You may recall that only a few days ago I lamented that I never receive an upgrade when I fly. I follow the mantra of book the cabin you wish to fly in so usually any economy class flights I upgrade with points.
Today I flew to London on a cheap economy class fare for €49. Just for you, I was planning to review the fact that BA CityFlyer still serve free meals in EuroTraveller. At the gate, my boarding pass beeped and you guessed it – I was upgraded to Club Europe!
BA4461 – Dublin to London City (DUB-LCY)
25 March 2017
Embraer 170 – G-LCYD
Seat: Club Europe 1D
Departure: 07:20 Arrival: 08:50
My seat assignment was 1D and internally I was moaning about it being an aisle seat. I sat down in the seat I thought was 1D until it crossed my mind that the seats on this aircraft were AB/CD and I actually had a window. Even now I still sometimes make rookie errors!
Leg room in row 1 is quite fine if you are short, however if you are a taller person I would suggest row 2 or back. This way you will have room to stretch out your legs under the seat in front.
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- Leg room in row 1 is okay
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- A view across the aisle
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- From 1D you can see the door
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- A stunning – stunning – view over Wicklow
The Embraer 170 has a different kind of overhead panel to the Airbus aircraft I usually fly on. The signage is different and the layout of the air vents and so on is unique to the aircraft.
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- No Smoking and Seatbelts
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- Air, light and cabin crew call!
Once we finished boarding, we waited for quite a bit of time. First, we were advised by the cockpit that we were waiting for London City to open. Next, an aircraft pushing back behind us had a technical issue. Nevertheless, we eventually made it to the runway and into the air.
Breakfast Time
BA CityFlyer is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways and they operate most flights out of London City Airport. The cabin crew are always delightful and the catering is very good.
On our flight at least two people were upgraded and there were a total of 5 in Club Europe out of 8 seats. Our Customer Service Manager Julie provided excellent service as well as looking immaculate.
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- I did need to blow two crumbs off the tray
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- Breakfast is served!
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- Champagne and Champignons
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- Fruit salad – with strawberries!
Fruit salad is usually something I would rather avoid however the fruit on BA CityFlyer is pretty good. I especially like the fact that there are strawberries. These bad boys go for a swim in my Champagne and it’s all a bit Pretty Woman at 32,000 feet really!
Upgraded Taste
Breakfast is tasty – the bacon, scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, potato rosti – all brilliant apart from the top of the egg being a little dry. I put that down to the delay in take-off more than anything else. The mini tomato could be more substantial though!
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- Swimming strawberry and green tea!
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- Hot towel after the meal?
Bread is offered from the basket but there were no takers. The selection is not especially exciting. Hot towels are usually offered before take off but today we received them after the meal. Different but nice to get them, even if the towels are a joke.
Overall Thoughts
British Airways actually upgraded me which is a total surprise and a pleasure. While it means I don’t get to review the EuroTraveller complimentary meal, being upgraded means I enjoyed my flight more. I would have been happy anyway, as it was a spectacular day for flying.
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- Sometimes, sun gets in your face!
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- Today’s sky is spectacular over England!
Thank you for reading as always, I hope you do enjoy what I write. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via British Airways.
