British Airways » Club Europe » User reviews

KeaneJohn flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (15/04/2012 20:25)

Hassle free check in at the premium desk on a Friday afternoon in T3 completed promptly and efficiently by a helpful and enthusiastic agent. Directed to fast track and asked if I knew where the lounge was.

Security was cleared quickly and was soon entering a quiet lounge. Average food offerings well stocked bar and champagne on demand. Checked a few emails and had something to eat before settling on some comfy chairs with some nibbles and some fizz. The lounge became busier as the afternoon progressed.

Left the gate for a leisurely walk to the notorious bus gates 10 minutes before gate closing. I checked with the agent to see if my luggage had made the flight something I do routenely now after flying through T5 on its opening day, to be told in a jovial manner that it was.

First bus was boarding and even though its a short ride I wanted a seat so waited for the second and final bus to arrive. Got a seat at the back of the bus so was the last one onto the aircraft and took my seat in the final row of the CE Cabin.

Formalities over the door was closed for a short taxi and an ontime departure.

Inflight manager was bubbly and well presented for this short flight to Prague. After take off hot towells were given out followed by a drink from the bar with a bag of Club World nuts. On my 4 CE sectors this year I have noticed that this is now done from the galley without a cart in the aisle which makes a nice touch even if the CSM was running back and forward to the galley.

Dinner service began shortly after with a choice of pork or chicken. I opted for the pork which came with another champagne as the CSM had noticed that my bottle was nearly empty.

It has to be said that the food was of near restaurant quality in presentation and taste.

Tea/coffee was served then the tables cleared away though the CSM passed through regularly making sure that nobody went without anything. I even asked her if she could acquire a bag of the Dornan nibbles that are served on domestic flights and in the Y cabin as they are quite tasty and she popped down the back for me.

Shortly before landing I thanked the CSM for what was one of the best in flight experiences. She was genuinely overwhelmed of the positive feedback and people rarely give positive feedback.

We landed a few minutes behind schedule after a late change of arrival runway meant us having to do a circuit of the airfield before landing and pulling up to A3, BA's gate in Prague.

A quick disembarkation thanking the CSM again for a great flight was preceeded by a few longish lines at immigration to be reminded that the e-gates were working for people that had Biometric passports. This is however where the efficiencies ended.

I was the first one to arrive at the luggage carousel and despite my bags had been tagged as priority 20 minutes later I was still there.

In this time an Easyjet flight from Gatwick that arrived on stand 6 minutes after us had all their luggage delivered and claimed.. True a lot of people try not to check luggage in with Easyjet but it was a bit of a bone of contention.

Baggage for my flight came off in 2 waves, transfer baggage for the first 10 minutes and then ordinary baggage of which mine was one of the last ones. Now it is true I was in the car that my hotel had sent for me 25 minutes after landing which isnt bad but a lot of Y passengers would have been on the road 10-15 minutes earlier. Its not a great deal in the grand scheme of things but you have paid a premium for a better experience and this was the only aspect of the flight that let it down.

Inflight experience gets 98/100 overall flight experiece is only 75/100 spoilt by the delay in baggage delivery.

Hope BA can do something in Prague about this in the future as it is generally one of their better outstations.

sph1977 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (01/02/2012 23:29)

We flew from Heathrow to Lisbon - we being two adults and a 2 year old!

Check In - Lisbon flights depart from Terminal 3. Club check in is right at the end of the check in zone (handy) and we were checked in fairly quickly and given our boarding passes. The check in assistant said little and wasn't particularly friendly.

Security - we guessed that we'd be allowed through fast track and were so admitted. There were no queues and we were through in minutes.

Lounge - The lounge in T3 is outstanding. Much quieter than T5, with a great selection of hot and cold food and drinks. Our toddler was happy to play with his toys in the 'kids zone' room, conveniently well insulated so that he didn't bother other travellers! The baby changing room in the lounge is possibly the nicest I've ever seen anywhere.

Boarding - was really early and at a gate miles away. It was a farce as we were bundled onto a bus which went nowhere until the last passenger turned up.

Seats - The A320 was fitted entirely with the non-adjustable economy seats, the type you usually find towards the back of BA's short haul fleet. This was very surprising - the only difference in the club seats was a few extra inches of legroom. The middle seats were left free but we all sat on the right for easier child control! We also discovered it's very hard to get a 2 year old to keep his seatbelt on and the crew (maybe reasonably) wouldn't allow him an extension seatbelt. Worth thinking about if you're about to travel with a toddler.

Meal - Afternoon tea was served and it was decent, if a little lacking in substance. I've flown Gatwick-Funchal with TAP in business class and the food was far better with them. Our toddler received his pre-ordered child meal which consisted of some finger sandwiches, a packet of m&m's (very useful as a bribe later), cheesy crisps, a yoghurt and a carton of juice. This all met with his approval.

Crew - were very nice and friendly and service was attentive throughout the flight.

Bags - were priority tagged and appeared amongst the first 20%.

KeaneJohn flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (31/01/2012 12:39)

I arrived at Prague Airport at 1245 for a 1440 departure to find nobody in line at the Club Europe desks. Check in formalities were over quickly and I went through passport control and up to the Menzies Lounge. The offering here was extremely poor with the only glasses available liquer tumblers or wine glasses. A rather flat bottle of Demi Sekt Brut that could have been bought in a supermarket for less than £4 was their "champagne".

Interesting to note the Emirates uses this lounge for their departures. Headed to the gate 30 minutes before departure as the security is done at the gateroom. After I had gone through security as I was approaching the podium I was called as the last remaining passenger to board immediately, a bit OTT I thought.

On board seating was of the spacesaver variety with the middle seat in a set of 3 empty. I actually found this more comfortable than the compressed seats, very much akin to the seating comfort of LX short haul business class.

Coats were taken and the cabin settled. Pushback was 20 minutes early and take off not long after.

Hot towels came round followed by a drinks order. Passengers were addressed by name by a very friendly and efficient Cabin Services Manager throughout the service.

This was an infamous Afternoon Tea service something that I wasn't that keen on. There were 2 finger sandwiches that were very tasty, warm scones were served together with a piece of very dry carrot cake. The CSM came round with ordinary tea but offered a range of teas, one of them being my favourite Earl Grey. This was the perfect finishing touch.

It was a shame to see so much food waste with nobody eating the carrot cake let alone the expense for BA.. Maybe BA should have prepacked smaller portions of cake such as they do have on Virgin Trains and one extra finger sandwich.

We pulled onto stand 20 minutes ahead of schedule and a dedicated Club Europe bus was waiting for the 6 Club Europe passengers to arrivals.. E gates were working so straight through again and surprisingly luggage was starting to come through. Although mine was tagged priority it wasn't one of the first off but I was walking out of the customs hall just as other passengers from the flight were arriving at the belt.

I was even on the Heathrow Connect service to Ealing Broadway 7 minutes after our scheduled time of arrival.

In summary an excellent experience enhanced by an excellent crew and early arrival to be let down only by the Prague deparures (gateroom security and poor lounge).

The Afternoon Tea was not so much of a let down as I thought it would be but given the choice again, I would opt for the departure from Prague a couple of hours earlier in future to get a full hot meal service.

KeaneJohn flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (28/01/2012 11:48)

I checked in at Manchester Airports Gold, Silver, First and Club check in desk for my flight down to Heathrow and onwards to Prague. Was greeted by a disinterested staff member obviously a bit miffed that I had interrupted her texting on her phone. Asked about the transfer process to be told that she would tag my bags through to Prague. I also asked if there was space saver seats on the Prague flight or if it was the compressed seats on the left hand side. I was told seating was 2 x 2 configuration- something that I knew already but didn't have my question answered. I normally never make a point of leaving the check in desk until my bag has been tagged and on its way down but the the dagger looks I got from the agent before she had affixed the label meant that I turned away.

The Executive Club lounge was quiet but had ample refreshments with a team of 3 people making the lounge spotless and tidy, I asked the same question about spacesaver seats to the lounge host who said he would try to find out for me. 30 minutes later he came back to tell me that is was the compressed seats that would be used for my Prague flight.. I hope it didn't take him this long to find out !

A punctual boarding was quite promising save for the fact that Manchester Airport had been covered in a smattering of snow in a freak storm that lasted about 15 minutes. This was sufficient to close the runway and required planes be de-iced. Captain advised us we were no 1 in the queue for de-icing by which time the runway was expected to be reopened. 30 minutes later an update from the Captain to inform us that a Thompson Aircraft was being deiced. Proactive crew came round with water and orange juice and then followed with the notorious ipad approaching people with tight connections at Heathrow. Regular updates from a clearly frustrated Captain informed us that 3 aircraft (Manchester based!) had been deiced we would be next and we finally pushed back 80 minutes after STD. A short taxi and we were airborne. Drink and snack served so efficiently. I have no idea how the crew can provide such a quick service on a 28 minute flight. Landed at Terminal 5 with extra staff meeting the aircraft for passengers with missed connections again a nice touch.

Fairly effortless transfer to T3 and straight to a rather busy Galleries Lounge. Staff worked tirelessly to replenish and clear away. Just enough time for a glass of champagne and some cheese and biscuits. A few other savoury nibbles would have been welcomed as they only seemed to have full size packets of crisps.

I asked the lounge host if the Club Europe cabin was busy and was told that it was half full and when she returned my boarding card to me she advised me that she had taken the liberty to block the empty seat next to me. An extremely nice and welcome touch.

Boarding for the Prague flight was from the infamous gate 24 via bus to the aircraft. Something that let the overall experience down.

Once on board settled into a half full cabin with coats taken quickly and efficiently. We were 10 minutes late pushing back and had a 30 minute taxi but after take off a welcome hot towel was given out followed by a bar service with nuts. The nuts offered were branded Club World but to be honest were not as nice as the mixed back of savoury snacks served in Euro Traveller and on the flight from Manchester.

Supper was served after that with the options of chicken or fish. I am not a great fish lover at the best of times but this cod looked amazing so I thought I would opt for that. I am so glad that I did. It was very tasty probably one of the best meals I have had on an aircraft in Business Class and went down well with some champagne. Crew were very attentive with nothing was too much trouble (including sourcing a bag of Euro Traveller nuts!) Landing was 20 minutes late and with a short walk to immigration, use of the biometric passport gates I was at the luggage reclaim counter within 2 minutes. Priority tagged luggage was the first to be appear with my bag as the second. All in all a very pleasant flight experience and a most welcome improvement to the Club Europe service. I mentioned this to the Cabin Services Manager who seemed to genuinely appreciate the comments.

A couple of members of staff really enhanced the overall experience one that was only let down by the initial check in experience and boarding by bus at LHR T3. I

Living next to LCY I have used LX/LH for my European and Long haul Business Class flights via ZRH/FRA so it has been 3 years since I experienced BA. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased as I have another 6 flights with BA between now and April.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A321 (13/12/2011 18:37)

Arrived over 2 hours ahead of time, self check in and bag drop worked well.

We were guided to the novia? lounge. This facility had plenty of hot and cold drink, as well as light snacks, we spent the time reading the independent close to the SAS gates.

Boarding was about 25 minutes before departure to a very empty cabin with only 4 of us. Door closed 15 minutes ahead and push back was 10 minutes early. After a short taxi we took off.

The purser Jane did a spendid job, drinks were offered and then the meal arrived a vegetable taglietellie, which was very good. My partner asked for red wine and was offered 3 different red choices. Similarly there were 2 choices of white wine.

Service was very polite and we were asked about how long we'd been in Copenhagen. Due to being early we were stacked and flew in over central london, still arriving early.

Well done BA, good to see some excellent service.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (13/12/2011 18:29)

Checked in the evening before and were able to select the back row together, but little other choice.

Arrived at Terminal 5 a good 2 hours ahead of departure and once bags were checked in found the lounge airside. Good range of food and drinks.

Headed to gate just as boarding commenced. 16/20 business seats were taken and the flight overall seemed fairly full. Push back was prompt and take off 20 or so minutes later.

Pre-dinner drinks were offered, followed by our vegy specials, a rice dish with a bit of spice, very palatable. Drinks and refills were offered and the crew worked hard, being both polite and pleasant. Arrived slightly early and bags arrived soon after arrival.

An exellent 1 1/2 hour flight.

DisgustedofSwieqi flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (04/12/2011 08:49)

Picked up my boarding pass at Orly West and made my way to the Iberia lounge, which is landside and the opposite end of the terminal to BA's check-in desks and boarding area, which is in the non Schengen part of the terminal.

I've used the Iberia lounge for several years, as it also hosts other airlines I use and it is not one of my favourites, although it has received some improvements in the last year. The selection of drinks and snacks do not compare to the Galleries lounges.

I walked down to the gate a -45 minutes, to allow for the 200m stroll and also passport and security fomalities. By the time I cleared security, the lfight was boarding and I took advantage of the business class lane, which then fed back into the main queue - it probably saved me a few minutes in line.

I was greeted by name at the door, by a cabin manager who was wearing the 'Thunderbirds are go!' hat and directed to my seat.

The cabin manager was personable and polite, also appeared very much on top of her job.

We departed on time and the flight to London was around 45 minutes, with a meal of assorted mezes (tasty) and a mini bottle of Pommery champagne, which washed it down very nicely.

The cabin manager did a couple of rounds during the flight, to check if I wanted anything else.

On arrival at Heathrow, deplaning was efficient and Iris was working. With hand luggage, I was out of the terminal 20 minutes after touchdown and onto the HEX.

Good flight, good service, like BA 15 years ago - well done.

DisgustedofSwieqi flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (02/12/2011 13:48)

Mixed fleet flight from Orly to Heathrow.

GordyUK flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-500 (02/12/2011 11:07)

This was the return leg of the CPT/DUR I have reviewed the Traveller class for.

This time we were able to purchase an upgrade to Club for ZAR500 which seemed worth it.

Again the flight was rammed full. We were very lucky to have 1D/F with no one sat between us (every other club row had seat E filled).

People say Business class on shorthaul isn't worth it. I totally disagree!. Once that curtain was closed, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different from the hell that was the previous journey.

That said, the food was very poor. I have always loved the food in Club Europe but this was some over spicy mezze, and that was it.. 3 dips in cute pots with breads. I thought it was a starter!. Nothing else. No dessert or cheese and actually thinking about it now, despite being offered a drink before lunch, there was no offering with/after lunch. Not even tea or coffee. If i'd paid full price for this I would have been raging.

The crew, as always were great but I have seriously marked them down for allowing every man and his dog to pile through the curtain to the Club lavatory. There is only 1 up front!

TridentGold flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-400 (28/11/2011 06:39)

This was a BA/Comair service on a 1hour 20 minute flight from Durban to Johannesburg.

I have flown this route many times in the last couple of years on 5 different carriers and Comair deserve a mention.

Check in at the excellent 18 month old King Shaka International Airport was busy but very efficient. I was served with a smile, checked in, and baggage tagged to London in 5 minutes. Security at Durban was very busy on this Friday afternoon, but they make a real effort here to keep things moving and I was through to the BA Lounge 10 minutes later.

This lounge, called The Slow Lounge (no kidding) has to be one of the best small lounges in the World. All of the (many) staff are helpful, friendly and deliver great service. The range of food and drink available is staggering and the ambience with it's unique mix of fusion music easy to relax in.

There were delays due to weather, but the lounge staff kept everyone up to date every 15 minutes or so. The inbound aircraft was 35 minutes late but a stunning turnaround had us all boarding within 20 minutes of arrival.

The seats are the very comfortable old style Club Europe type with two on the A/C side where I was sitting. Immediately after departure, drinks and a full dinner service for those who wanted it were provided. BA Comair always seem to have a good selection of wines and a choice of four hot main courses, and this flight was no exception. Even on this busy service, everyone was served promptly with a smile.

Arrival into Johannesburg was 30 minutes late, but we were off the plane quickly and I myself hurrying along for my connection to London after a thouroughly pleasant short haul flying experience. This quality level is typical in my experience with BA Comair and is significantly better than main rivals SAA.

RocketRoy flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (05/11/2011 08:11)

SUPERB!

Stanislaw55 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (01/07/2011 15:50)

BA - A320 - Club Europe.

Not worth the money! These are economy type seats with no one sitting next to you. At 34 inches seat seperation it is the same as Jet blue economy, and their seats in economy are better then BA's Club Europe class. Get rid of the middle seat and make the seats more comfortable. The middle seats are NOT bringing in more revenue, and they make customers unhappy with this class of service. You need a more substantial seat, rather then the current flimsy-economy class seat.

Service on BA's flight is always at a high level.

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (19/12/2010 16:09)

Having arrived at a snowy and misty Oslo airport, I wasn't surprised to see that the BA flight before had been cancelled. Check in was prompt and we were in aisle seats 7C & D.

We found our way to the Norwegian lounge, which had a small selection of snacks and drinks. At the gate we boarded and the Cabin service director (CSD) was friendly and told me she had my special meal on board. We were told of a probable delay of around an hour due to low cloud at Heathrow, so drinks were offered, this time was revised forward and we pushed back within 30 minutes. After de-icing at the end of the runway we took off an hour later.

A round of drinks was offered and then the meal service, in fact my vegetarian was a seafood, which was fine, but apologies were offered.

Service was very friendly and the CSD kept connecting passengers up to date about arrival time, which was only 15 minutes late.

There was a slight delay until our gate became available and then we exited from the front. Bags arrived in a reasonable time Have already given ratings on yesterday submission

peterandrew62 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (19/12/2010 15:57)

Having checked in the evening before, walked to fast bag drop we were asked if we knew where the lounges were and headed to security. The galleries lounge is large and spacious and there was plenty of food and drinks available, with a view over the arrivals runway.

A general boarding call was made at the gate and we headed to our seats 5C & F on the second to back row.

Push back was fairly prompt and it was a short taxi to the runway. We were warned it was busy, but seemed to take off in a reasonable time.

Lunch was a vegetarian curry like dish with lentils, which we had pre ordered, with plenty of choice of bread rolls, with sliced fruit as a desert. Tea or coffee were offered as well as any requests for drinks from the bar.

Arrival was slightly ahead of time, although we were backed right at the end of the terminal. Bags arrived within a reasonable time and we headed into the centre of Oslo on the fast airport express

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a Embraer 170 (05/11/2010 17:12)

The 170 is the smaller brother of the 190 and it certainly shows. On this flight I was in Club Europe and there is a noticeable difference (at least in my mind) in the seat pitch.

With the tray down for eating and coffee there isn't much room between (my slightly larger than average!) stomach and the tray! Whereas on the 190 there is oodles of room - even at the back of the plane.

In every other respect the seat is the same as the 190. Very comfortable for a short haul journey and the planes have that nice new feel. Again, overhead bins aren't huge but are a substantial improvement on the old AVRO planes they have replaced.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a Embraer 170 (05/11/2010 17:08)

Steveh63 flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B777-200ER (Config. 2) (22/10/2010 14:55)

As you can see by my rating below I was not impressed by my recent Flight LHR-IAH in Club World on B777-200ER (GE Powered).

Boarding was via the down stairs coaching station in Terminal 5 (Gate 10) when my Wife and I got there we told quite clearly that we had to go to the back of the queue as there was no priority lane for this flight. After standing for 15-20 minutes we finally got onto a crammed bus which took us to a remote stand.

We then had to queue again as there was only 1 set of stairs being used to board the Aircraft.

Although I managed the steps up to the doors on the B777 without to much trouble many senior passengers were struggling.

At no time did I see any assistance offered from any BA Staff. When we got on board the APU was not working which meant there was no Air Conditioning available and the inside of the cabin was very hot.

After take off I found out that there was no AVOD available which shows how far BA have slipped behind their rivals whilst the cabin service and quality of food left a great deal to be desired. The boarding quality was more like Easyjet low cost rather than BA Club World.

EdwardFerrell flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (16/09/2010 15:11)

Row 6 on the A319 LHR to BCN -- no middle seat as it is one of the optional Club versus Euro seats. Great for travel with one other person

kmcottrell flew British Airways Club Europe (06/05/2010 14:18)

OxfordDon flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (15/12/2009 21:17)

terminalfive flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-500 (06/05/2009 20:02)

Not the best flight - A319 are much better product from LGW. Staff not up to high BA standard on this short flight

terminalfive flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (15/04/2009 21:49)

LGW - TRN. Smooth flight - good service with cream tea! Very good for short haul and A319 aircraft have added comforts (tv screens with flight details etc)

terminalfive flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-300 (15/04/2009 21:45)

TRN - LGW - was meant to be a A319 but plane type was altered for operational reasons. Despite age of plane (only a few 300 types left in service) flight was pleasant. Food and service good. Negative point - luggage. Had to wait 30 minutes to check in luggage due to the fact that there was no separate J class queue and at arrival at LGW had to wait another 20 minutes for the bag to arrive. Too long

terminalfive flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (14/03/2009 21:46)

LHR - MXP - facilities in T5 excellent - smooth boarding and quickly off. Seats now in a 2-2 configuration in club europe so whereas before 1C was my favourite seat for the added leg room now 1 D becomes an attractive seat. Inflight service good and better than most european rivals in business class

terminalfive flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-400 (05/02/2009 22:28)

Gatwick - Turin. Smooth boarding, sitting in 2C. Service as always decent on BA but 737-400's older and less comfortable than the newer A319- 320's on BA's fleet

up-in-the-air flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A319 (15/01/2009 17:07)

I am a 1A kind of girl but any of the window seats in Club Europe are good, especially if there is no one sitting next to you. Flying short-haul routes on this plane mean that you don't need seats that recline much as you are not going to be sleeping anyway.

I usually like the food served on board and the free fizz is always good. The last flight I went on was delayed for a while but I guess that happens from time to time. Generally, I really like BA. (I haven't rated the IFE because there isn't any on this flight.) The cabin crew are a pretty friendly bunch too.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (18/12/2008 19:06)

Flew in 1A to CDG last week on a newer A320 and it had the same "new" seats that the A321 ones have. I find these much harder (maybe because they are newer) than the ones on most of the rest of the BA fleet.

It had plenty of legroom which normally can be less on these planes.

The plane had the new moving map software which is excellent. A big improvement on the existing system.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a A320 (Domestic) (18/12/2008 19:03)

Flew in 1A on a nice new A320 to Paris last week. They had the new software for the moving map which is excellent. A huge improvement on the old format.

The seat (like those on the A321) is quite hard although there was plenty of legroom even in the bulkhead seat.

MakingTravelEasier flew British Airways Club Europe, on a RJ85 (18/12/2008 19:00)

Avro Regional Jets

First thing to comment on Club Europe on these planes out of London City is that the current Club Europe configuration is the opposite of all other BA planes.

The squished up seat is on the RIGHT HAND side of the cabin.

The seats on these planes are pretty old now and not as comfortable as most of the rest of the BA fleet. The window seats are very cramped as the plane is very narrow and if you are tall or big you will notice it. I'm not tall and I could notice the difference. So unless you really want the window go for an aisle.

Front bulkhead seats don't have much legroom and the ailse ones are both narrower as the tray table is built into the seat so these can be quite tight.

Finally, make sure you get on quick as the overhead bins are tiny, especially if you are in the middle of the plane where they are non existent!

rburtor flew British Airways Club Europe, on a B737-400 (03/10/2008 18:49)

Out of LGW where the food is good and service to match. Seats are uncomfortable and old 737's show their age with well worn leather and pieces of seats falling off and head rests wobbling off your head and down your back !