My trip to Scotland required a couple of short flights to get from London, and then to Paris at the end. (The return trip involved a flight on Air France’s Premium Economy, after all.) I briefly considered trying my luck on Ryanair, but doing so required changing airports in London. And more importantly, meant finding my way from Edinburgh to Glasgow. So in the end, I stuck with trusty old British Airways. I didn’t need Club Europe for these short flights, but the total fare of £239.01 wasn’t much more than coach.
This review post will look a little different than most. There’s not much difference really in Club Europe between flights, so this will be an amalgamation of three separate flights.
This post is a part of my trip report series covering my trip to Scotland in February, 2023. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
British Airways (BA) Flight 1486
- Thursday, February 2, 2023
- Depart: London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Terminal 5, Gate A13, 15:32, 27m late
- Arrive: Glasgow International Airport (GLA), Terminal M, 16:58, 23m late
- Duration: 1 hour 26 minutes
- Equipment: Airbus A321neo
- Seat: 6F
Flight 2 – BA Flight 1489
- Saturday, February 4, 2023
- Depart: Glasgow International Airport (GLA), Terminal M, 16:16, 16m late
- Arrive: London Heathrow International Airport (LHR), Terminal 5, 17:36, 11m late
- Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Equipment: Airbus A321neo
- Seat: 6F
Flight 3 – BA Flight 326
- Saturday, February 4, 2023
- Depart: London Heathrow International Airport (LHR), Terminal 5, Gate A17, 20:07, 3m early
- Arrive: Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Terminal 2B, 22:14, 16m early
- Duration: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Equipment: Airbus A320
- Seat: 2F
Check-In and Boarding
At both Heathrow and Glasgow, I found check-in quick and efficient. (One of the advantages of traveling in the dead of winter? Nobody else does, so lines are generally at a minimum.) Heathrow T5 does have those self tagging machines that can sometimes get uncooperative. The one I tried to use refused to read my bag tag, requiring an agent to come over and help. She got everything squared away quickly, though. At Glasgow, meanwhile, everything went smoothly. The FastTrack security certainly comes in handy, allowing you to get through security quickly.
British Airways A320 Club Europe – Seating and Interior
Whether it’s the A320 or A321, the Club Europe setup is the same. Club Europe consists of a variable number of rows in a standard 3-3 format, with the middle seat blocked. On the older A320, the middle comes equipped with a removable tray table. Otherwise, Club Europe seating is identical to Euro Traveler (Economy).
I managed to get on my London-Paris A320 flight first, and so snapped several unobstructed views of the cabin.
Meanwhile, you’ll find identical seating on the A321neo, except for the movable tray table. I don’t quite understand why BA puts the table on the older A320, but not the new A321neos. Psychologically, the table does make the occupied seats feel a little more private. (According to AeroLOPA, the newest A321neos do include the tables in Club Europe.)
Seats in Club Europe, following the typical intra-European standard, are standard Economy seats. On the A321neos, most aircraft feature Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seats in the first 14 rows. These seats measure 17.7″ wide with 30.4″ of pitch and 3″ of recline. Newer A321neos come equipped with Collins Aerospace Meridian seats with identical measurements. The A320, meanwhile, includes B/E Aerospace Pinnacle seats throughout, with 30″ of pitch and 17.7″ of width in the first 12 rows. Why the first 14 and 12 rows, respectively? That’s the maximum number of rows that BA sells as Club Europe on any given flight.
Note that on the first generation A321neos, row 15 on back “enjoys” those brutal Recaro SL3510 slimlines.
Although pitch is identical, I found legroom a bit tighter on the newer A321neo compared to the A320. The seatbacks seem set a little lower, which caused my knees to bump into the bottom of the seat. In the two photos below, the A321neo is the first, while the A320 is the second.
I did find the cabins on all three aircraft well-maintained. Even on my A320 flight from London to Paris, operated on a 20-year old plane.
In-Flight Entertainment
On these short flights, BA’s inflight entertainment section is pretty limited. As in, unless you’re willing to pay for WiFi, you receive nothing other than some basic flight stats.
When traveling in Economy Class, you can also access the buy-on-board menu via the homepage.
As mentioned earlier, in order to access streaming contact, BA requires you to purchase WiFi. Prices are reasonable at least, at £1.99 for a messaging pass, and £4.99 for a browsing package. Given the short duration of these flights, I didn’t bother paying for the service.
Each seat comes equipped with a 110v and USB-A power port. I don’t love the location of the USB port, which is integrated with the power port. It’s at the bottom of the outlet on the A321neo, and at the top on the A320. If you have a short lightning cable, it won’t be long enough to reach seat level.
British Airways A320 Club Europe – Food & Beverage
Despite the short flight times, British Airways managed to offer a half decent meal service in Club Europe. On my London – Glasgow and Glasgow – London legs, the late afternoon departures meant BA’s afternoon tea service. As an avid hot tea drinker, I quite appreciate the service. Both flights featured similar offerings – finger sandwiches, a small cake, and a scone with clotted cream and jam. The salmon on brown bread was common to both meals. You can choose vegetarian sandwiches as well, subject to availability.
No, it’s not high tea at a fancy hotel, but it’s a good enough imitation. I found the sandwiches on both flights decent enough, but of course, the scones steal the show. I must agree with Matt from Live and Let’s Fly – a warm scone with clotted cream is divine. Even though it’s something I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at home.
On my nighttime London to Paris flight, BA served a light dinner, with a small salad of roast beef and greens, a roll, and a chocolate cake.
I found this quite acceptable, especially for a barely hour long flight. It even came with a drinkable South African sauvignon blanc! This is one aspect of European business class far outclasses domestic US carriers. You receive full meal service even on 60-90 minutes flights. Is that worth the extra cost for Business Class, well, probably not, but it’s still a nice touch.
Flightseeing
Even flying in the dead of winter, our flights provided some great flightseeing. I’ll fast forward to the return from Glasgow to London, which provided the best window seat views of the trip. Departing Glasgow, I caught a glimpse of a Loganair E-145. Loganair is a Scottish regional airlines that flies some truly interesting routes. This includes the world’s shortest commercial flight (1.7 miles) between Westray and Papa Westray. Loganair also flies to Barra Airport, which uses a beach as its runway.
Shortly after departure, scattered showers led to a gorgeous late evening, as the fading daylight danced in and out of the clouds.
I think you’ll agree, a little wing action makes any sunset even better.
Once up at cruising altitude, the overcast quickly built back in. But that didn’t stop us from viewing an incredible sunset into the stratus deck over the Irish Sea.
And finally, our final approach took us close enough to central London for a spectacular view of the city. You can even make out the London Eye in the last two photos.
Final Thoughts
Like most intra-Europe Business Class, BA’s Club Europe is no great shakes, but I found it acceptable for this trio of flights. You do get fed well, and the Fast Track at Heathrow comes in handy.