BA uses the A320, A321 and B767 on the Heathrow to Istanbul route and I chose the B767 operated flights to check how these aircraft were performing after 20 years + in service.
Terminal 5 at Heathrow continues to be a well managed operation and I am generally through security within 5-10 minutes of getting my boarding card. Some passengers seem extremely frustrated or angry at Heathrow security points but compared to many European and North America airports, I have to be honest and praise T5 for what is normally an easy procedure.
Where T5 and BA do sometimes fall down are the lounges. They are very busy and sometimes I wonder if it's just easier to grab something at Pret or Starbucks instead. First world problems!
The flight to and from Istanbul in BA's Club Europe cabin on the 767 was pretty good but the aircraft is really showing its age now. I wanted to fly on the 767 as they won't be around for many more years and there's something special about flying on these classics. The service on board in both directions was excellent, the food really good, the drinks free flowing but the Club Europe seats, entertainment system and toilets were certainly not 'premium'. I suppose BA will need to decide what business class on these sort of flights really means in the future and whether the branding sits more comfortably at Euro Traveller Plus.
The flights are around 4hrs in both directions and BA offers a full meal service, news and films/TV shows on overhead screens. Shortly after take off we were offered drinks and a snack from friendly crew who insisted that 10:15 was not too early to have a cheeky Gin and Tonic.
Lunch started some time later and I have to say the quality was very good.
On the return flight the Club Europe cabin was really busy. There were approximately 16 rows of the 2-2-2 business class configuration but the crews were once again excellent.
The return service was very similar to the outbound and we got to London well fed and relaxed.
I generally expect inconsistencies on BA flights but the flights to and from Istanbul were very good.
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Verdict
British Airways
7.6/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi5.5
Meal/catering9.0
British Airways (North) Galleries Club - 5A
4.9/10
Comfort4.0
Meal/catering4.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services4.0
London - LHR
8.1/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.0
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.0
Istanbul - ISL
6.9/10
Efficiency8.0
Access6.5
Services6.5
Cleanliness6.5
Conclusion
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Nice review, thank you. Good to see a decent meal service offered on a 4 hour flight. But it is a 4 hour flight and calling euro business seat business class is stretching it for a 4 hour flight, when you consider the taxi service between JFK and LHR is only 2 hours longer and that features international business product. Doesn't BA operate an international config aircraft for the 4 hour London to Moscow journey?
I agree with what airtraveladdict pointed out, there are some insufficiencies with this catering given the loose term “intra-European.” This catering doesn’t seem to compare well with A3, TK, and JU catering that also operate these longer routes. Granted, airtraveladdict’s comment is a little misplaced because in the US, Hawaii is a “domestic” flight from JFK and gets catered as such ;) I will say that the choice of dessert is an interesting concept.
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967 reviews
2 Comments
Good to see a decent meal service offered on a 4 hour flight.
But it is a 4 hour flight and calling euro business seat business class is stretching it for a 4 hour flight, when you consider the taxi service between JFK and LHR is only 2 hours longer and that features international business product.
Doesn't BA operate an international config aircraft for the 4 hour London to Moscow journey?
I agree with what airtraveladdict pointed out, there are some insufficiencies with this catering given the loose term “intra-European.” This catering doesn’t seem to compare well with A3, TK, and JU catering that also operate these longer routes. Granted, airtraveladdict’s comment is a little misplaced because in the US, Hawaii is a “domestic” flight from JFK and gets catered as such ;) I will say that the choice of dessert is an interesting concept.
16 rows of 2-2-2 business seating on a B767???
What do these seats look like?
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