Someone said above that the pax on LCY-Palma in summer were pretty much the same people as the rest of the year to the business destinations. Well, that included us this year, and it seemed mostly true (+ wives + kids). Although I think on this flight the Purser was the only one in the cabin wearing a tie.
Pleasant atmosphere on board, a world away from a Night Ibiza from Gatwick, in fact apart from a few murmers from the kids it was a remarkably refined experience. Less than two hours outbound flight time, and could have been about 4 hours door to door.
Significant load in Club, especially on the outbound. Not quite clear what you get for an effective doubling of the fare in Club. No lounge at LCY, same 2+2 seating on the Embraer, even the Economy catering is a meal both ways, plus drinks etc, so I couldn't quite see what the distinction is.
Surprising service, which seemed somewhat inverted, that meals were first to be distributed, followed after some considerable time by drinks; on BA mainline it is surely the other way round, I wonder why the difference. Among other things it meant the bulk of the flight is done with empty meal trays in front of you, particularly difficult for those with lap infants. Just two cabin crew on the 100-seat E190, with the one up front looking after Club, is a considerable workload for the aft crew member.
Skyflyer Packs for the children were handed around. Some of us are long enough in the tooth to remember the Junior jet Club, well the kid's flight log book concept is still in there and alive. I don't know if the Captain would still consider signing it like in the old days (do any of you ?).
On the return there were BA Cityflyer Embraers on charters to Glasgow and to Edinburgh in Palma at the same time, and the three aircraft were lined up in echelon on remote stands which would have made an interesting
PR photo
Question for the tech team, but do the BA Embraers have three supplementary oxygen drop-downs for each twin seat ? I understood it was certain seats only that allowed lap infants to be in the row. The seat allocations may cater for this but with 2+2 seating and parents sat either side of the aisle, or one behind the other, kids were getting handed round during the flight, and yet the safety briefing and card makes no mention of where has this facility.
Speaking of seat allocations, bit disappointing that there were two elderly arthritic pax sat in the emergency exit row, who presumably said Yes to their additional briefing but were obviously (when they tried to stand up) not capable of handling the responsibilities, and just saw it as extra legroom. Now that boarding cards are not checked by the cabin crew on embarking, they have no way of knowing once everyone's sat down - but the reservation system has all the API detail, and surely should not allocate these seats to those aged over 70.
Little Miss WHBM (aged 2.75) would like whoever sources the BA GSE at LCY to have some better way of securing the mobile steps at the rear to the aircraft, it's a bit daunting at that age to disembark stepping onto that swaying platform.