Today’s reader review for our competition is about British Airways City Flyer from Emma. If you enjoyed it, let us know in the comments below. We do not encourage criticism of reader reviews. They are not professional writers and everyone has a different style that won’t suit everyone’s taste.
We last flew in 2019 so this was our first flight for quite some time! Our planned trips to New York and Berlin were both cancelled and we used the vouchers as part payment for this trip. Whilst we were keen to get abroad in 2022, we anticipated a huge number of others wanting to do the same so opted for a family holiday to Edinburgh flying from Southampton with BA.
In this post:
Southampton Airport experience
We had not flown from Southampton in over 10 years, having used Heathrow, Gatwick or Bournemouth pre COVID. It was very quiet with approximately 4 flights an hour. There was a Costa coffee, restaurant and WHSmith prior to check in but they were all closed, not that we needed to use them.
Check-In
We arrived with ample time to spare and had checked in the day before so just had bags to drop off. We were welcomed by a Southampton Airport greeter almost immediately as we entered the terminal building. We queued for no more than 1 minute for the bag drop. We had the opportunity to check in 2 bags each.
The baggage system was not working, so our bags were placed on the belt for weighing, but we were then asked to carry them to a holding area close to the check-in desks. This was no problem whatsoever for us.
Security
We were greeted at security clearance and walked straight through as there were no queues. My husband was expecting to be caught at Security (there is always something on him that catches him out). However, unfortunately, our daughter got caught due to buckles on her boots! The shoes were subsequently removed, and we breezed through with no further issues!
Spitfire Lounge
The lounge is on the first floor and really easy to locate. The lounge was suprisingly large for the size of the airport, with a comfortable seating area and places to work with access to WI-FI.
On arrival, we were told to help ourselves to drinks, given a menu and told that someone would take our orders once seated, including alcoholic drinks orders if we wished. There was a good selection of fresh tea and coffee, wine and lager.
My husband ordered a grilled dry cure bacon bap and it arrived promptly. It got 8 out of 10 from my husband, as it was not buttered! There was no view of the runway, but a great view of the baggage carousel in the arrivals area, if that takes your fancy!
Boarding
Boarding commenced at 8.30 am, 30 minutes prior to departure with all passengers being called at the same time. Seat configuration is 2 by 2 on the Embraer Jet, with Club Europe occupying 6 seats. Seat pitch was 30″ with space for any valuables.
We were in 2A – 2C, with my husband ending up with a huge amount of legroom. I’m bagging these seats on the way home! There was still plenty of room for me and my daughter. The flight departed on time at 9.00 am, and we were soon above the clouds on our way to Edinburgh.
On board food and dining
Once we were airborne the cabin crew pulled back the curtains, much to the amusement of my husband who wanted to attempt the Eric Morecambe curtain trick! We were quickly served a hot breakfast of sausage, omelette, bacon, mushrooms and tomato, as well as a compote with fruit and hot or cold beverages. The breakfast was actually quite tasty, and I really enjoyed mine and my daughter’s compote. Beverage top-ups were provided following the meal service.
Arrival
At 9.50, the crew prepared for landing. The weather was cloudier as we came into Edinburgh, and we managed to catch glimpses of the Forth Bridge. The flight was due at 10.25 with landing at 10.05 am, so well ahead of schedule. We quickly made our way to the baggage reclaim area, with our cases arriving within 10 minutes.
Conclusion
I would certainly use a BA City Flyer service again, flying from Southampton. Due to the airport size and a limited number of flights, the entire process was very efficient and enjoyable. The flight was comfortable, and the service very good. BA fly to 16 destinations from Southamton including Ibiza, Berlin and Florence and if you are living along the south coast of England it’s very convenient and easy to fly from.
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15 comments
Bit of an odd headline when Emma was flying to EDI?!!
She took the scenic route.
Interesting review. I am only sorry I have now moved away from South Coast so it is not a practical option for me.
Thank you Emma
Fun flight! I hope the breakfast was washed down with champagne!
Hope you enjoyed my home city. ????????????????????????????????
We had a wonderful time in Edinburgh. Fab city, loads to do! ????
The Review is fine. It gives a good perspective of what to expect flying domestically in Club Europe from Southampton. Maybe the article title mix-up is due to the fact that Berlin is mentioned at the beginning of the review (“Our planned trips to New York and Berlin were both cancelled …”)?
I agree Stu P is it EDI or BER that Emma and her family flew to? I have to say the lounge looks really quite nice, compared to some other in Europe. Well done Emma, great review.
I’m sure some will love the baggage carousel????????????
I’ve corrected it.
A well written review but I think the article should point out that with the exception of one flight on a Sunday, all other BA booked flights throughout the week from Southampton to Edinburgh are actually codeshares operated on Loganair, normally using an Embraer RJ145 and therefore the usual experience and service on the Southampton Edinburgh route will be different to that experienced by Emma and her family.
The British Airways Embraer used for the Sunday service normally operates from London Ciy Airport but that airport is not allowed to operate between 1300 on Saturday until 1230 on Sunday each weekend due to restrictions designed to give local residents a break from the aircraft noise. British Airways Cityflyer still wants to generate revenue from its Embraer fleet during the weekend moratorium so repositions aircraft to other locations hence BA operating weekend flights from Southampton including the once a week Sunday service to Edinburgh
Nick is correct about the weekend use of the London City fleet. A few seasons ago they used to operate from BRS at weekends, although not to domestic destinations. I think that the schedule has concentrated on SOU this summer, I’m not sure why.
Relocated to Southampton due to the sad demise of FLYBE who had a large base at Southampton.
So BA and Loganair now filling some of those gaps !
Thank you, used to love the Southampton Leeds route!
Shame such a mix of aircraft for shorter breaks..
Bit off topic but it’s interesting to compare the facilities with the old terminal that I remember from 40 years ago. To say it was run down is being very polite, the offices the flying school (there were two at the time) used were up on the balcony and needed an internal guttering system to control the leaks in the roof. In those days there were only two airlines that I can remember – Air UK and Aurigny – but we did quite a lot of other interesting traffic. I can remember Caravelles, B727s, C-130s, AAC DHC Beavers, even the Red Arrows who flew in there before the Isle of Wight air race and did a very spectacular beat up of the airport on their way back to Kemble. Red 10, Ray Thilthorpe, made a slightly more leisurely trip back in one of the school’s AA5As. In the build up to the Falklands DC-3s bought supplies in to be choppered out to the task force. As for security? There wasn’t any. We went out by a side door, stopping at the tower if we were flying somewhere otherwise just going straight out to the aircraft. Simpler days?
It would be nice if BA started flying from Birmingham again.
Nice to read about an airport, lounge and route that I haven’t experienced before. I wonder how the author got to the airport.
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