LCY flights: Any plans to enhance service (aka introduce BOB)?
Oct 18, 2019, 8:27 pm
#16
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LHR/ATH
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Posts: 4,489
Go for a swim, then eat fokos or kikis taverna (agios sostis) for an amazing lunch by the sea, then straight to the airport t- 45 mins before take off ( follow the flight on flight radar to see if delayed or not) and on board catering will be the last thing on your mind !
Oct 18, 2019, 10:21 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: BA Gold, AA Lifetime Gold 1.8mm, IC Spire Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, SPG Gold et al
Posts: 4,350
On the CiityFlyer routes from regional airports there is perhaps a case for CE for non status passengers as it provides lounge access but even in those circumstances I struggle to see a strong case for it unless the fare difference is particularly marginal. From LCY it just looks a complete waste of money to me.
Oct 19, 2019, 4:01 am
#18
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 88
I’ve done LCY-JMK-LCY a couple of times. I don’t think that CE is justified on this route - it’s only two crew between both CE and ET, and service will be slow. The first emergency row in ET (I believe 12) is fairly comfortable, and this aircraft doesn’t feel as full because some seats are not sold due to takeoff weight restrictions. Bear in mind that both legs are often delayed and diversions due to the LCY curfew on the delayed return leg are not unheard of (sometimes only announced AFTER the landing). Still, if everything goes smoothly, I’d say these are the best JMK flight times and the best public (relative to the early departure from LHR).
Oct 19, 2019, 10:32 am
#19
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,059
There was definitely a plan to introduce BoB out of LCY, and some timelines were mentioned by BA, I seem to recall 3 of them in fact. But the timelines sailed past and after the last one there was no update. So I'm fairly sure it just got dropped. It wasn't just the crew level, it was also about getting Tourvest to get it to work economically, and my suspicion is that the numbers didn't add up.
Again, as a self-managing subsidiary, BACF control their pricing, indeed from a separate office, while ‘BA’ manages theirs (and even then, LGW is separate from LHR). So it’s not entirely surprising there are different fares.
Oct 19, 2019, 10:41 am
#20
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,916
It also means there are some pleasant anomalies, such as hot dinners on Switzerland flights. Even LHR didn't have these (unlike NCE, PRG and beyond) before it was enhanced a couple of years ago.
Oct 19, 2019, 12:19 pm
#21
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL
Posts: 843
Best seats out of LCY are the right hand front pair in CE (2C/D ?). Otherwise the best seats on the plane are the main exit row - on an E190 row 12 - which are the same width but have more legroom than CE seats other than 2C/D. As the OP is a GCH, in comfort terms, far better to get those exit row seats than any seats in CE, other than 2C/D if available. I personally set no store by the catering, as it is all pretty sub-standard.