A number of people at my work are travelling to India. All of them are booked to fly with British Airways in Club World which is business class. As none of them are frequent flyers, it struck me they would not know about all the perks.

I put together a quick e-mail listing some hints and tips to enhance their travel experience. Thanks to the positive feedback on this, I thought I would share the details with you.

Before Flying

All of my people are flying Dublin to London and then on to Chennai or Delhi. Their bookings indicated they would earn something like 17,000 Avios and over 300 tier points for the journey.

I recommended they join the British Airways Executive Club. It is free to join and when you add your number to your booking you will earn Avios and tier points.


What does this mean? Well, a return trip to London in EuroTraveller using Avios comes to a grand total of 9,000 Avios and €42.00 in taxes. Off peak, return Club Europe to London is 15,500 Avios and €60.00 in taxes. Well worth it!

The best benefit is that the trip would instantly move them to Bronze status. This allows free seat selection from 7 days before departure, 25% bonus Avios on flights, priority boarding and business class check-in.

At The Airport

In Dublin, British Airways use the pretty basic Dublin Airport Executive Lounge, so I let them know they have access to that. Next, I told them about the Galleries Club Lounges in London Heathrow Terminal 5.

There are Galleries North and Galleries South as well as one in Terminal 5B. Club World tickets provide access to these lounges which offer free drinks, free food and a nice atmosphere to relax.


An unwritten benefit of these lounges is there is Champagne available on request. Flag down one of the people responsible for cleaning and restocking and ask them for a glass and they will bring you some.

On the way to the lounges, my advice was to visit the Elemis Spa. Club World passengers are given a free treatment as long as there is availability so it pays to ask as soon as you arrive.

On Board

Flights will always provide a full service with a multi-course menu. What people may not know is that British Airways long-haul aircraft feature a Club Kitchen.


If you are hungry during the flight, my advice is to visit the Club Kitchen. This has a number of snacks such as fruit, crisps, chocolates, sandwiches and an array of drinks which you can help yourself to.

Is This Advice Really Needed?

When I sent the e-mail I received a Skype message from one guy with some questions. He said, “I assume the benefits such as the lounges are only available on my next trip once I have earned my points?”

It struck me at that point that if you don’t fly long-haul regularly and don’t fly business class – which is the majority of people – you probably would not know all that is available to you.


Airlines do try to tell you about the benefits and they are on the airlines web site. However, if you are not experienced you probably wouldn’t even look for them.

My advice was successful it seems. I received a nice e-mail saying the first two people had been discussing my e-mail and how much better their trip was because of it.

Overall Thoughts

Sharing the love occasionally is something all frequent flyers should do. When you get a reputation for flying a lot, family members and friends will usually run their travel plans by you for some advice – though they often don’t take it!

I hope you found this little run through useful and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Elemis Spa and Executive Club Tiers images via British Airways.