The March 2017 catering changes for Club Europe at British Airways removed the scones at afternoon tea. Happily, these have now made a welcome return in the latest revision – after all, what is a traditional British afternoon tea with no scones?

I’ve been looking forward to trying them ever since the catering was upgraded recently. For me, it’s a welcome return to form as the Club Europe scones are one of my favourite parts of flying with BA.

BA829 – Dublin to London Heathrow (DUB-LHR)
27 October 2018
Airbus A319 – G-EUPN
Seat: Club Europe 5F
Departure: 14:10 Arrival: 15:40

Boarding by groups – American style – works really well at British Airways. As part of group one, it was down the stairs, across the tarmac and on board, after spending some time in the lounge.


Once on board, I settled in to my seat in row 5. Club Europe was completely full today, and I hoped the service would make it to me before we descended.


The flight crew announced that we would have a flying time of 51 minutes today. Since it was perfectly sunny and nice, it promised to be a smooth flight. After the video safety demonstration, we took off soon enough.

Climbing Out

Window seats are a must for me on a short haul flight. It is unlikely I’ll need to move and the views of Ireland, the Irish Sea and the United Kingdom are always pleasing.


Hot towels are provided by the crew to refresh your face after the airport experience. Next, the cabin crew swing into action and start serving afternoon tea from the front.

A Welcome Return For The Scones

Two choices are offered for afternoon tea, a Ploughman’s lunch and sandwiches. They had run out of the Ploughman’s when they got to me, which was fine as I wanted the sandwiches. Bread or scones are offered and I took a scone – of course!


Once the crew finished serving the row behind me, I snagged the last scone from the basket. At least two people had upgraded at the airport and I was happy to see they received meals. These are not guaranteed due to catering being planned in advance, but some didn’t take a meal.


The flight deck crew had announced we were running early, so I scarfed down the very delicious sandwiches and the moreish dessert. Stunning! Next I hit on the scones and ate them with relish. So good, and so welcome! They are perfect with Champagne!

Heading On Down

Pleasingly we were put into a hold unexpectedly, which meant I could relax a little more. At this stage I asked for another Champagne and ended up having it in a plastic cup for landing.


I rather enjoy having my plastic cup to sip as we land. For me it really caps off the whole flight experience, before running the gauntlet getting out of the airport.

Overall Thoughts

Welcome back to the scones! Once again I’ll be enjoying my afternoon tea service just that bit more when flying Club Europe at British Airways.

As usual, the cabin crew were superb. Friendly, obliging and smiley as they often are. I keep flying BA because they have one of the best European business class products out there, in my mind at any rate.

Are you a fan of scones? Do you like them on British Airways? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Andy Mitchell from Glasgow UK via Wikimedia Commons.