LCY flights: Any plans to enhance service (aka introduce BOB)?
 

Hi all,

Are there any plans from BA to change the service for flights to/from LCY?

I am planning a trip to Mykonos next summer and i am debating if it is really worth paying for club seats if departing from LCY.
The cabin is a 2x2 seats rows and we are 2 people travelling together.
The meal service is good for what i assume would be a Band 4 flight.
No need to purchase drinks in economy and the LCY crew is usually very generous.

Obviously no lounge as opposed to LHR (i can live with that if there is food and drinks on board).
and no 160 TP as i'd fly economy (that would be the only sticky point for me).

what would be the general consensus?

Thanks

In order to do BoB, CityFlyer would need to add an extra crew member, apparently. Thus, it isn't economically feasible to introduce BoB.

Remember than the E170/190 fleet CityFlyer use are all 2x2 seating, so no extra space in CE. The only difference is meal service, really. If you are in CE and it is a 190, bag seats 2C/2D for the most legroom.

or as BA's marketing machine describes it:

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.

When Buy on Board was introduced for LHR and LGW, they did give a few weeks notice, and those affected with prior bookings were offered Avios or a full refund if cancelling.

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.

So the catering details for this service, CE and ET, are to be found in the catering thread for BACF, which is in the BA Forum Dashboard and are time-of-day dependent. But CE does get upgraded catering, indeed on some meal options it's close to as much as anyone can eat in terms of portion size.

One thing to consider here is that CE to Mykonos can be fairly pricey so it is worth considering the UuA option (so don't buy the cheapest O or Q fare bucket), and for Gold cardholders the Greek Islands may be worth considering for a Gold Priority Reward.

I would book economy and get something from Pret at the airport, regardless of what they might offer on the flight. I wouldn’t dream of paying for CE on that flight.

Once you've paid for a Pret at LCY prices you've almost spent the same as if you'd paid for a CE upgrade ;)

I probably wouldn't bother with CE on LCY for a morning flight but one with a hot dinner and better free bar seems not bad for an extra 9k Avios off-peak

ive done jmk-lcy twice, the food is decent, no need for pret on board, if you eat a lot just have a big breakfast beforehand somewhere.

drinks are unlimited as well, they usually have decent stock, service is great; just be a bit patient as usually they do economy service after CE is dealt with given they only have 2 cabin crew on the flight.

If you are thinking of the 19.15 Jmk-Lcy service on a Sunday you have to consider that this is often delayed Search results for "Ba2220" | The BA Source and sometimes diverted to SEN. It’s a self purchase Gyros before you fly service, if in economy. I did enjoy the CE service booked with Avios, but I wouldn’t pay cash for it, unless I needed the TPs.

Euro Traveller gets pretzels with the initial bar round, then a salad (meat/fish or veggie), bread roll and butter, small piece of chocolate cake, and cheese and biscuits. There are often spares because it’s catered to 100% but some people don’t partake; don’t be afraid to ask for a second meal if you’re still hungry. Unless you’ve got a big appetite or are a fussy eater there’s no need to self cater.

Wow that’s really great!!! Proof that providing a decent service is possible in Economy.

Yes, I’ve experienced this service and don’t think it’s sufficient for the 19.15 Sunday JMK-LCY flight, the meal should be more substantial.

better than the LHR - JMK where you starve for 4 hours with a joke of a sandwich you have to pay for. Mind you, many of the people going to Mykonos are quite fitness conscious given the level of skinniness on the island, so the healthy oatmeal hot breakfast dish was quite popular! I will probably eat that on my next JMK, as the cheese ploughman’s sandwich was beyond terrible.

for some reason ba make the LHR outbound cheaper and the LCY return cheaper so that’s what I end up doing and thus get to experience both tiers of service and quality.

Unless you are desperate for the TP I can’t see any real reason for Club on this route. Get your accommodation to make you a packed lunch for the return or just buy some provisions locally.