Club Europe seating
 

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere - I searched but couldn’t find any threads.

I recently went with 6 friends to Athens on CE. They were a bit reluctant about the extra cost but I had told them that the service would be good and that the seats would offer much more room. So I was shocked to find that in both the O/B and I/B on an A320 were just economy class seats with the middle seats blocked off and with very little legroom (we are all quite tall). I usually fly BA long haul and haven’t bought a CE ticket for some time. I don’t think I will again if this is standard on CE. Quite honestly we would have been better off flying a low cost airline with exit seats. Is this standard on CE now or were we just unlucky?

I should add that in all other respects the service and meals etc were excellent. Many thanks

Yep. That’s the standard. And it’s the same on basically any European carrier’s business class. Been that way for ages. As you say, the seats are exactly the same with the middle blocked. You get lounge access and a half decent meal (hopefully) but you’d likely get much more for the same money ina. Nice restaurant in Athens. You also get way more tier points if you’re chasing status. Each person’s utility function is different and it will depend how much the premium is. It can range from a massive amount to not very much at all.

This is standard on BA and has been for years, and indeed many other European short haul airlines operate their business cabins in the same way. It is very much the European market in terms of short haul business - and other markets such as the US or Far East have a different short haul proposition in business.

Short answer is yes, that's standard for intra-European business class (which BA calls Club Europe).

Some other European airlines, like Finnair, are a bit more upfront about it, stating this on their Business Class page:

It's also covered in pretty good detail on the BA website https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...ss/club-europe

Of all the major European airlines, only TK offer a 'proper' business class seat on their narrowbody fleet; even then, only on the A321 and some 737s. The rest of the 737s and the A319/A320 fleets have 3-3 economy seating, just like other European airlines.

If you score a seat in row 1 the legroom is pretty good!

Apart from that, priority check in, boarding and lounges are a big benefit! I like a little glass of champagne and a meal too.

Does anybody remember when BA used to squish the middle seat in CE together?

The squishy blue leather seats were pretty comfortable too! The CE seats on the ex-BD A319 fleet are wider than average, as the armrests move in to secure the middle seat console table.

If I remember, A-C were squished together and D-E-F were expanded apart? At one point didn’t they seat pax 2+3 in CE using these expanded seats?

Yes, indeed, and rows 1 to 10 had something like 32" pitch!

And the ME carriers, such as QR, where short-haul business is often called First Class with commensurate lounge access, service and seating.

Lets just hope your friends didn’t ask you for a refund!

Which CE flights have you been on where there was a dedicated cabin (with better seats and more room per seat)?

The increased leg room hasn't been 'a thing' for many years. Approximately 2014-2015. Before then, you used to have big, chunky and soft seats and more leg room. I do prefer the harder seats, I like the table in the middle and in row 1 you do get a little more leg room, too.

Actually I think that barely a week goes past without at least one thread about Club Europe and all its perceived shortcomings (no pun intended). Indeed there has been one about it being no better than Wizz which is still in the Top 10 I think.

The boys have said it all and it has been this way for over 40 years. We are also told how Turkish Airlines has "proper" J seats - what they usually forget to mention is that the fares are probably at least twice or more than British Airways. Anyhow it is much of a muchness on all European airlines west of the Aegean Islands.