British Airways CityFlyer operate to a variety of destinations out of London City Airport using Embraer E170 and E190 aircraft. The company is a fully owned subsidiary of BA meaning it is fully integrated for the purposes of frequent flyer earning. Rather than fly into London Heathrow, I chose London City this time as it had better transport connections to where I was heading. Prior to the flight I noticed that I appeared to be the only person who had a seat assigned in the Club Europe cabin and I was curious as to whether this would be the same at flight time.
BA4463 – Dublin to London City (DUB-LCY)
5 August 2016
Embraer E190 G-LCYP
Seat: Club Europe 2D
Departure: 08:45 Arrival: 10:00
At the gate there were many people in the queue for status passengers and I assumed at least one of them would be in Club Europe with me. Boarding was announced and I crossed the tarmac and went up the stairs onto the aircraft. 2C and 2D have about 30 feet of room in front of them on British Airways CityFlyer which is why I had selected 2D as I wished to see this for myself.
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- 1AB and 2AB
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- Looking forward to 1AB
Passengers finished boarding and I was tickled pink that I was the only passenger in the cabin. I had an entire flight attendant to myself for the manual safety demonstration who professionally did not make eye contact throughout! It was a short enough taxi to the active runway and soon we were flying.
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- Leg room 2CD
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- Up we go!
The scent of breakfast being cooked wafted through the cabin during climb and did my best to quash my automatically low expectations of the meal. The tray was delivered and I was asked what I would like to drink. Regular readers will know I went for Champagne! On this flight I was offered a choice of the old British Airways Champagne – Monopole – or the new one – Castelnau. It struck me that a taste comparison side by side would be a good idea so I asked for both.
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- Breakfast is served!
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- Monopole and Castelnau
Breakfast bread is offered in Club Europe and this consists of toast, croissants and buns. I was offered my choice and when I hesitated I was told happily, “It’s all for you anyway, so I’ll put it here!” – and with that I was the proud owner of all the bread. My tip is to have the croissants and avoid the rest as the toast was pretty dry and the buns were rock hard. The croissants on the other hand were buttery yum.
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- A plethora of bread!
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- Loaded and ready to eat
The breakfast was one of the better ones I have eaten on an aircraft. The scrambled egg was light, fluffy and dare I say it, tasty. The sausage was delicious, while the potato cake, bacon, mushrooms and tomato were all perfect. Nothing was burnt, nothing was sad and overcooked so I was mightily impressed. The fruit salad was bursting with flavour also.
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- Deliciousness up close
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- Fabulously fruity!
My strawberries both went for a swim in the Champagne glasses which worked out gloriously. The airline that offers strawberries with the Champagne in a premium cabin will win my business! Passengers from Euro Traveller came through to use the forward toilet several times and much to my amusement glanced at me surrounded by breads, champagnes and foods and looked fairly surprised!
The side by side comparison of the two Champagnes went well. British Airways were correct to change the Chamapagne. The Castelnau is far nicer than the Monopole which I already knew but it was nice to compare this directly. Later on, the jocular cabin crew offered me another breakfast if I wished but I declined as I was quite full. I did take another Champagne when the pilots announced we’d be circling for a bit.
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- Leg room in 1AB
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- More Castelnau please!
The review wouldn’t be complete without a picture of the actual legroom in row 2CD on British Airways CityFlyer. It truly is a lot!
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- Oodles of leg room!
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- Happy flying!
We descended with the usual sporty descent into London City and landed on time. Arriving into the London City terminal is always great as it’s small and you are out on the street in a few short minutes.
Overall Thoughts
British Airways CityFlyer offers an excellent product to and from London City Airport to destinations throughout Europe. The breakfast was very impressive and the youthful crew were very enthusiastic with their service style. The famous British Airways banter was in evidence as the crew could see I was amused being the only passenger in Club Europe and played up to that.
The leg room in seats 2CD is scandalous and these are the place to be on these flights. Seat pitch throughout the aircraft does not vary and is actually more than the British Airways mainline European fleet. I’ll certainly be using the service again! Have you ever been the only person on a flight? I’d love to hear about your experience below!
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Yes I was on a BA flight to Denver immediately flying was permitted after the tragic events of 9-11. I was the only Club passenger and it was the first time I’d had plastic cutlery to cut a steak – needless to say it didn’t work and I broke a couple of knives while perfecting the cutting technique! The crew was, understandably, jumpy and it was a very smooth flight but very, very unpleasant for all I think. Coming back via NY some days later was better. A few more passengers, and crew were still not relaxed getting used to… Read more »
Yes, it sounds like it was a very unique time in history. Nobody was flying unless they had to, that’s for sure. Thanks for the first hand account there, definitely interesting. It’s good that all has returned to normal really.