What Is Flying The Rarest British Airways Aircraft in Club Europe Like?

The rarest British Airways aircraft in the European fleet is the widebody Boeing 767-300ER. There are just seven of these aircraft remaining and all of them feature the old Club Europe seats.

On this flight the crew informed me that they expected these aircraft to be retired from service in 2018 meaning this could be my last flight on board one of these aircraft. So what’s flying the rarest aircraft like?

BA903 – Frankfurt to London Heathrow (FRA-LHR)
27 April 2017
Boeing 767-300ER – G-BZHC
Seat: Club Europe 2A
Departure: 10:55 Arrival: 11:45

It is always lovely being on a widebody for a short flight as it feels so much more spacious than the usual narrow body aircraft that are ubiquitous these days.

The Rarest British Airways Cabin

Taking the stakes nowadays as the ones with the rarest cabin, you can see seats are arranged two by three by two. In Club Europe, the middle seat in the set of three is not sold so it is two by two by two. In fact, these seats convert by winding the arm rests out or in to change from business class to economy class.

Row two is the first row by the window and leg room is quite nice. These seats are quite comfortable if a little old fashioned looking. Many British Airways frequent flyers miss these seats, partly as the seat pitch is greater than the current generation of seats.

How About The Throne Room?

Feeling royal? A visit to the Boeing 767 throne room is a visit to the rarest of them all! The sink is lovely and shiny with taps that require you to push down a lever to get hot or cold water.

Smoking? An ashtray still features prominently in the toilet despite the smoking ban. Cardboard cups are available – why? – and those not into the bog standard British Airways foam cleanser can use the Elemis products instead. A baby changing table swings down from the wall and naturally there is a vacuum toilet. It would be pretty bad without one! All needs appear to be catered for and things are clean if a little dated. I am just happy it was not one of the old blue loo chemical flush toilets really.

Peeking Into The Entertainment System Controls

When I left the toilet, the door was open to the entertainment system. This was pre-flight so things were prepared for the safety video it seems.

Video number seven is the German version of the demonstration. I wonder how many there actually are?

Some Views Around Seat 2A

Leg room is fine in the front row. My favorite part of the old seats is the small cocktail table at the end of each seat arm rest. It is perfect for resting your drink with the tray stowed.

Old school entertainment controls are in the arm rest with a digital volume selector, attendant call button and a light and channel selector. Apparently someone thought to upgrade the rarest aircraft with flat screens which are a lot better than the old CRT monitors of days gone by.

Club Europe Brunch

Our load was fairly light in Club Europe so the crew member told people they could move and stretch out. The person next to me decided to stay put despite me wanting him to go and the crew telling him there were other seats available. Once in the air, it was time for the meal service to commence.

There are now hot and cold options for brunch and I felt like the hot option today. This is a cheese and tomato panini. When originally introduced in March 2017, the meal was just the sandwich. Now there is fruit which brings a welcome splash of colour and health to the proceedings. Castelnau Champagne is served throughout the European network on British Airways and it’s the same on the rarest bird of all. I like it and I always have it on board. Once the meal was complete we soon landed uneventfully in London.

Overall Thoughts

My crew on this flight were absolutely delightful with one even taking a few photos of me in between work. She later said how much she would miss the Boeing 767, so it appears this rare aircraft has fans among the crew at British Airways.

I find it to be very comfortable as the old Club Europe seats are very good. I really miss the cocktail table however the new table between the seats in Club Europe makes for a good replacement. Hopefully I will get to fly on the 767 once more before she is retired.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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