This was the first time I had been on BA’s Gatwick subsidiary Euroflyer since it became official. BA claim that the service is the same as their normal Club Europe, but is it in reality? This was part of a British Airways Holiday booking for the Double Tier points which had originated in Belfast. I stayed in the Ritz Carlton Abama which I will be reviewing.
The flights were just under £700 if booked separately which is quite astonishing for a short-haul flight. I booked it during the sale, and that was the cheapest time I could find as many other dates the starting price was over £1000. Fortunately, I got a great deal on the accommodation, which balanced it out somewhat. Including the positioning flights to Belfast, which cost an additional £155, this trip netted me 560 tier points, which is a fantastic deal for around £850. That is made up of Club Europe flights as follows: Belfast return 80 x double TP = 160. Gatwick – Tenerife 160 x double TP = 320. Belfast return positioning flights 80.
In this post:
Check-in
Gatwick felt chaotic as I arrived in BA’s check-in zone, with people milling about blocking a clear path to the premium check-in area. BA originally got rid of the First Class check-in desk at Gatwick, but I was pleased to see it was back as the Club queue was fairly long. I was very glad to be flying into Club given the size of the economy queue which was up to the end of the tensa barrier maze.
I had to wait a while as it appeared that none of the US passengers ahead of me had checked in online or filled in the relevant questions for US immigration, so the check-in agent had to do it all for them. They then proceeded to ask 20 questions about the way to departures and premium security (surely you just follow the signs for departures?!). The agent was friendly enough, and since I already had checked in, I was on my way in a couple of minutes.
Lounge
Fast track security seemed to have improved since I was last there, with the number of bags needing secondary down to a sensible level and no queue for Fast track.
I did not visit the lounge on this occasion, but the Gatwick lounges are better than the Heathrow ones in my opinion. They are still relatively new, having first been opened in 2017 when BA moved to the South Terminal. You can read my reviews of the Gatwick lounges here.
Boarding
The gate was shown very late, only around 10 minutes before boarding was due to start. Naturally, it was at the furthest satellite which I always seem to get when I fly BA from Gatwick.
The crew were late boarding, arriving around 10 minutes after boarding should have started. The gate staff made no announcements which I thought was poor and then seemed to expect pre-boarding to magically know what was happening which started the inevitable queue of people asking them what was happening. Then they decided to announce groups 1-3 at once which resulted in a huge surge towards the boarding gate.
I was not hugely hopeful when I stepped on as there was only one disinterested crew member at the door, which seemed odd. The flight seemed to be very short-staffed, although perhaps they have less staff on Gatwick flights in the interest of cost saving. There were only two staff serving the large club cabin, which went past the exit rows.
Seat and cabin
Fortunately, I had a last-minute aircraft switch from the A320 aircraft with the missing bulkhead to an A321. If you see this seat map:
Then avoid 1 A and C if you can, as everyone bashes you as they board since there is no bulkhead. Row 2 D and F are the best seats on this version of the A320.
This was a standard 2-2 A321 configuration with the middle seat free. I had lots of legroom in row 1, but the other rows have the same legroom as economy. A middle table separates the seats and is handy for putting your drinks on.
Food and drink
Not long after take-off, the service began in a rather weird, disjointed manner which continued during the flight. Only one crew member seemed to have an inkling of how to do the service, and the other members kept questioning what they were supposed to be doing. First, they handed out nuts, then they returned to do a pre-dinner drinks round.
Not long after the two lunch options were literally thrust under my nose as there were no menus. The choices were vegetarian sausage and mash (which looked very dried out) or chilli chicken.
The starter was some type of grain or pasta with, I’d guess, a yoghurt dressing. It had no discernible flavour other than the yoghurt and was very bland.
The main course was pretty tasty with tender chicken with cashews and a slightly spicy sauce. The vegetables were very over-overdone, but the rice was not too dry. A bread roll had already been put on the tray.
For dessert, there was cheese with red Leicester and brie or camembert with crackers. The actual pudding was the smallest I have ever seen and was smaller than a short-shot glass. It sounded nice in the description but was rather odd. The base was a sort of stodgy custard and apples which tasted of nothing. Even the topping that was supposed to be hazelnut was very bland.
The drinks service was poor. No drinks were offered with the meal, and nothing else was offered until after the meal when the tea and coffee came round. The tea was very stewed and so dark it was like coffee. No sweeteners were available, which they always have on Heathrow routes. Considering it was a flight that’s nearly 4 hours long, it felt like they could have easily taken the time to offer wine with the meal. They did offer plastic glasses of juice just before landing.
I went for the Shiraz when I finally managed to flag someone down after I had finished most of the meal. I normally would avoid Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz but I have found they are the two best options out of the 4 Club Europe wines.
Wi-Fi and charging
I was pleased to see that there were power points on board as well as Wi-Fi. This was also announced at the start of the flight. That was short-lived. First of all, the power wasn’t working. Once the crew had bothered to switch it on, mine still was not working so I had to use the one from the adjacent seat which was luckily empty.
I informed the crew at the same time that the Wi-Fi did not seem to be working. It was shrugged off. When I asked again, to the person I’d assume was the IFL, her reply was very nonchalant. She seemed a) unaware it wasn’t working, b) completely disinterested c) not willing to investigate it in any way. Again, she just shrugged it off saying sometimes it doesn’t work. Very helpful, thank you for that insightful comment! No announcement was made to apologise for the Wi-Fi either.
Conclusion
Having done quite a large number of short-haul Club Europe flights from Heathrow, this could in no way be compared to a Heathrow flight. My recent flights from Heathrow have been great, with friendly staff going the extra mile for status passengers and efficient service. Menus are normally given on Heathrow as well.
After this experience, I will be avoiding BA from Gatwick in favour of Heathrow or Easyjet except on longer flights where I value the extra room more. This was not their finest hour. If they want to provide a low-cost business-class service then they need to charge low prices!
46 comments
Often on those LGW Canary flights it seems half the plane is Club Europe and they usually run out of all the food options after row 2. The quality of the service does vary enormously, we had excellent service back from Gran Canaria last month and I nominated a cabin crew member for a Gold Ticket.
That’s another reason I always sit at the front.
Although there is the extra space in the front row, I don’t like not being able to put my 2nd carry on bag under the seat in front.
Yes that is the trade off as it is a fight to find room in the overhead lockers for anything!
Did you book the Belfast to Heathrow return positioning legs as part of the BA holiday to get double tier points? If not how did you get double? Thanks.
Ps. In the 2nd paragraph you say heathrow-tenerife. Rather than gatwick.
Thanks I’ll correct the typo. Yes it was all booked from Belfast as the starting point for the holiday.
I thought you could only get the double tier points on BA holidays starting in the UK. Has this changed? Or was Dublin always included. Did vegas in August ex-Madrid and defo did not get the dbl TP.
It was Belfast. Dublin is not included.
Oh dear! We are going Gatwick-Cyprus next week. The worst of your many justified criticisms is the lack of training of the staff and their disinterest in serving.
We did LGW-PFO-LGW in CE recently and had 2 very different experiences. Outbound crew generally disinterested and doing the bare minimum. Inbound crew superb and couldn’t do enough. Consistency please, BA!
This has been our experience this year on the LGW to Alicante route. Very old planes are used over 20 years old, inexperienced crew, food running out, invariably late departing, no wifi… also really strange issues with people in wrong seats as on some planes the row 1 is missing as shown in the review and seats are misaligned with the numbering on the overhead lockers! We avoid this route but can’t get to Alicante from LHR on BA so go to Valencia instead.
I had very good service and catering on a return trip from LGW to MLA last week, although perhaps having the same excellent IFL for both legs helped (must remember to submit a Golden Ticket).
It is a shame you didn’t visit the First Lounge, as I had a lovely time there. It is much better than LHR now, especially with the table ordering with a QR code (the burger was so good I had it twice).
That First checkin desk must be cursed though. I waited almost ten mins behind a woman who seemed to have no idea what a visa was, and then proceeded to ask the poor check in lady about every facet of the airport experience including what liquids she could buy and take through security.
I’ve been to the First lounge lots of times and really like it. Unfortunately I was doing some filming in another lounge so didn’t have time to visit. Sadly my return flight was even worse!
I agree, the ordered food choice is much better in the First Lounge at LGW than LHR in my opinion.
Oh dear! We’re going Club Gatwick – Marrakech soon and that sounds very poor. The worst part is the legroom I think; surely the #1 reason for flying in a premium cabin is space? Am I mistaken? Do people choose it because of gourmet service or extra baggage allowance? Agreed, it should be all of those things at the price but give me leg room above all else.
I like having the middle seat free as well. If prices were cheaper I wouldn’t mint so much. But currently they are crazy expensive for what feels like a budget service.
Even better if the table is fitted. On a flight back to Heathrow last week from Rome, they did not even have the dividing curtain and no table, I was in Euro Traveller in the row immediately behind Club Europe, apart from the food/drink service you would hardly notice the difference. I thought it is really devaluing the Club Europe product.
I flew economy and selected emergency exit row seats on flight to/from Dalaman to get the extra leg room, plus being a BA gold card the window seat next to me was blocked. We had all the space benefits of CE and could survive not having the variable food offering during the flight for much cheaper price.
Far, far worse is to end up on the Avion Express wet lease as we did last summer. It was like being on Ryanair but with free (bad) food. In fact, the seating was even worse than the last time I flew Ryanair and that it really saying something.
I have heard similar stories on Avion.
I thought it was odd that the Avion crew take the champagne into the lavatory to open the bottle, never noticed that before …..
Yes that has occurred twice with us over the summer, first time the crew were trying really hard and did a decent job in the circumstances, the second time was appalling. The planes were quite old too.
LGW CE is such that I’ve only bought it as RFS for a while. Into next year too.
The towel has gone, along with the greeting, offering of drinks with the meal (request if you’re lucky really isn’t good enough).
The only trip where you’d have said “now that’s why I fly club” had a lead brought in from LHR. I made the point to BA.
On my regular LONFAO the CE is 250 and the same hard offering on FR 50. The soft elements, at 200, equate to a Michelin meal and are simply not worth it.
Totally agree, we flew lgw to Rhodes in October food on both flights poor.
Previously BA operated this lunchtime service from Lhr and only switched us to Gatwick.
For the pri ce of the Club Europe fare was expecting something better with catering.
Our flight also delayed by an hour, late incoming !
I do agree the Ba Euroflyer isn’t a patch on the lhr services.
Interesting to read your LGW experience. Had something similar on the 0700 from Glasgow last week to catch an outbound from London. Had to travel from Edinburgh as there now is no flight at all to Gatwick from the capital. A bizarre decision.
No greeting when boarding just a surly look – I forgave them as it was a 0700 start.
Four men in the 2s and 3s (D&F and all silver) boarded after us and immediately asked if they could pre-order the cooked breakfast. The IFL agreed.
Whilst I received my increasingly meagre full English, my travelling companion opting for the bizarre and taste free spinach and egg concoction, the man behind me in 3A and a gold member like us, was told there were no cooked breakfasts left. He opted for the vegetarian option. Seriously, at 7am.
I was asked if I wanted a croissant and
was handed a long plastic bag where I had to fish out a pastry like I was taking part in a tombola.
The sparkling wine seems to have resorted back to the battery acid masquerading as champagne – Castelnau – only drinkable when paired with orange juice.
There was also an announcement that due to the ever reliable excuse of “technical issues” there was no speedbird cafe service or whatever it’s called now. So those passengers who had rushed to catch the early flight had the delight of a bottle of water and six pretzels.
In contrast, the first lounge at Gatwick was full of delightful and helpful staff and the second flight of the day had crew who were engaging and only too happy to assist and a complete opposite to the first flight.
With regard to drinks – another similar experience to AGP recently where, after pre dinner drinks, crew served the meal then disappeared into their comfort zone behind the galley curtain. As I was in the front row I could hear them chatting and laughing so I did it – yes – I pressed the call button and asked for a wine with my meal. Seriously, he gave me a look as if I’d just run over his new kitten. This was not a wake up call for them to remember to serve everyone else. No, the curtain was pulled back and people drifted in and out if they wanted a drink. You couldn’t make it up..
It’s interesting that when I mentioned my experience in a group of high status BA travellers almost every single person that commented had a similar experience or worse to mine. Sadly the way home was far worse!
Another annoyance is that pre-flight purchases from the High Life shop can’t be delivered to your seat
Really interesting hearing other people’s experiences re. Gatwick. I took CE to Bucharest in May from LHR, and to Lanzarote in September from LGW, and the service on the LGW flight blew the LHR flight out the water. I guess it’s pot luck as to what crew you get?!
We flew CE to Alicante from LGW last Monday and the crew and service were absolutely delightful.
That’s good to hear.
Similar experience to Cyprus last month from heathrow. Had to ask for drinks as they not once pro actively asked!
Similar to Catania in September. They even let some one sit in my seat on the front row. I’m still angry about that. I’m sure they worked for BA as were rude and entitled. I had been booked in the seat for a while.
I should have kicked up a stink but was so surprised at the time.
The champagne has been warm on all flights this year except 1!
Half the staff seem new and don’t know what they are doing.
We need an alternative airline for competition.
I wish virgin did the longer european flights
Regarding your BA Holiday booking, couldn’t you have booked this using the customisable function on ba.com?
LHR – BHD
BHD – LHR, LGW – TFS
5 nights car hire or hotel
TFS – LGW, LHR – BHD
BHD – LHR
Then your LHR BHD return could have been awarded double TPs.
Interesting and useful review, thank you.
The menu seems very nut-heavy. I wonder why they do that? I would be unable to eat a lot of that food so would be better off flying with an airline where you can buy your own food on board. But… we need the extra legroom for health reasons. Hmmm – fly Business Class on BA but bring your own food (and wine, by the sound of it?) and don’t count on power or WiFi or any kind of decent service?
There should have been 3 choices. No idea why there was not unless they had not loaded it correctly. You can of course go to the galley to ask for more drinks. If you have a particular preference you can order special meals. You can also pay to pre-order the Speedbird cafe in Club as well. Heathrow is a lot better.
We were amazed to read your review. We are in Paphos now, having travelled on a 6.50 flight from Gatwick. We have had about 6 European flights from LHR this year, and our current one feats them in the service we got. We actually had continuous service which we have not had on any of the LHR trips. On those the staff almost literally flung the food, the covers were still on, we had to ask for water etc and the overall impression was to get the “service” over as soon as possible and then go to the galley and chat on our current flight we were so impressed that we filled in a form to say so – the first ever. Our experience and yours just shows how inconsistent the BA service is
Yes they are consistently inconsistent! It is nice to hear a good experience from Gatwick for once!
Very useful exchange of views and as Michele says is it not instructive that they are all critical. It is sad that greedy BA are lowering their costs while raising their prices.
The trouble is that if one is mostly flying within Europe the alternatives are worse! So we have to use them and just have to be assertive about drinks, which is easier from the front row.
Michele do you happen to know whether there are any European flights that are not Euroflyer?
Not from Gatwick. Unfortauntely there are few alternatives if you want business class which is why they can get away with it from Gatwick.
Hi Michele, I had a similar experience on a recent flight to Venice from Gatwick. Dirty seats, I was only given one glass of champagne and nothing else and the food was meagre. What made it worse was that this was my partner’s first flight in business and it was meant to be a treat. I’ll be avoiding BA from Gatwick unless there’s no other choice.
We did LGW to TFS back in May – Fast track security was the busiest and craziest we’ve ever seen it. Perhaps this was down to Gatwick staff selling fast track to passers buy. It was far from a premium experience!
Our flight also departed from the far gate that yours did. The announcements they periodically make during boarding, sounded like they were being made by someone very young who’d not done any BA training.
Don’t remember much about the service, probably because we did LHR to TFS a few weeks ago and the crew really delivered. Saying that, we weren’t enamoured about the service on on return flight to LHR – right from boarding it felt like the crew were more interested in cabin crew chitchat.
Bought a ‘whole flight’ WiFi package on LGW to TFS – soon after flying over the Iberian peninsula there was no satellite connection. Filed a request fo a refund from BA – about a week later they replied saying they’ll pass it over to relevant team to deal with… six months on no reply or refund.
Great review. I fly LON-TFS BA Club Europe a lot and I think everything you have reported is (sadly) fairly normal! By the way, I pity anyone who is expecting extra legroom – but I do love the empty middle seat. I would avoid rows 1 & 2 for all the loitering traffic queueing for the loo. BA crew say the aircraft they usually fly out of LGW (Euroflyer) don’t have in-seat power so I no longer count on it (I take a power-pack). The in-flight wi-fi can be sketchy (coverage) and slow at best and non-existent at worst. The flight service is *relatively* better out of LHR but there are fewer flights and they are more expensive. I think the lounges in LHR T5 are worse, but overall I try to avoid LGW where I can. If I wasn’t based in the UK, I’d never fly BA.
One of the best BA flights for service I had on the route was in a leased aircraft with its own cabin crew (non-BA) who were clearly following instructions to do everything the BA way, and, perhaps because they were actually trying, it was excellent! I think that speaks volumes!
Hi again. As a matter of interest did you drive from Heathrow to Gatwick?
Also in the t+c’s is says only one UK departure on the booking. I assume the teir points you earned were all added eventually.
Hi Ian. The one UK departure means leaving the UK, not a departure from a UK airport. BA clarified this recently. I took the coach which was very easy as they go about every 15 minutes between various operators.
I’m going to be doing this trip /lgw/tfs- tfs/lhr/bhd in 2 weeks time . For a special trip , what would your top tips be to make this journey a good experience , thank you
I would choose seats near the front so you get your first choice of meal. Maybe mention to the crew as you get on that it’s a special occasion. Allow plenty of time to enjoy the BA lounge at Gatwick as it’s better than Heathrow. If you have lots of time at Heathrow the B gates lounge is the best but you need to walk back to A gates which takes about 7 minutes. You can’t use the train.
Great thanks. I’m just setting up for EDI-LHR-FNC to get the teir points. £2k for 2 people. But then adding on flights to and from Edinburgh in business and the hotels required makes a grand total of £2500 for 5 nights in Madeira and a couple of days in Edinburgh.
The bonus of Madeira is that it uses LHR rather than LGW.
This avoids the hassle of a very long day travelling as we’ve opted for the night stop at LHR in the Sofitel.
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