Originally Posted by edi-traveller

Back when GB Airways are a franchise of BA - I once flew on one of their planes (737 or A320 can't remember), and 1AB were Club Europe complete with squished B seat. The rest of the plane was ET - including 1DEF. The even pulled the little curtain behind us. Smallest ever CE?

Originally Posted by layz

So far all my BA CityFlyer flights have been domestic, but I decided that I'd at least try Club Europe on a CityFlyer flight when the opportunity arose.

I've not seen anyone comment on Club Europe on the Saab 2000 operated by Eastern Airways (T3), I was quite surprised to see CE being offered on such a small aircraft but I decided to give it a go anyway.

Quick intro: was travelling HBO so no comments on the bag drop experience. It was also one of the few times I didn't need my laptop, so as I wanted as little hassle as possible I travelled with my iPad and a good old fashioned notepad.

No issues at LCY security, not asked to turn on my iPad. Was a bit slower than usual as I seemed to have got behind people who didn't know the security basics (liquids in bags, belts off, etc) which is unusual at LCY.

Flew on BA4453 which is a 10:30 departure. I'm not sure if LCY uses the same mealtimes as LHR/LGW but that would usually mean brunch. As I booked less than 24 hours before departure I don't know if there's a special meal option on this flight.

The Saab 2000 is a turboprop that seats 50 passengers the livery was plain white with an "operated by Eastern Airways" sticker near the front door.

There was a single member of cabin crew dressed in BA uniform with a BA CityFlyer name badge. I did ask and she is actually an Eastern Airways employee based in Aberdeen. Announcements were in the standard BA style, safety briefing will be the standard Eastern Airways tape that just like the BA audio briefing does not name the airline.

Seats are arranged in a 1-2 layout, so if you take the A seat you get the benefits of (a good sized) window and aisle. There's no curtain separating the CE section from the rest of the cabin (I think T3's own flights are all single class).

Before take off the cabin crew member asked each CE passenger (3 in total) whether they wanted a continental breakfast and what they'd like to drink.

After take off the meals and drinks were prepared in the galley at the rear of the aircraft (there's no space at the front) and brought the previously requested food and drink by tray individually to each passenger. After serving CE a more standard trolley based service commenced for ET.

The breakfast tray was a reasonable sized continental offering, plate of meat+cheese, fruit, pastries, etc.

The aircraft looks just over half full (maybe 30 passengers) so there was enough time to be offered another drink (tea in my case) and had a quick chat with the crew. It's as close to a regular CE service as possible considering the space limitations of the aircraft, catering is provided by the same supplier as BA and is BA branded (got those nice big tea cups).

Arrival at Rotterdam required a short bus ride to the gate then a quick passport check.

I quite like how they made an effort to make CE a special experience despite the limitations meaning the usual features of CE aren't present on these aircraft. I don't think it was worth the difference in fare but it was still a nice experience.