This is my first flight review so feedback welcome. I don’t understand the rules about adding photos to trip reports so I haven’t added any to be on the safe side.

All my life I have flown economy, often paying a premium to book an 'extra legroom' seat. Although I enjoy flying, I have not flown often in the past, i.e. I had six flights over the past 12 months which is more than I would usually average. I have collected Air Miles for many years, certainly since the 1990’s and have only recently become aware of how to increase my balance. By 2003 I had 1,300 and eight years later 1,360! I have never spent any miles and to my knowledge, never lost any either. A year ago, my Air Miles grew with the help of a Credit Card joining incentive of 9,000 miles, giving me just over 15,000. I know most of you reading this will be aghast but you’ll be relieved to know I have tripled my miles in the last 12 months and I need to continue this so I can get the taste of my ‘first First’. Reading FlyerTalk and coming across Mr Mutton’s blog, I have also gained an appetite for Hotel and BAEC Status (I always sign up to these things but never gain anything from them – until now!). Status, I always thought, was well beyond my reach. After working out what I needed to do, I decided to wait until my new BAEC year this September…


Monday 12th September 2016
Route LGW-AMS
Flight Number BA2760
Departure 11:30
Arrival 13:50 (Touchdown 13:27)
Seat 1F (Club Europe)
Aircraft A320-232 G-MEDK

Once in the vicinity of Gatwick, it felt like a long drive to North Terminal Long Stay Parking. I had pre-booked (£41.74) through British Airways so the car registration was scanned at the barrier, a ticket automatically issued and the barrier raised to allow me in. I commenced driving around firstly to find the nearest open car park, and secondly, to find the nearest parking space. There are bus stops around the complex and it was only five minutes before the bus arrived to take me to the North Terminal. Within 5 minutes I had arrived and after a walk from the bus stop (they don’t drop you at the entrance), I headed up in the lift to the second floor and searched for the Club check-in desks which I found to the left of the terminal at the far end. Having seen how full the Pen for economy was, I was pleased to join the shorter queue for Club Europe check-in but was surprised by the length of time taken to check couples in. It seemed about ten minutes per couple, so I was mystified as to why I as a solo traveller, managed to check-in within two minutes once at the counter. A Priority tag was affixed to my luggage. Disappointingly, I wasn't advised about lounge access or Premium Security. I had read up on the lounges so knew what to expect there, but I hadn’t done my research on security. I paused at Premium Security and wondered whether I could use it, but decided in the absence of signs it must be for paying passengers only, so proceeded through standard security, which was a quick experience anyway. I had a very quick and unsuccessful look in Duty Free to see whether they had any Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky which my father would be so pleased to receive if I ever find any. I headed to my first ever airport lounge experience. I had been tempted many times but have never been convinced lounge access would be worth £30+ for one or two hours in a cafeteria style room. I recently got an AMEX Gold (more miles!) and may now access some airport lounges for £15 (after the initial two free visits) which is a lot more appealing. Martin working the bar in No. 1 Lounge was efficient and friendly, he gave me a second lager before I finished the first – I’ve not experience service like this before! Ordering a bacon roll was straight forward and the roll was nicely done. The lounge was very busy, hardly any seats anywhere as Wozza2404 said about another lounge - that’s because anyone with more than a Nectar Card was in there! I didn't have anything else to drink or eat as none of the food at the buffet area was at all appetizing.

As soon as the gate flashed up on the screen, I made my way there and was the first to arrive, even the flight and cabin crew arrived after me! I was priority boarded for the first time and that felt good. I had chosen window seat 1F on the A320 and was excited to try the coveted front row, however, unbeknown to me, this ex-BMI aircraft G-MEDK does not have a window at 1F and the bespoke side wall which covers the window comes into the cabin more restricting headroom to the right. There appears to be a window behind the false wall as the sun shone through during flight leaving an orange glow crisscrossed by rectangular lines and it became very hot. There used to be a wardrobe here so perhaps it is a heater and not a window? It’s a shame Seat Guru didn’t warn me of this.

Fortunately, the space in row one for my 6ft 4” frame was fantastic and I was able to sit with one leg crossed over the knee with relative ease and not worry about anyone daring to recline their chair and dislocating my knees and hips in the process. My knees touch the seat in front when I sit in economy, even with the seat in front in the upright position. I found having the middle seat 1E free rather pleasant. It was certainly a good position to be amongst one of the first to be served too.

One thing I noticed is boarding seems to take forever when you are one of the first passengers on the aircraft and you watch a steady stream of fellow passengers boarding. In reverse, it means at disembarkation, I won’t have to wait until all these passengers are off which is a good thing.

We were provided a hot towel prior to take-off. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Dominic Howard-Jones (a google search reveals him to be BA’s ‘secret weapon’!). His announcements were very humorous, I’ve not had the pleasure of listening to anything like it before! He spoke of it being his turn to drive, the cabin crew subjecting us to the safety briefing, wondering why we have chosen to leave the country when the weather is so good, getting this beast into the air, describing turbulence as ‘potholes’ etc. I think most passengers were entertained and listened for a change and he still kept it professional including all the standard spiel. Later in flight he told us the plan was to land on the southerly runway which they’ve managed to build nowhere near the rest of the airfield, somewhat closer to Harlem quite frankly than Amsterdam, so a fairly lengthy 15 minute taxi in to the parking stand.

The meal I believe may have been the charcuterie selection as it consisted of egg, cheddar, mozzarella, salami, ham, olive, lettuce, chive, cherry tomato, choice of roll and butter (although no space to position the roll). It was nice. Preserves were offered too. I had two 187ml bottles of Champagne de Castelnau (not because it tasted amazing, but simple because it was labelled Champagne and I wasn’t paying per bottle) and even a proper glass to drink it from too. It was nice to have the Club Europe section separated by the curtain, making it feel a bit more private and special – now I was learning about what goes on behind the curtain in Club! Service from Customer Service Manager Ian Norris was the best I had ever experienced. He used everyone's name. I was offered tea/coffee and asked whether there was anything else I wanted. An enjoyable flight and so much better than economy!!

At Amsterdam I arrived at passport control and the security guard opposite was interrogating a male about why he wanted to come to Amsterdam and how long he was staying for. My operative simply grunted and waved me through, I think I got off lightly. I walked what seemed like a long walk to the luggage belt followed by a long wait for the luggage to arrive. My case was about number five off. My flights had cost £220:22. I brought a single train ticket to Amsterdam for EUR 5:70 (£4.82) and upon exiting the train station, my hotel - IBIS Amsterdam Centre where I stayed for two nights, cost £326:11 (including a surprise £9:47 non-sterling transaction fee; last time I use AMEX rather than my Clarity card for non-sterling transactions) and upon check-in I had to pay local tax of £14.69. I enjoyed a nice river view corner room (850) which also looked out over the train station and city. My return train journey cost EUR 5:70 (£4.86) (these amounts are as they appeared on the credit card). Whilst there I wondered around the City for miles, along canals and through markets. I tried locally brewed beers in Brouwerij de Prael, Genever (Dutch Gin) in Wynand Fockink Proeflokaal, delicious homemade fries at Vleminckx the Sausmeester stall (sauce master) Biestraat Street, the local culinary delight known as Broodje Haring (raw herring), a Stroopwafel from Goudse Stroopwafel, breakfast in The Lobby (Nes 49), a drink in Sky Lounge etc.


Route AMS-LGW
Flight Number BA2761
Wednesday 14th September 2016
Departure 13:55 (Take off 14:21)
Arrival 14:10 (Touchdown 14:11)
Seat 4F Club World
Aircraft A320-232 G-GATM

I was a little confused arriving at AMS for my flight back home. I wasn’t sure where to go but fortunately headed in roughly the right direction. A few more signs would be useful. I headed upstairs to check-in. This time I was advised about Lounge 40. A priority tag was fixed to my luggage. Whilst I had priority security, I still found myself and a few other passengers having to wait 5 mins before we were allowed to start the process. There were only two security lanes and they both had queues. There was a long queue/crowd at passport control, and no priority for business passengers. After waiting a few minutes, I moved to the electronic queue. Having previously attempted this at Heathrow and found it did not accept my electronic passport, I witnessed someone else's not working here at AMS, and unlike Heathrow where you have to join another queue for a manual check, his was checked manually at the electronic terminal and he was allowed through. After switching, I found there were no queues at the electronic gates, my passport scanned first time and I was allowed through. I followed the sign for the gates and was guided to the left of the building and downstairs. I then followed signs for the lounge and was taken back upstairs to the same level I had been on and to the right of the building! A never ending walk from where I came in at Security to the lounge proceeded. It wasn’t as crowded as the No 1 Lounge at LGW but still noisy nevertheless. Food offering not as good as No 1 Lounge as no sign anything can be ordered food wise and although I did hear someone enquiring about Champagne, I didn't partake. For future bookings, where I have ample time to get the train to the airport, I'll let the train take the strain rather than the car. There are large windows providing a good view of the aircraft, however, this also means when it is bright and sunny, it can be quite hot and difficult to find a table with shade. I enjoyed some cheese, meat, olives, bread, crisps and soft drinks. I went to the toilet which is outside the lounge and asked whether I would be allowed to return which I was. There were regular announcements about delays and departures. My flight must have been called whilst I was out of the lounge. After coming back in and getting another drink and then checking the time, I thought there is only about 30 minutes before my flight departs so I had better check! It's a good job I did as the member of staff confirmed he had called my flight. After the gauntlet of getting to the gate which was quite a distance again, there was a huge queue spreading along the concourse. I bypassed the queue to get near the front and noted each passenger queuing was in the priority queue and no one was queueing for economy! After 10 mins there was an inaudible announcement and about five passengers went forward. I joined them and was allowed through. When I choose my seat yesterday, there were a number of the 14 seats free (or so it appeared to me). On the flight only two were vacant so I wonder whether there has been a lot of selling in the meantime, or were the available seats all taken but just not confirmed by passengers at that stage? This cabin was a different layout to before as there is an additional row front left and no bulkhead, the exit door is there. I couldn't book the front row yesterday and one row is vacant so I'm a little annoyed by this as there is NO leg room for my 6ft 4" frame at all. However, I then noticed the guy in 4D had somehow managed to get his leg in front of 4E (must be shorter) so I found without my bag under the seat in front I could get my left knee in the space of 4E which made it more comfortable. The lack of legroom space for the extra money is a big let-down. I've got the row in front of the Y curtain. There were too many cabin bags down the front for the amount of storage space above. We departed from the North Easterly runway which was a much shorter taxi. We were served a chicken breast with penne pasta, parmesan and lettuce. I had also hoped when I saw it that it was hot, but alas it was cold. I think this may have been intended to be an attempt at Caesar Salad but as the meal wasn’t announced and there are no menu’s it’s hard to tell. It was nice but wasn’t a Caesar Salad as I know them. A warm roll was also served and a Plumb and Ginger Cheesecake which unusually had the biscuit sprinkled on top rather than a base layer. I had a glass of Champagne and then a cup of tea. Service was okay but nowhere near the very high standard of the outbound flight, for example my name wasn’t used at all. We arrived back at London Gatwick and there was a delay waiting for the ground staff to press the button of the guidance parking system at Stand 572. A further delay whilst waiting for luggage which is predictable at Gatwick. Returning to the car was easier than arriving. The bus waits at the entrance/exit to take you back to your car.

In summary, I enjoyed flying Club Europe so much better than Economy. If I get to British Airways Executive Club Gold and am able to pre-book economy exit row seat and still enjoy the lounge and priority check-in and boarding – I may consider this over Club Europe, considering the extra cost and reduced space compared to an exit row. If the exit row isn't available, I'll definitely be in Club Europe!

Thank you for reading.