Review of British Airways flight from London to Copenhagen in Economy

BAW

BA - British Airways

Flight taken on 22 October 2023
BA816
12:45 01h 55m 15:40
Model Airbus A320
Class Economy
Seat
KévinDC
600 · 32 · 8 · 6

introduction


Welcome to the second part of this series of flight reviews. 

As British Airways, like most other airlines, only have Premium Economy cabins on long-haul aircraft, our short-haul sector connecting to Copenhagen would be in Economy.


Routing


Reviews in this series:


Flight routing

  • 1
  • 2
    BA816 - Economy - London ✈ Copenhagen - Airbus A320
  • 3
    SK1462 - Premium Eco - Copenhagen ✈ Oslo - Boeing 737-800
  • 4
    SK4086 - Economy - Oslo ✈ Harstad/Narvik - A320neo
  • 5
    SK4087 - Economy - Harstad/Narvik ✈ Oslo - A320neo
  • 6
    SK461 - Premium Eco - Oslo ✈ Copenhagen - Boeing 737-800
  • 7
    BA813 - Economy - Copenhagen ✈ London - Airbus A320
  • 8
    BA269 - Premium Eco - London ✈ Los Angeles - Boeing 777-300ER

photo routing-allphoto routing-lhr-cph

transit & lounge


Having arrived from LAX at one of the Terminal 5 satellite concourses, we took the underground train to the main Terminal 5 building. This time, we made sure to go to the first transit security lane on the right coming off the escalator from downstairs as it's the only lane equipped with the new machines which allow you to keep all electronics and liquids inside of cabin baggage. This makes a huge difference and is akin to the TSA Pre-check experience in the US. No fumbling with taking things out of bags to place into bins. 

We were through to airside in minutes. 


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As always, we made the trek downstairs to head to the South Lounges escalator.


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With our oneworld Emerald frequent flyer status, we have access to the British Airways First lounge, as opposed to the Club Lounge (Business Class lounge), regardless of cabin of travel. 


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The First class lounge isn't as luxurious as some other oneworld airline First class lounges, like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Qantas flagship lounges, but it's still a nice upgrade from the Business class lounges. For those who may not be familiar with BA lounges at Heathrow, they have a much more exclusive lounge across the corridor called the Concorde Room, which is reserved only for BA First class passengers–that is the true First class lounge. 

The First lounge is large with several seating areas, a relaxation room, a restaurant section, and multiple champagne bars. 


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Shower rooms and spa treatments are available at the Elemis spa, located between the First Lounge and the Concorde Room. 

As my son is very familiar with this lounge—we're through Heathrow every few weeks it seems—he always knows exactly how to get to the children's playroom. 


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As usual, we had the playroom to ourselves. It's not luxurious, but it's quieter and away from the main lounge. 


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boarding


As the gate was close to the lounge, we only left about 5 minutes before boarding time. 


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Boarding hadn't yet started when we arrived at the gate. 


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We were again able to pre-board with other families with children ahead of our Group 1 boarding. 


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Passing through the Club Europe cabin, which hadn't yet boarded. 


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The aircraft for this short flight, G-EUUU, is a 16 year old A320 configured with 180 seats total. The Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seats look nice and the cabin feels modern, despite the age of the aircraft. 


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There are USB-A ports between seats for a total of 4 ports for every 3 seats. Seats that are convertible to Business class, in the first 10 rows, also have 110v universal power outlets. Note that the in-seat power is turned on only once the aircraft is above 10,000 ft. 


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While the seats are comfortable and reasonably well-padded by today's ultra-slimline standards, the legroom is quite tight. Seat pitch in the rows behind the overwing exits (rows 13-30) is a knee-crushing 29" (74 cm)–barely above the minimum of 28" (71cm) of most low-cost carriers. Being of average height (5'10"/1m78), my knees almost touch the seat in front–I can imagine anyone taller would be digging into the seat. 


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Note that the first 10 rows, which are convertible to Business class, offer slightly better legroom with a 30" (76 cm) seat pitch.


the flight


 Boarding was completed on time and we pushed back from the gate a few minutes early. 


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It wasn't a terribly busy hour so taxi time was short with no wait for takeoff. 


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Shortly after takeoff the Wi-Fi became available and charging ports were activated. Messaging packages are available starting at £2.99, while full internet browsing and streaming packages begin at £4.99 for 1 hour or £ 7.99 for the full flight. 


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All passengers receive a complimentary bottle of water and a small snack on short-haul. Larger, fresh food items and a wider drink selection, including alcoholic beverages are available for purchase from the Highlife Café (previously known as the Speedbird Café). The free snack and water is a relatively new change since the pandemic–previously nothing was available for free, which was no different to low-cost carriers. 


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The menu for the High Life Café is available through the Wi-Fi portal (no need to purchase Wi-Fi). 


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It's a very short flight, less than an hour and a half in the air, so before we knew it, we were making out descent into Kastrup. 


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It was a sunny autumn day over Denmark as well, with clear views of the impressive 8-km long Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. 


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We parked ahead of schedule at a gate next to the hometown airline. 


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Immigration was super fast and efficient, as has always been my experience at CPH. Granted, it had been many years since I'd last been through CPH, some things never change it seems (thankfully). 


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Display all

Product ratings

Airline

British Airways 7.0

  • Cabin7.5 / 10
  • Cabin crew8.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi6.5 / 10
  • Meal/catering5.5 / 10
Lounge

British Airways Galleries First 8.0

  • Comfort8.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.5 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi8.0 / 10
  • Services8.5 / 10
Departure airport

London - LHR8.4

  • Efficiency8.0 / 10
  • Access8.5 / 10
  • Services9.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness8.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Copenhagen - CPH9.0

  • Efficiency9.0 / 10
  • Access9.0 / 10
  • Services8.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness9.5 / 10

Conclusion

A pretty good quick flight. The seats are comfortable and have charging ports, which is essential these days. Would love to see USB-C installed at some point, as that's now the standard in Europe. The seat pitch is a little too tight, more typical of a low-cost carrier than a full-service carrier. The Wi-Fi is good to have, but it would be nice to see BA offering some wireless streaming entertainment to personal devices to really set them appart from the low-cost carriers. Cabin crew were lovely as always, though there's always much less interaction in Economy than in Business. I'm glad that BA began offering a complimentary bottle of water and snack on short-haul post-Covid because in the years before and during the pandemic, not offering anything at all in Economy was not consistent with a full-service carrier--much less the national airline of one of the world's largest economies.

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Comments (8)

  • Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing this FR!

    We were through to airside in minutes.

    Some things never change with that iconic view of T5’s lobby ;)

    a knee-crushing 29"

    Whatever it takes to get 6 extra seats filled. Even the US legacy carriers are not as stingy. TP is still the best with the larger 33” in the front J flex zone, though i think they get stingier than BA in the back.

    or £ 7.99 for the full flight.

    Certainly poor value for most of BA’s network.

    Immigration was super fast and efficient, as has always been my experience at CPH

    Yes, the medium size of CPH makes if have a good balance in connectivity and efficiency. Will be missed once SK exits for ST.

    • Some things never change with that iconic view of T5’s lobby ;)

      Hah, yeah, I miss the later days of the pandemic when it was tolerable. This huge terminal just can't handle more people.

      Even the US legacy carriers are not as stingy.

      Yeah, the US3 are mostly at 31" on most of their narrowbodies and flirt with 30" pitch on the newer NEO and MAX

      TP is still the best with the larger 33” in the front J flex zone, though i think they get stingier than BA in the back.

      Yep, TP go down to the LCC-low of 28" in the back...that's how they get to have a 33" pitch up front. I guess BA had a more egalitarian approach.

      Yes, the medium size of CPH makes if have a good balance in connectivity and efficiency. Will be missed once SK exits for ST.

      It's a great airport. Everyone used to talk up AMS (not anymore), but really CPH has always been so much more pleasant for transiting--granted it's not convenient for many destinations. Yeah it was such a surprise when it was announced SK was becoming part of AF/KL group and moving to ST. Doesn't matter much to me since I don't ever really fly either. Tried to credit SK flights to TK, the only *A card I have, and of course, it never went through, and I don't care enough to fight for the miles lol

      Thanks for your comments!

  • Another enjoyable review Kevin! Nice to see you had a seamless flight from LHR to CPH on BA!

    • Thanks Jett, yeah when it's smooth it's great. And as much as I transit at LHR, it's smooth like 90% of the time.

  • Looks like a quick and good trip with BA to CPH. My wife and I visited back in 2011 - and loved our time there. I definitely remember seeing that large bridge from the skies on departure back to the states!

    • Thanks for your comments! Copenhagen is a wonderful city. Tivoli Gardens is my favourite amusement park by far, and my son loved it.

  • Hi Kevin!

    Nice horse at the lounge ahah.

    Also nice the playground at the lounge, I'll pay more attention to it during my next trips.

    Ahh Ive been on GEUUU 3 times. The seats look nice but the low pitch has always been a BA signature it seems!

    Really happy to see that the days of hard BOB (that was the last cost-cutting thing that made me leave BA) are over.

    • Hey Chris, thanks for your comments!

      Ahh Ive been on GEUUU 3 times. The seats look nice but the low pitch has always been a BA signature it seems!

      Haha yes, I remember they used to have a less dense configuration when the new seats were first introduced, but then like 2 years later they went and crammed in some extra rows. I remember thinking how terrible it was to only have 30" pitch in J, but it seems to have become the norm across European carriers now.

      Really happy to see that the days of hard BOB (that was the last cost-cutting thing that made me leave BA) are over.

      Yeah for sure. They stopped BOB during the pandemic and were offering a bottle of water and snack at that time, so I guess they got good feedback about that and kept it when they re-introduced BOB later on. To be this is perfect and how a full service carrier should be...a little snack and drink and if you want more, you can buy something. I really never understood getting rid of all service altogether, it just looks so cheap and not fitting of a national carrier with a generally premium brand. It's just a silly snack, but it's very symbolic of care for customers in my opinion.

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