Everyone knows I’m a sucker for two things when flying business class at British Airways. First, the afternoon tea service on short-haul flights. And second, flying business class at sunset while sitting up front in a plane. You could say that it’s my happy place.

After a weekend in London with friends seeing the ABBA Voyage concert again, I hit the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow. Frequency to Terminal 5 is lower than the other terminals, so I changed at Terminal 2 and 3 and waited before continuing on. It’s still very fast!

A First Class Interlude

On arrival, I headed to the First Wing and breezed straight through security and into the lounge. It is always very busy but I still managed to get the seat beside my usual favourite, and didn’t have to wait long before the guy in “my” seat left.


I always eat when in the lounge, and so I placed an order and it was delivered soon after. Quite pleased with the fresh chilli, which meant I could make the curry nice and spicy. A couple more drinks helped pass the time, and then it was off to the gate to board.

A Gate At Heathrow

Dublin has lately been getting some really awkward gates, making for a bit of a scrum. When I got there, I loitered near the entrance and soon enough boarding was called.


I scanned my boarding pass, stood on the yellow feet and HAL scanned my face. I clearly passed muster as the clear gates slid aside and I headed down to the aircraft.

BA826 – London Heathrow to Dublin (LHR-DUB)
13 November 2022
Airbus A319 – G-EUOE
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 15:30 Arrival: 17:00

Since I was seated in row one on the Airbus A319 (which you can see on the seating plan here), I stowed my bag above my seat. Boarding continued and a lady ended up being sat in 1C. It was a busy enough flight!

Business Class At Sunset

When everyone was on board, we had the safety demonstration and took off into the afternoon sky. Flying business class at sunset really afforded some nice views.


Since the flight time was quite short, the crew headed into action fairly swiftly. It was not long until I was being offered a choice of meals for afternoon tea.

Afternoon Tea In The Sky

While there is no more Ploughman’s lunch, the bougie sandwiches are back. This, coupled with Champagne and scones makes for a very nice mid-afternoon snack.


All of it was superb as it usually is. That was all washed down with Champagne, while having a good old natter to the lady beside me. We became fast friends while enjoying the hospitality on board. Soon enough it all came to an end and we landed in Dublin, safe and sound.

Overall Thoughts

British Airways generally don’t put a foot wrong when it comes to their European routes. I always enjoy the flights, find the crews to be really good craic and the whole experience comfortable enough.

The mid-afternoon flight back to Dublin is my favourite, but of course the views vary at different times of the year. In summer it’s total day time, but towards the end of the year, it’s late afternoon and early evening. Keeps it fun, anyway!

Have you flown Club Europe on British Airways before? What do you think of their on board service? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Aero Icarus via Wikimedia Commons.