Following from the excellent BA trip reports from fbgdavidson, I thought it was time I added one of my own, namely one of my more recent trips to Paris with a friend.

Check-in at the Club Europe/Hand Baggage only desk was a breeze as we had both checked-in online the night before for both outward and return sectors with only a camera bag and guide book to take onboard.

After clearing security, we were in the excellent terraces lounge after only 20 minutes of parking the car! The terraces lounge in BHX is surprisingly large with a wonderful commanding view of the apron and runway with aircraft at both terminals 1 and 2 visible. Due to the relatively early hour, we both had a few cappucino's and pain-au-chocolate's(please excuse my french!), while reading the morning papers. Our flight was due to leave at 08:40 which is quite a busy time for BA at BHX with flights to Edinburgh, Milan and Rome among others leaving between 08:00 and 09:00. In fact most people in the lounge (which is always quieter on the weekends) were bound for Edinburgh (must be Full Fare/Silver/Gold or similar).

Around 08:30 a call was made for our flight at a gate which was only a brief walk away - I think I had spied our RJ100 aircraft from the lounge! Economy was boarding was well underway, resulting in us being one of the last group of passengers to board. It is worth remembering that the seating layout in Club on the Avro is the reverse to that on other BA aircraft. Whereas the layout is usually 2:3, it is 3:2 on the Avro so to get one of the '2' layout seats which have more space (usually 1A and C, for example on a 757/A320) you need to choose D and F on the Avro. It is obvious when you check-in online, however believe me, I was uncertain the first time I flew the aircraft type! Apart from the layout alterations, the seats are the same type as out of Heathrow, however, I am convinced there is more legroom in Club on the Avro - easily pushing 38 inches I'm sure!

Another benefit (depending upon your point of view) is the short taxiing at BHX in comparison to Heathrow when on a short flight like this to Paris, half the flight is spent taxiing! Within 15 minutes of boarding, we were in the air. As the steep angle of climb was reduced (the RJ100 goes up like a rocket!) the crew offered a Champagne Breakfast. The highlight of Club Europe and why I choose it time after time, is the cooked breakfast which is rare on such a short flight in Europe these days. The Buck's Fizz (Orange juice and Piper Heidsieck) set the scene nicely for the day ahead and a selection of breakfast pastries were offered with the generous english cooked breakfast which also had tomato ketchup and similar sachet's mixed within. A nice touch. After coffee and tea, we both indulged in some more champaygne as the coast of france appeared in view and we began our gradual decent in CDG.

After 10 minutes of taxiing around CDG, we parked on a remote stand which I think is the norm for RJ's at CDG (to this day I have never arrived at a gate eventhough there are air bridges for the Avro at BHX). Once on the bus to the terminal, we joined the que for passport control, and as we had no baggage to claim, we were waiting for the bus to take us to the RER station. In true CDG fashion we waited, along with other for around half an hour for a bus to materialize, however fortunately we managed to catch the non-stop train to Gare du Nord, however we actually alighted at Saint Michel Notre Dam. The weather was being kind as for most of the flight to Paris, it was mostly clear skies, and Paris itself was no exception however it wasn't tropical being only around 8 degrees Celcius.

During our 5 hours or so that we had in Paris we mangaged to walk along the river Seine from Notre Dam to the Eiffel Tower, stopping along the way for a Crepe. Another great day out in Paris!

We returned to CDG from the Eiffel Tower after changing trains at Chatlet Les Halles (I think?) for another non-stop to CDG-2, which stops at CDG-1 first. This left around an hour at the airport before the flight back to BHX.

BA recently changed from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 at CDG, and therefore they do not have a terraces lounge at CDG. Instead it is a shared lounge with Air France which is not that much bigger than the terraces lounge in BHX (which is far better). Nevertheless, the usual full bar, salty snacks and biscuits were available. Calls for BA flights are now made in the lounge - something they didn't use to do when the first switched terminals which I put down to the logistics of such a swap.

The time seemed to pass extremely quickly in the lounge as the call for the BHX flight as I had barely finished my second minature bottle of Perrier water.

Once clearing the gate, we all boarded the bus to the stand where our Embraer 145 was waiting our arrival. It's only when you get to the top of the integrated stairs do you realise the narrow 'cigar' fuselage. Seating configuration is identical throughout the cabin however there is a cabin divider between Traveller and Club which is a nice luxury touch and nice to see even on such a small aircraft.

Once we both settled into 2B and C, we both noticed how much less pitch we had in comparison to the Avro. This was the first time I had flown the Embraer on the Paris route. (I couldn't remember it being this tight when I went to Frankurt last year, however I flew both ways on an Embraer so had no frame of reference to the Avro)

The flight departed slightly late at 17:30 instead of 17:10 due to the busy time at CDG at that hour, having to wait for a number of in bound aircraft - however the view of them landing (as we were first inline to turn onto the runway) was superb!

The Embraer raced down the runway (power seemed to be delivered in a different way to the Avro - more like winding up an elastic band!) and were soon making our right turn out of CDG, which could clearly be seen behind us. The service began with drinks as usual, I opted for a Bitter Lemon which is nice to see available on British Airways ( a rather British Drink, a mixer in the same sense as Tonic water). My friend had another bottle of Champagne.

Due to a head wind, which resulted in a flying time of 1 hour and 5 minutes (as opposed to the 55 minutes outwards), the crew had a little more time to present dinner. This comprised of a potatoe salad, chicken tikka pie, and palma ham with iceburg lettuce selection served on the signature Club Europe glass plates. A selection of Warm bread rolls were also offered. The desert consisted of a rather pleasant Raspberry Cheese Cake which I seemed to demolish quite quickly along with a cup of coffee. As we desended over North London for our approach into Birmingham, it was time for another quick Bitter Lemon before the hot towels were passed around before landing (only given to Club passengers, I may add).

After landing, we were outside in a taxi within 15 minutes of landing and arrived home by 18:45 after a very rewarding trip to Paris.

In summary, another effortless trip to Paris, completed in a sensible time. The service from BA was superb as usual, and it just goes to show how well you can cater on such a short flight - it makes all the difference.