage as you would any other.

Thanks to Germany’s central location in Europe, many of its flights are two hours or less, so the sparsity of features in Basic is of no real concern. The one exception to that usually comes if you opt for a randomly allocated standard seat but don’t want to risk ending up in the dreaded middle seat. There is, however, a handy bug you can exploit when checking in via the app to avoid it.

Simply navigate the check-in flow until your seat is allocated. If it’s a middle seat then just abandon the check-in process and start again. On the next attempt you’ll be allocated a different seat – if it happens to be another middle one then just repeat the process. I use this trick often and haven’t sat in a middle seat for years!

SMART

The next fare class up, Smart adds a larger 55 cm x 40 cm x 23 cm carry-on bag to your allowance with a weight limit of 8 kg. While Eurowings gate staff used to frequently check cabin bags for dimensions, I’ve never seen them weigh one. And I haven’t seen any checks at all in the last few years, particularly since Eurowings downsized significantly after the pandemic.

Alongside the carry-on, you also get a 23 kg checked bag, priority boarding and standard seat selection. As I never check in hold luggage and can game the system to get a window or aisle seat, I never use the Smart fare option. It’s always cheaper to book a Basic fare and add a carry-on bag (which again comes with priority boarding, not that I’d ever use it).

BIZclass

The premium Eurowings offering is positioned as a top-end experience suitable for metaphorical high-flyers and business travellers. It is undoubtedly a nicer all round experience from check in to boarding to flying, but for me it never justifies the cost when the average flight time is so short. That is unless you’re packing everything including the kitchen sink, because the luggage allowance is enormous.

BIZclass gives you two large carry-on bags with a dedicated, reserved overhead compartment so you know you can stow them both conveniently (actually, a very nice touch you don’t typically see with other airlines). You’ll also be able to bring two checked bags weighing up to 32 kg each. You also get priority check-in, and security fast track and lounge access at airports where they’re available.

The big sell is onboard, where BIZclass customers sit in the extra legroom seats of the first three rows, with the middle seat blocked to give you more space to spread out. You’ll get access to the premium level of the Wings Connect Wi-Fi service and its entertainment library, though you’ll need your own device to connect as there are no in-seat screens. Food is also included, although with flights so short it’s more hot snacks than main meals.

Onboard – seats, food and facilities

With its sky blue and burgundy livery, Eurowings is perhaps the classiest and most tastefully designed of all the low-cost carriers. Couple that with leather Recaro seats and Eurowings definitely elevates itself slightly above the budget airline masses. Service too is generally friendly and excellent – in my experience cabin crew are happier to relocate you to roomier seats if they’re available than on some stricter budget airlines.

Despite being on the thin side, seats are comfy enough for a couple of hours. At 18 inches wide they’re pretty standard for budget economy, but legroom (pitch) is between 30 and 32 inches – about the best you’ll find in the low-cost sector. If you’re north of six foot it makes a genuine difference (for me it makes the window seat a viable option).

There are no power sockets or USB points on board, but the Wings Connect in-flight Wi-Fi and (for a little extra payment) Wings Entertainment media library are available on every flight via your own device.

Wings Bistro is where you’ll find food – the now familiar aisle trolley serving a range of reasonable snacks and some hot meals, route dependent of course. The main staple is a range of classic German brötchen or bread rolls filled with meats and cheeses. Typically they’re fresh and adequately tasty for a quick snack on a short flight.

Rewards scheme and Lufthansa lounges

Being part of the Lufthansa Group offers certain benefits for Eurowings customers, including access to its Miles & More reward scheme and lounges in airports around the world.

Offering a slightly bewildering array of points and miles rewards as and when you fly, the Miles & More scheme incorporates more than 35 partner airlines. That means you can earn and redeem points with lots of other major carriers operating worldwide, from Air Canada to Air India, Tap Portugal to Thai Airways.

If you’ve opted for BIZclass, or are a member of the Senator or HON Circle schemes, you also get access to Lufthansa’s many airport lounges. Currently that extends to around 40 airports and even more lounges around the world, as some like Dusseldorf and London Heathrow have several. Munich has a mind boggling 14 to choose from.