Club Europe from Athens is one of the longest British Airways European sectors with a scheduled flight time of around four hours. This means the service and catering is the most elaborate of all the European routes as it falls into ‘Band 4’.
European flights at BA are divided into different bands depending on the flight time and all flights over 180 minutes fall into Band 4. Other routes in Band 4 include St. Petersberg, Larnaca, Istanbul, Malta and Tenerife.
Check-in
Check-in for British Airways at Athens opens approximately 2.5 hours before departure. This isn’t great for early morning cruise arrivals as thirty or so of us had to cool our heels waiting for it to open. There was quite a long line and due to various issues it took a little while to be seen. Club Europe is very popular out of Athens and many people were waiting in this line.
The check-in agent informed me that the British Airways lounge was now closed and that they use the Onassis Lounge instead. Fast-track security is offered but I don’t think any time was saved as the line was fairly long and slow moving. The Onassis Lounge is relatively pleasant and bland with decent enough food and an okay bar. The Wi-Fi is dreadfully slow and I was happy to only be cooped up for an hour.
BA639 – Athens to London Heathrow (ATH-LHR)
25 August 2016
Airbus 320 G-TTOE
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 13:25 Arrival: 15:30
After a late gate change due to the late arrival of the inbound flight, we boarded the aircraft and I was pleased to immediately note the service enhancements. A blanket and a pillow was on each seat and the seats were fitted with inflight entertainment controls.
On The Menu
Once passengers were on board we watched the video safety demonstration and settled in for takeoff. Once airborne the first order of business was hot towels, followed closely by distribution of the menu.
Lunch Time
It was time for the meal service and I asked to see the Atlantic Cod before I was served to see if it was in fact “the cod” I had previously. The reason I was checking was “the cod” was amazing and I was hoping it would be the same. It was not however I decided to take it anyway. Bread from the basket was immediately offered also.
Dessert and Cheese
Niggles aside, the bread is usually amazing and happily the cod dish was delicious and full of flavour. The crew advised that I could change to the chicken course as they had some left over but I was happy with the cod. Dessert today is Lemon Meringue Cake.
Service
The excellent crew had made another attempt at cleaning the forward lavatory and opened it for business. Several passengers used it and came out looking a little white and eventually there was a light water leak heading towards the cabin. The crew employed at least two blankets in an attempt to stop things progressing and to try to get the lavatory clean enough to use. Nothing came of it however… I have visions of a volcano erupting and the entire bathroom being a-splatter. Kudos to the crew for their multiple attempts in what must have been eye watering circumstances to get things clean!
Flying over the Alps was particularly pretty. You fly at 32,000 feet and all of a sudden you notice the mountains not all that far below you. It’s something of an experience!
Overall Thoughts
British Airways Club Europe on a longer sector is very good. The food quality is top notch, even with the lack of a starter course or place to put the bread. What struck me as strange was the provision of headphones and yet no video entertainment. The aircraft is equipped with overhead screens which showed the map however no movie or TV programming. In Australia on Qantas you are given video entertainment on all domestic flights so this would stand out in Europe even if it were only on longer flights. Seat comfort was adequate for the sector length and being in row 1 meant I had extra space at face level which I enjoy.
The crew made the flight however and I gave out my first Golden Ticket to award the lead crew member for his service in the face of adversity. Despite the lavatory explosion he was friendly and fun and made for a good flight and one can’t complain about that!
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Would be really interested in an article about the different bands of BA shorthaul catering, and what kind of meal service you should expect for various flight lengths in ET and CE at different times of day
That’s a great idea actually! I think I actually have my own pictures for just about all the meals for all the bands as well. I’ll add it to my little notepad file of ideas – this is definitely going to happen!
Hey Detective, here’s maybe a first for you—you owe me. I enjoyed the read yesterday and apparently something stuck in my head as I was in Whole Foods last night and wandered by the cheese section and the Barbers stuck right out at me. I had never heard of it prior and certainly wasn’t looking for it. Thinking it was an omen, I went ahead and bought some—not bad, not bad at all. You made your first sale!
Hey Randy, clearly I’m on my way to becoming a brand ambassador for Barber’s 1833! How random that you happened across it. I’m glad to hear you liked it – my reputation would be in tatters if it was hideous! 🙂
Are these the seats with a 30″ pitch and 17″ width?
Because that is far from ” adequate for the sector length”.
That seating is the most cramped of any short-haul business or first class *worldwide”.
https://www.seatguru.com/charts/shorthaul_first_class.php
BA Club Europe is atrocious.
These are the standard British Airways European slimline seats in service on the A319 and A320 fleet. I was in 1A and I’m neither tall nor big so I find them more than adequate for the sector length. It would have been a different story had I been seated in anything other than row 1 as I still find the seat in front too close to your face.
I flew the 767 in Club in December and found the old seats to be less comfortable than the new seats, which was a big surprise as I initially found the new seats to be quite uncomfortable.
It’s lucky BA serve tasty meals and free drinks in Club Europe. That plus the crew make the product stand out. If the food were worse or the crews surly it would not be worth the money at all. As it is, I like it! It’s not a patch on Qantas but no European airline does very well in European Business Class.
Eeew. Am I the only one thinking about the potential for major contamination issues here if the crewmember attempted cleanup of the accident and then served lunch? I’m sure he washed his hands thoroughly, but assuming he didn’t use a hazmat suit, you have to wonder how much bacteria may have got onto his clothes. Eeew.
You’ll be happy to know that the crew member involved in the clean up sanitised his hands and arms all the way up past the elbows. I remember commenting on it – clearly the British Airways crew take food safety and cleanliness seriously.
So seriously that I overheard them saying yesterday that any clean cups/napkins not used on a flight have to be thrown away at the end of the sector, even if they are unused. Seems rather wasteful…
Sure seems like it, but I guess food safety means they can’t reuse unopened stuff. Kinda comforting while being wasteful!