Welcome to my Air Europa Express Trip report!
My ride: EC-MVY
Photo: Joseacampelo
Introduction
Flying with Air Europa came into my mind when I did a check on Skyscanner on the flights I could do and taking account on the number of airlines not flown yet, I decided to check out the airlines from any of the alliance and that includes Iberia and Air Europa. I went for the latter as I found a perfect flight back to London Gatwick without paying over the odds for it and since I decided to fly with Brussels Airlines to Bilbao, it was only fitting to do a return flight with Air Europa which includes a stopover at Madrid. This means I could experience flying both the airline's Air Europa Express 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8 on the second leg. Later on, I received a good offer to upgrade to business class and I decided to do so on the second leg as that includes a loung access at Madrid airport. This suits me fine as I had to do some work during my layover and spending at the lounge allows me to do so. With a transit of around 5 hours, I gladly pay up and it was a great decision. Do read on to find out in both parts of my Air Europa flying adventure! Without futher ado, let's begin!
Booking with the airline
The airline's booking app user interface can be improved as stated below but the most important is I was able to navigate and book my flights without issue.
For this booking, I opted for the lowest tier since I had no luggage with me. Only thing is I was not able to do the seat selection even during online check in, the airline selected the seat for me and if I want to change, I would have to pay up .
The layout of the flight information could be done better, spreading it out across the screen would be better.
Too much space in between the add-ons and the bar below for the price information and the option to continue to the next page.
About Air Europa
This Spanish airline is the 3rd largest airline (Behind Iberia and Vueling) in the country is based in Madrid with focus cities like Palma and Mallorca playing a huge role to the airline's contribution to the Spanish aviation. This airline was set up in 1986 and was registered as Air Espana. With the airline being owned by private companies, this airline operated both scheduled and charter flights with its primary fleet consists of Boeing 737 for the domestic and regional routes. This airline joined the Skyteam alliance in 2007 and has since grow from strength to strength, giving Iberia and Vueling much needed competition. Currently the airline operates both Boeing 737-800/MAX 8 and the Boeing 787-8 and -9 aircraft and the airline shocked the aviation world by ordering 40 Airbus A350 aircraft to be used for expansion and replacement for the Boeing 787 fleet. The future certainly looks bright for this airline!
My photos of Air Europa in the old livery
(Photographed at Madrid airport in 2011 - sorry for the poor quality)
Boeing 737-800
Airbus A330-200
About Bilbao Airport
Bilbao Airport started operation in 1948 and it serves the community in northern Spain. It's main terminal was upgraded in 2000, designed by Santiago Calatrava. Currently the airport has 2 runways, runway 10/28 and 12/30 and have a distance of 2,000 metre which means the very large aircraft types such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 are not situable to operate at this airport for passenger use, however for emergency reasons, this airport can handle the A380 and in fact Etihad's A380 landed at this airport before.
Map layout of the airport
(Photo: AtoBtransfer.com)
On the day of departure
I reached the airport around 0630 for the 8 am flight to Madrid. It was not an ideal flight timing but in order to spend a bit of time at Madrid especially at the lounge, this arrangement was worth the effort.
This is the departure hall (landside).
The terminal may not be big but there are some restaurants and shops to check out.
This was where I was supposed to check in for my flight.
I checked in without any issue and sorted out my seats for both flights. For the first flight, there was no window seat left and had to settle for the middle seat at the emergency row. However, for the second flight, I manage to score a window seat for the business class cabin.
The check-in staff was helpful in answering my enquires.
One last look before I headed over to the airside.
The departure information board
Once security check was done, I walked through this duty free shop, making my way to the gate area.
Complimentary Airport Wifi is available.
The airside has a few shops and eateries to check out.
As you can see, there are a lot of early departures.
There are charging ports at certain parts of the area.
This is how the airside departure hall looks like.
A couple of Vueling Airbus aircraft getting ready for departure. For now, the airline is preparing both the ground and flight/cabin crew for the arrival of its first Boeing 737 MAX which is likely to take place in October 2026.
Overall, it is a pleasant airport to be in.
One of the charging stations.
This way to the airport lounge.
There is an airport lounge located near this gate.
You can see a bit of the inside, thanks to the translucent partition wall.
I did a check on flightradar24 and EC-MVY gets the honour to fly me to Madrid. This would be my 3rd time flying on a Spanish registered aircraft. The last time I flew with a Spanish carrier was with the defunct airline, Spanair. You can check out the trip report on this airline over
here.
Just like London airports, the gate information will be given at least 40-50 minutes before departure.
My ride had arrived from Madrid.
I headed down the stairs and didn't realise that I could sit around here for the flight until then.
This is the boarding gate for my flight.
Time to go!
Welcome on board Air Europa Express!
A member of the Skyteam alliance
From a first glance, this 737-800 is equipped with the Boeing sky interior.
My ride: EC-MCY
Photo: Joseacampelo
Flight route: BIO-MAD
Distance: 317 km
Average Flight Time: 42 minutes
Airlines flying on this route: Iberia and Air Europa (Express)
My seat: 15B
Photo: Aerolopa.com
Date of departure: 24th February 2026
Airline: Air Europa Express
Flight:
Route: BIO-MAD
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: EC-MVY
Seat: 15B
Class: Economy
Gate: A12
Terminal: Main
Load: 100% in Y Class
Boarding: 0742
Push Back: 0829
Take Off: 0838
Schedule Departure: 0830
Schedule Arrival: 0935
Actual Arrival: 0923
Departure Runway: 12
Departure Weather: Clear
Arrival Runway: 32L
Arrival Weather: Clear
My inflight experience
The soft blue sky overhead lighting greeted me when I boarded the aircraft with the cabin crew welcoming me on board. According to the ground staff, the flight is a full one and I was fortunate to be able to grab the emergency row seat as the other few remaining were middle seats at other parts of the aircraft and for this case, the extra legroom space at the emergency row makes up for the lack of window seat. So if you ask me, was it worth paying more of the seat on this flight? Yes because the outside view was spectacular thanks to the beautiful weather.
Before we pushed back, the cabin crew came to us to do the emergency briefing (in Spanish) but noticing me as a foreigner, she did it again in English.
Our take off was slightly bumpy due to the strong cross wind but once we reached our assigned flight level, it was smooth and the cabin crew began the inflight service. I did a check on the inflight wifi, but it was only available for online shopping. However there is entertainment on the overhead drop-down screen and it showed some variety shows and inflight map. BOB service (Buy On Board) was available on this flight. Before I know it, we started our descent and landed quite roughly onto runway 32L ahead of schedule.
Overall, it was a nice and pleasant flight. Although I was stuck between 2 gentlemen, the extra legroom space made up for it and I managed to grab some window view photos, thanks to the sleeping seat mate.
Photos of the cabin
The Boeing sky interior
The curtain divider is used to seperate the economy and business class cabin.
For business class passengers.
Only the middle seat remains vacant. For couples, they can sit beside each other but the other seat will remain vacant.
This is the standard seat.
These are the XL seats which offer better legroom spacev (33 inches) than the standard ones.
This is the view from my seat.
The emergency window seat
I was seated at the 2nd emergency seat row.
The view of the cabin from my seat.
The overhead TV screen showed some shows during the flight.
The seat was quite comfortable especially with the extra legroom space.
My main source of entertainment was enjoying the view from this angle.
At this point, we started our descent.
The overhead TV screen was positioned back to its original place.
Good amount of legroom space
The standard seat with the tight legroom space.
The view of the front cabin
Notice the headrest is different from the ones in front. That is because these seats would not be used for business class.
I do like this cabin interior. What do you think?
The curtain divider can be repositioned when needed.
No extra legroom space for the first row of economy class.
First four 4 rows were dedicated to the business class passengers on this flight.
A maintainence staff was on board to go through the paper work and check with the flight crew whether there are any maintainence issues that need to be addressed before it gets the green light to do the next flight.
For this flight, I opted to rest and enjoy the view and instead for my arrival at the lounge to enjoy my breakfast.
Window view photos
We started rolling down the runway.
We lifted off in this beautiful weather in windy condition.
Goodbye, Bilbao!
For the emergency row windows, the window shade must be down (for this case) at all times, in case of emergency and the passengers sitting near them can be more aware of the situation.
We made a turn towards the south, flying towards Madrid.
Beautiful view of the city.
Enjoying Air Europa's inflight experience during cruising.
At this point, we were on our descent.
Getting ready for arrlval.
We were on final approach.
Landed ahead of schedule.
It was a rough landing!
My flight summary
Welcome to Madrid Airport!
We disembarked at terminal 2.
This is the passengers waiting to board our aircraft. Our aircraft was flying to Lisbon next on flight UX1153.
I made my way to the exit and walk over to terminal 1.
Before that, I had to pass through the baggage carousel.
I made my way to the landside.
Once there, I walked to the exit.
I enjoyed the cooling weather while on my way to terminal 1.
To be continued!
A preview to my next blog post: A visit to the Aena VIP lounge at Madrid.
My ratings
Airline Website/Mobile App: 3.5/5
Airport Experience (Bilbao Airport BIO: 3.5/5)
Inflight Service: 3/5
Seat Comfort: 4/5
Inflight Entertainment: 3/5
Cabin Ambiance: 5/5
Cabin Condition: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Inflight Meal/Beverage: 0/5
Punctuality: 5/5
Total Score: 37/50
Percentage: 74%
Conclusion
Overall it was a pleasant flight experience with the aircraft arriving and departing on time. I still recommend anyone who prefers window seat to pay for a higher tier to get your desired window seat rather than letting the computer system decide and luckily for me, I managed to score an emergency row seat. I was originally allocated to a middle seat somewhere near the back, thanks to the staff for changing it to a better one. For Bilbao's airport, I thought it was pretty decent with shops and restaurants available even at an early hour. Without lounge access, one is able to find a table to do a work depending on the time of the day, I can imagine it getting crowded during peak period.
I will do an overview of this airline in my next part, flying business class. I decided to pay around 200 Euros to upgrade my next leg for the flight from Madrid to London Gatwick, was it worth the money? Stay tuned to find out!
Thanks for reading and have a great one!
Like as always, see you in my next blog post!
Cheers,
Charles Ryan
For my previous trip report, (Brussels Airlines Airbus A320neo BRU-BIO), click
hereFor Part 2 of my Air Europa experience, stay tuned!
