For three years now, the Greek national carrier Aegean Airlines has been "my" airline.

I've been busily accumulating miles for their Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program, which is the easiest path to Star Alliance Gold status, as well as very cheap award ticket options.

Buying business class

Aegean Airlines offers a free upgrade to business class for members of their Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program.

• 2x per year for Silver Miles+Bonus members
• 4x per year for Gold Miles+Bonus members

The condition is that the original economy class ticket must not have been purchased on the cheapest fare Light and the success of the upgrade is of course subject to current seat availability.

However, on less "commercial" routes - such as the Athens-Prague route - the probability of a successful upgrade is quite high.

I purchased a one-way ticket Rhodes RHO - Athens ATH - Prague PRG on the Flex fare from a business trip to Rhodes back home for 132 eur.

A paid business class ticket would cost me 565 eur. Would it be worth it? Judge for yourself below.

Check business class prices at aegeanair.com

I'm only requesting an upgrade on the Athens-Prague flight because I don't want to waste a free upgrade on a short domestic flight where service is cut to the bare minimum.

About 72 hours before departure, I receive confirmation of my upgrade to business class.

Check-in at the airport

Although my first flight from Rhodes to Athens is in economy class, thanks to my gold status I can use the same check-in as business class passengers.

At Rhodes, there is a clearly marked counter for business class and Star Alliance Gold passengers only, and check-in is very civilised and fast.

I get a "Priority" tag on my luggage, but I would have gotten that without the upgrade just because of the gold status.

Business class passengers have a special fast-track through security on Rhodes where I don't wait a minute.

The lounge at the transfer

Aegean Airlines has no lounge on Rhodes, even for Star Alliance Gold members.

So I use my Revolut Metal plan with unlimited DragonPass and visit the local The Lounge.

I'll be eligible for the Aegean Airlines flagship lounge when I make a 2 hour layover in Athens. I remember it as above average from past visits, so I'm really looking forward to it!

However, when I see on the Flightradar24 app at the time of boarding for the Rhodes-Athens flight that our plane has yet to depart Athens, it's clear to me that there will be nothing from the lounge during the connection.

The final delay eventually stopped at 90 minutes, so I just get off the plane in Athens and smoothly transition to the gate for the flight to Prague.

I can't make the lounge. I'm definitely not messing around with the Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program though, so I'm sure there will still be an opportunity for a review.

• Tip: do you have a long overnight layover in Athens? Stay at the Sofitel Athens Airport ***** right across from the terminal

Boarding - in a word: chaos

Boarding takes place from the ground floor "bus-gates". As with any visit to Greece's largest airport, I regret that it is the airline with the main hub in Athens that has such a generous frequent flyer program. I don't like that airport.

I observe with dismay that the check-in staff is completely resigned to trying to separate the disorganized clutter of people into economy and business class passengers and assign myself to a space somewhere.

Aegean Airlines usually makes an effort to send out separate coaches for business class when boarding, but that was not the case today.

I'm one of the last to get on the plane...

Cabin and seats - boring "eurobusiness class"

I'm flying to Prague on an SX-NAM registration, which is a 2-year-old Airbus A321neo.

However, even on the newest planes, Aegean Airlines does not have full business class seats, but like perhaps all European airlines, only the typical "euro-business-class".

This means standard economy class seats with slightly more legroom and a blocked middle seat.

The seat has no extra features over the economy class seats in the back - standard headrest, standard food table, standard in-flight magazine compartment and standard recline option.

Other than the extra legroom, there's really nothing extra.

In-flight refreshments

The main benefit of business class, aside from the lounge, which I didn't get a chance to try, is the significantly better food than economy class.

However, does this also apply to Aegean Airlines? This airline gives free (by European standards) rather generous refreshments even in economy class.

But I can responsibly state that the food is really much more in business class.

The menu is available in the glove compartment of the seat in front of you from the very beginning.

There are a total of three services on the 2-hour flight to Prague.

Welcome drink

But there is only water, juice or wine with no nuts or other snacks.

After the welcome drink, we get a hot towel, which is also an extra benefit compared to economy class.

Main meal

A standard hot meal is served on the afternoon flight with an appetizer, dessert and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

The entire main service is served on one tray, but this is understandably standard on short European flights.

• Starter - only one option: beetroot salad with orange, baby carrots and tzatiki. I've eaten better, the taste was extremely bland.
• Main course - choice of two options: fried chicken fillets with celery puree or fish with tomatoes and potatoes. I choose the fish, but I was not particularly impressed with this dish either, the taste was again very bland.
• Dessert - only one option: semolina halva and manouri cheese. This was clearly the best of the whole meal. A great sweet spot.

Pre-flight snack

You can order unlimited soft drinks, wine or beer or cocktails before landing or anytime after the main meal.

Coffee or tea is also available.

No small meals are served before arrival.

I opt for a cappuccino, even though it's already early evening. Connoisseurs will forgive me for such a faux-pas.

Other services on board and crew

Compared to economy class, only wi-fi is free.

After checking in, just enter your reservation code, the system recognizes that it's a business class ticket and makes the internet available for free.

The speed is good for surfing the internet, but no longer for streaming videos.

The crew was probably the brightest spot of the whole experience. The experienced stewardess and the very young steward on the other hand were perfect.

They balanced the plane of helpfulness and naturalness perfectly. Their demeanor was very professional, yet friendly and natural.

My rating

This particular experience is hard for me to rate.

I only "spent" one free upgrade for business class, so it cost me de facto nothing extra.

However, if I were a paying passenger or had purchased business class with frequent flyer miles, I would have been very disappointed.

The cabin and seats are standard like most European airlines - meaning it's definitely not worth the extra €400+ over the standard economy fare.

The food was below average from my perspective and the re-boarding experience was absolutely awful.

What about you? Will you pay extra for business class on your next trip with Aegean Airlines? Or has your experience been more positive?