Flight Review: British Airways UK Domestic

Domestic routes within the United Kingdom at British Airways feature a single class of service which is economy class. Tickets are purchased as hand baggage only or including baggage and food and drink on board is complimentary. A typical flight is reviewed here.

BA1487 – Glasgow to London Heathrow (GLA-LHR)
25 September 2016
Airbus 320-200 G-EUYW
Seat: UK Domestic 3F
Departure: 14:15 Arrival: 15:45

Boarding commences with a call for Executive Club Gold, Silver and Bronze members which is quite a number of people. British Airways would be smart to amend the boarding process to call the people in order of status level. It is currently a free for all considering the amount of people eligible for priority boarding, exacerbated by this flight being completely full.

The girl beside me tried to stuff a very large bag under the seat in front of her and it wasn’t detected until the final checks before take-off. It was immediately removed and put overhead which means I would have been able to get out in the event of an emergency. Once everyone was on board the video safety demonstration played and we headed for the runway and took to the air.

Domestic Seat

The seat on British Airways European fleet is the same throughout regardless of which class you are flying. When the seats are setup for Club Europe, the middle seat is left free and is converted to a table.

While the comfort of the seat is adequate, the knee room is debatable. I am not particularly tall so I have plenty of room but I have read that taller people have a problem with knee space. Seat pitch is 30 inches which is near the minimum you can get away with and still have any kind of comfort. The literature pocket is located at the top of the seat to add extra room at the knees. I am not a fan of this at all as it makes the space in front of your face quite busy and detracts from a feeling of relaxation. It is also touted as a place where you can hang a tablet to watch during flight though I have never seen anyone use it for this.

I usually prefer to fly in the first row where possible as there is more room at face level which is what I really appreciate most.

Domestic Service

On board service is complimentary. You are offered a drink and then a basket is put in front of your nose to choose something to eat.

The basket contained crisps, Thai Street Food (aka hipster nuts in a bag) and one other option. The last option I was unable to catch due to the one millionth of a second I was provided to evaluate and make a choice. The Thai Street Food was fine for the flight and once done I spent the remaining time flipping through High Life magazine. We descended into London Heathrow without incident and arrived at a domestic gate. It was so refreshing not to have to go through security again for a change! Secondary screening when transferring flights is godawful at Heathrow.

Overall Thoughts

British Airways Domestic UK is an adequate product to get people from A to B. It’s a no-frills service in many ways complimented by the usual friendly service from the crew. The highlight is the magazine which for interesting content blows Aer Lingus’ Cara Magazine for example out of the water.

I understand the morning domestic flights provide a complimentary breakfast on board which must be quite nice. The rest of the day is the dining I experienced which is nothing at all to write home about. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments please leave them below.

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