A Top-Rated European Airline That's Pet-Friendly, Affordable & Comfortable (Despite Misleading Reviews)

Are you booking flights for your upcoming trip through Europe? If so, you'll come across several airlines Stateside travelers are unfamiliar with. Without knowing their reputations, it's hard to make a confident decision on who to book your flights with. Luckily, one European carrier stands above the rest – and it's affordable to boot.

Air Advisor thoroughly investigated and ranked the best European airlines, judging them on reliability, customer satisfaction, policies, and affordability. Of the 15 airlines that made the list, Aegean Airlines was awarded the overall winner. This Greek carrier received top scores for customer reputation, comfort, safety, and traveling with pets. It also has the second-cheapest rates per seat mile: €0.049 in 2023. Plus, the airline rose from its spot at second place in the rankings from the previous year, demonstrating its continued improvement.

Aegean's airport hub is in Athens, Greece, and the airline offers domestic and international flights. Olympic Air, a subsidiary of Aegean Air, also boasts many domestic routes for those traveling within Greece. Meanwhile, the majority of Aegean's international destinations are within Europe, including popular locations like London, Madrid, and Frankfurt. Thanks to this extensive route map and airline perks, Aegean Air is a solid option as a carrier, especially when you're planning your first European vacation. If you're considering booking a flight, we're here to share exactly what to expect from the process.

Aegean Air offers economy and business-class booking options. The four fare categories for economy-class are Light, Flex, Family, and ComfortFlex, and the more perks you want, the higher the price gets. Light fares include one piece of cabin baggage, either a carry-on or personal item, and don't offer ticket changes (something Rick Steves says to be careful about with budget carriers). The other end of the economy spectrum is ComfortFlex, which allows two cabin bags, one checked item, standard seat selections, and ticket changes free of charge. Business class consists of Business Basic and Business. Both offer two cabin bags, one checked bag, and seat selection in business class. The main difference is that business-class allows ticket changes and refunds without fees.

Traveling with furry friends? You're in luck since Aegean is a pet-friendly airline. It allows trained service and rescue dogs free of charge, while other cats and dogs up to eight kilograms can fly in the cabin for a fee ranging from 35-65 Euros. Larger cats and dogs can be placed in the aircraft hold for 50-190 Euros, depending on their size and destination.

These fare packages sound like standard airline practice, so what makes Aegean Air special? In the ratings, the Greek carrier stands out in the comfort department partly due to the airline's hospitality — or filema, as locals would say. Filema is the Greek way of taking care of others, which inevitably means keeping them satisfied — and satiated. There are specific reasons you won't get in-flight meals on some airlines, but, generally speaking, you can expect a treat on Aegean flights, with complimentary pre-packaged foods in economy and a selection of meals in business.

Online review platforms often skew towards extremes, so the most delighted and the most disgruntled passengers are the loudest voices. As such, the widely varying views towards Aegean Air weren't surprising. However, this pattern holds true for most airlines, so although Aegean Air received only 2.85 out of 5 stars in Air Advisor's customer reviews, it still outperformed the competition.

So what do Aegean Air guests rave about? One Tripadvisor reviewer cited it as her favorite airline, describing what makes it stand out against the competition: "New aircrafts equipped with Wi-Fi and an inflight entertainment system in your phone, which includes music, a few selected series, a few movies, and a live tracker!" They commended the flight attendants' hospitality and loved how the airline still serves hot food and beverages free of charge.

On the other extreme, we noticed several complaints about Aegean Air's online booking system. One Reddit user explained that "while booking, it suddenly told me that my 'session expired'...Tried to book again the same flights I wanted, but suddenly the price was bumped up by 70$ per person." They returned to the main page at a later time to find and book tickets at the original prices, but noted how much of a hassle it was. Other guests have mentioned issues stemming from a lack of customer support via landlines and call centers. We understand the struggle; in today's automated age, it can be hard to get past pre-programmed operators and speak to a real human. However, this is an issue with airlines across the board, and considering Aegean's overall positive reputation, we'd still consider this airline one of Europe's top carriers.