One of the less well-known hacks when flying around Europe is that you can get to experience the luxury of long haul business class – lie-flat seats, private cabins and all the trimmings – while only paying the price of a short haul fare. It’s the sort of experience that lots of people would love to have, even if only once or for a special occasion, and its easy to arrange it if you know what you are doing.
The key to this is that, mostly for capacity reasons, on some routes and for certain flights the airlines do not use the normal short haul, single aisle aircraft, which have business class seats that are identical to economy seats, but instead use their long haul aircraft which are fitted out with their long haul seats.
Goodbye seat in front of you reclining into your lap, hello fully flat bed.
Now as an occasional treat, or even a one off glance into what it’s really like to turn left when boarding a plane, I would suggest that this is worth doing even if only once.
However the airlines do not publicise the details of which flights they fly long haul aircraft – that would devalue their other flights and frankly annoy a lot of passengers. But we have the details here for you. Note that these change over time, so check on apps like Skyscanner – the telltale is the type of aircraft. Look for an A330, A350, B777 or B787 – all of these are widebody long haul planes sometimes used on short haul flights.
Some of the current examples we are aware of are:
Ethiopian Airlines
Geneva – Manchester – Daily except for Wednesdays and Fridays by a 787.
Flight numbers: ET278 and ET279
Milan – Zurich – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays by a Boeing 787. Flight numbers: ET736 and ET737
Copenhagen – Vienna – on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays by a Boeing 787. Flight numbers: ET724 and ET725
Finnair
Helsinki – London -twice a day by an A350.
Helsinki – Munich – Tuesdays to Sundays from April onwards from April to October with a A350. Flight numbers: AY1401 and AY1402.
Iberia
Madrid – London – Daily, once or twice by an A330 or A350. Flight numbers: IB3162, IB3166, IB3175 and IB3167
Singapore Airlines
Milan – Barcelona
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flight numbers: SQ378 and SQ377
TAP
Lisbon-London Heathrow – Up to twice a day by an A321LR
Turkish Airlines
Istanbul – Amsterdam – several times a day by an A330 or A330-300
Istanbul – Athens – several times a day by an A330 or B777
Istanbul – Barcelona – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Berlin – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Düsseldorf – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Frankfurt – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Hamburg – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – London Heathrow – several times a day by an A350 or B777
Istanbul – Madrid – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Manchester – twice a week by an A330-300
Istanbul – Milan – once a day by an A330-300
Istanbul – Munich – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Paris – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Rome – daily by an A330
Istanbul – Stockholm – daily by an A330
Istanbul – Vienna – several times a day by an A330
Istanbul – Warsaw – Saturdays by an A330
Finally, remember that these can change and as carriers will run several services a day on particular routes make sure you check which one has the long haul aircraft.
Now in full disclosure I should add that this does mean getting a business class ticket, but they can very often be found highly discounted and are widely available through frequent flyer points programmes, and upgrades are often available at non scary prices – BA very often offers upgrades to members of the BA Executive Club loyalty scheme for £90 each way. It is extra cost, but when you turn left into a proper business class you’ll know the treat was worth it.
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