Leg 2: LGW-BCN EasyJet A319-100

I received a fair amount of snobbish abuse (albeit good natured) from friends and family alike for having the temerity to take my newly appointed wife away after the wedding on a low cost carrier. Given my steadfast refusal to pay for short-haul business class in Europe - which really is utterly pointless in my view - we were left with the option of BA from Heathrow or EasyJet from Gatwick. As we were starting our journey only 20 miles from Gatwick and considering that the minimal comfort increase offered by BA is more than offset by the longer journey to Heathrow, the EasyJet option won through.

For the trip to the airport, I was particularly pleased that the transfer firm I used, who knew of the occasion as I had used them to ferry guests from airports and stations to hotels the day before, had seen fit to send an S-Class complete with full liveried chauffeur as a treat, which really was a great way to start our break. Following a thoroughly pleasant ride, we were dropped off at Gatwick about an hour and twenty minutes before departure. I was fully expecting lengthy queues at bag drop, given the size of EasyJet’s operations at Gatwick and having waited for almost an hour to drop a bag off before a Newcastle to Bristol flight only 3 weeks before, but was pleasantly surprised to walk straight up to a desk and heading to security 30 seconds later.

As is often the case at South Terminal, which is dominated by leisure airlines, security took an age, with the once a year crowd slowing things up. We did, however, get through with enough time to grab a last pint of proper English beer - one of the few things you just cannot get in the Middle East - before heading off to supposedly warmer pastures. By the time we’d finished our drinks and made it across to the gate we were pretty much the last to board, but were still able to grab a block of three seats to ourselves in the last row of the plane. Passengers today were overwhelmingly Spanish, presumably returning from a long weekend in London, with only a few Brits interspersed amongst the almost capacity passenger load.

Despite taxiing on time, we held for some time before taking off about 15 minutes behind schedule. Service was exactly as one would expect on EasyJet i.e. pay as you go but pleasant - in general I find the EasyJet crews to be a young and enthusiastic bunch who do their jobs well. Whilst I have no issue with the service on EasyJet, the seats on their A319s really aren’t hugely comfortable beyond a short flight and the flight to Barcelona was about at the edge of my tolerance of them. It’s not really the legroom that bothers me so much as the lack of a proper headrest and the shortness of the seat back, which combine to make getting any form of sleep almost impossible. That said I think they provide a good value service and I use them frequently on routes which just wouldn’t exist without the LCCs.

Arrival in Barcelona was on time and fortunately, given the pouring rain, we docked with an air-bridge at the terminal, which was somewhat of a building site with large sections dug up to accommodate new retail units. Passport checks and baggage claim were both painless and we were met outside by a hotel driver within 15 minutes of docking with the terminal. After establishing it was my first time in Barcelona, the driver took us on an impromptu city tour en-route to the hotel pointing out landmarks and recommending bars and restaurants, which was a much appreciated perk.

Having deliberated for some time over which hotel to choose in Barcelona, looking at various points at the new W, the Mandarin Oriental, and the Pullman Skipper, we settled on Le Meridien for its combination of a central location, decent reviews, and (from my perspective) points on a program I’m reasonably active in. The rooms were compact but nicely appointed and with the exception of no drinking water being provided in the room (which is a pet hate of mine) I was perfectly happy with the choice. We passed by the W for a drink at one point and were impressed by the property but not its location, which is somewhat isolated out in the port.