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British Airways announced their new Euroflyer subsidiary in December 2021, as a low-cost rival to Easyjet and Wizzair out of London Gatwick Airport. The new subsidiary airline has been plagued with a slow rollout, caused by difficulties with hiring and training delays of flight crew post-pandemic.
This has meant that British Airways operations at Gatwick have really only focused on a few selected leisure destinations, with the expected growth of Euroflyer destinations still very slow going.
As of September 2023, 18 months after launch, there are only 13 BA Euroflyer routes, with mainline British Airways still operating flights from London Gatwick including flights to the Caribbean, Orlando and still some flights to mainland Europe destinations.
This was my first chance to try out and review their BA Euroflyer service, and see how it compares to the mainline service, including flights out of Heathrow and City. As a regular British Airways frequent flyer, Gatwick is easier and quicker for me to get to than Heathrow or City.
Below is my review from London Gatwick to Amsterdam with British Airways Euroflyer in Club Europe, onboard this A320.
Check-In Experience: London Gatwick
London Gatwick South Terminal (British Airways’ home at Gatwick) is surprisingly quiet. The South Terminal is conveniently located next to the Gatwick Train Station, making it super quick and easy to get from train to check-in with luggage.
For passengers travelling out of London Gatwick North Terminal with other airlines, you take a train shuttle from the South Terminal to the North Terminal, which takes roughly 10-15 minutes extra including walking.
As I was flying Club Europe today, I could use the British Airways premium check-in area at London Gatwick today.
The premium customer and frequent flyer area was a nice cornered off waiting area to check in with seating, carpet and plenty of check in counters. Presumably its quicker than the main check in queues when busy, but since there was so few British Airways Gatwick flights this day, there was no waiting anyway, so it didn’t save any time.
Euroflyer Baggage Allowance
The baggage allowance for British Airways Euroflyer services is the same as mainline British Airways flights. In Club Europe, this means I could take 2 x 32kg (70lb) bags. For Euroflyer Economy, it will depend on the fare you choose. You can choose to either select hand baggage only fares on Euroflyer flights, or fares with a checked bag that also include free seat selection 48 hours prior to departure.
London Gatwick Airport: Security
Club Europe passengers at London Gatwick receive fast-track security lane access, so it was straight through a dedicated security line. I can see this being especially handy if you are flying at peak times such as school holidays, Friday afternoons, Easter or the December holiday period. I’ve flown through Gatwick on an Easter weekend before, and the fast-track line did indeed save me over an hour of queuing for security.
London Gatwick Airport: British Airways Galleries Club Lounge
The British Airways Galleries Club Lounge at London Gatwick Airport is a lovely two-story space with sweeping views over the airport apron on both sides of the terminal. As there were only a handful of British Airways and oneworld flights leaving from Gatwick, the lounge was fairly quiet on this particular evening. The British Airways Gatwick Galleries Club lounge is located on the Upper Mezzanine level of the South Terminal, with the entrance besides Inmotion. Take the elevator or stairs next to the No1 Lounge.
I will provide my detailed review of the Gatwick Lounge in a separate post, and will make sure to link to it here. It’s a lovely spacious lounge with great runway views, great food and beverage selection and lots of seating options. A perfect place to relax before your flight, have some dinner or get some work done.
Boarding and Cabin Layout: A320 Euroflyer Club Europe
British Airways Club Europe passengers get priority Group 1 boarding. British Airways Bronze, Silver, Gold and above also receive priority boarding, but they could be Group 1, 2 or 3 depending on their elite status.
The A320 Euroflyer cabin layout is the same as mainline British Airways. British Airways Club Europe is set out in a 2-2 configuration, with the middle seat blocked by a table. Economy is the same configuration with a 3-3 configuration, without the middle table. I believe the legroom is the same throughout the aircraft, regardless of whether you are sitting in Economy or Club Europe. I found the legroom totally fine. There is a movable divider between Club Europe and Economy, with means British Airways can scale or reduce the size of the Club Europe cabin quickly based on demand.
Pre-departure
In British Airways Club Europe, pre-departure service consists of a glass of orange juice or still water, and a hot towel. It’s great to see this return after the pandemic, and is a welcome step above Economy. It’s certainly a refreshing way to start a flight, as well as a great opportunity to meet the crew on today’s flight.
British Airways A320 Euroflyer Club Europe: Seat
The British Airways Club Europe seat is the same seat as found in Economy. It is thick and well-padded, and a step above other IAG airlines including low-cost airline, Vueling, which have a thinly padded and noticeably narrower seat. I didn’t find legroom to be a problem, and in British Airways Club Europe, you can always stretch your legs under the middle seat.
Onboard this A320, all the seats are the same however British Airways has started unfortunately using thinner seats on the rear-half of their new A320neo’s. If you do unfortunately have to fly on one of these, make sure to book Economy Forward of the Wing or Club Europe to avoid these. I had the unlucky privilege of flying onboard one of these new A320neo’s last year in the thin seats, and I can confirm that its very uncomfortable.
British Airways A320 Club Europe Euroflyer Gatwick: Food and Wine
As a regular Club Europe frequent flyer, I have to say British Airways Club Europe catering is some of the best short-haul catering in the world. This is due to their partnership with Do&Co, widely recognised as one of the best airline catering companies in the world. Meals served revolve around the time of departure and flight length in Club Europe. In my opinion, generally afternoon tea and dinner flights have the best food.
As I’m vegan, I always opt for the Vegan Vegetarian Meal. As this was an evening flight to Amsterdam, the dinner service commenced shortly after take-off.
My VGML special meal consisted of a Quinoa and Cauliflower salad, with Cos and Radicchio, and a Chocolate & Orange Ganache for dessert. Perfectly light, fresh and fine for a 1-hour hop across the English Channel.
Usually, British Airways Club Europe has menus with today’s food and beverage choices but unfortunately the crew did not hand any out on today’s flight so I didn’t catch what was available on the normal menu.
In all, very delicious, and no Euroflyer downgrade from what you would typically be served in Club Europe on mainline services.
Wine, Liquor and Beer Selection
British Airways always has a great wine, liquor and beer selection in Club Europe. The wide range suits all tastes, and plus they have champagne which does not usually feature on most short-haul business class flights. It is a standard selection usually available across most Club Europe flights. As today’s flight didn’t have a menu, I have added an old beverage menu from a previous British Airways Club Europe flight above, as today’s selection was the same.
Beer
If you are a beer drinker, you must try Jet Stream, British Airways own Pale Ale beer, in collaboration with Brewdog. British Airways also has a second collaboration beer with Brewdog called Speedbird OG, which is an IPA. On today’s flight, only Jet Stream was available, but if you are sitting in Economy, you can pre-order both of these beers for your next British Airways flight through the High Life Shop. Both are great beers, and are exclusive to British Airways.
Champagne
For champagne, British Airways had Nicholas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut NV on today’s flight. This is pretty standard across most Club Europe flights, and I find it very easy to drink. They do change the champagne in Club Europe from time-to-time depending on supply, but generally it is Nicholas Feuillatte. Easy to drink, consistent and a nice drop, Nicholas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut NV champagne elevates the British Airways Club Europe experience into a special occasion.
Gin
If you are a gin drinker, you are in for a treat. British Airways serves three gins in Club Europe. Gordons Gin, Tanqueray Gin and Aviation Gin. Aviation Gin is my favourite Club Europe gin, with lovely, delicate floral botanicals. Why not try all three gins? British Airways serves Schweppes tonic water onboard, however it would be nice if they did also trial another British brand, Fevertree, onboard, and see which their customers prefer.
Wine
For wine drinkers, on today’s flight, British Airways had just four wines available; two whites and two reds. The white options were the Californian “Lynx, Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay No.1 NV” and the South African “Wild Shore, Sauvignon Blanc, 2021” . The red options were the Argentinian “Don Leopoldo, Malbec, 2019” and the “Cittadini, Primitive, 2018” from Puglia, Italy.
In all, a fairly extensive beverage selection for a just-over one hour flight. The drinks service was great, and around the dinner service, there were one round of drinks served prior to dinner, and one after, prior to landing.
British Airways Euroflyer Service
The crew on this flight were friendly, but I noticed they “stuck to the script” and just did the service tasks they needed to do, then hid away for the rest of the flight. Today’s flight was fairly quiet, and there was only 2 passengers in the Club Europe cabin, so it wasn’t busy and the crew weren’t “rushed off their feet”.
It’s no secret that British Airways have been having issues with hiring for Euroflyer crew, post-pandemic, as a lot of airline personal have moved on into other professions when the airline industry ground to a halt.
The team on today’s flight did seem quite fresh out of training, coupled with the fact that this is a short flight. For me, great service on a flight means actively engaging in conversations with passengers between service items, proactively offering drinks refills and clearing rubbish. I hope as the Euroflyer crew grow into their roles and get more comfortable with the service tasks, they begin to offer more personalised service in Club Europe. I have flown from London to Manchester in Club Europe before, with a flight time of under 45 minutes, and had more personalised and attentive service, so it is entirely possible.
Arrival into AMS: British Airways Club Europe
Being at the front of the plane meant that British Airways Club Europe passengers were amongst the first off the plane. This was a fairly quiet evening at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, so Club Europe passengers didn’t have to wait at immigration queues, ahead of the other passengers on the plane.
With priority baggage, I was waiting with my bags for the train into Amsterdam Central just 20 minutes after landing. Only 20 minutes later, I was at Amsterdam Centraal Train Station. A very smooth and easy travel experience indeed.
Conclusion
In conclusion to this review, today’s flight was perfectly great, with no noticeable difference between mainline and Euroflyer Club Europe. Whilst the service was fine on today’s flight, I hope it will improve in the future as Euroflyer crew get more comfortable with their roles and service tasks.
I wouldn’t second guess flying on Euroflyer again. It’s very comparable to mainline British Airways Club Europe, and Gatwick is just such an easy airport to get to from Central London. Plus, I find the premium check-in and fast-track security at Gatwick so easy. And Gatwick Galleries Club Lounge is lovely and generally quieter than the Heathrow T5 British Airways lounges. Gatwick Airport is especially easy for those staying near Victoria, Clapham Junction, Vauxhall or Waterloo in London.
Euroflyer is the normal British Airways Club Europe service we know and love. I paid for this flight with cash, and the difference in price with only £50 ($62) more, which in combination with the additional Avios and tier points, was well worth it to me. Avios redemptions on this route from LGW to AMS in Club Europe one-way are 15,000 Avios + £0.50 ($0.62) (off-peak) and 16,250 Avios + £0.50 (£0.62) (peak). These usually aren’t the best value Avios redemptions, so compare the different redemption values here for the different co-payments, to maximize the value you get from your Avios.
Hopefully I will get a chance to review Euroflyer again in 2024 to see how far it has come since this flight, as I reckon it will just keep getting better and better.