Club Europe - Worth it?

[Leftofcentre2009]

Just booked a BA Reward Flight with a Companion Voucher to Gibraltar in a few months time. - Dirty weekend with a few days sightseeing to see what all the fuss is about :O

It cost an extra £15 to upgrade to Club on the outbound. Am just wondering, at the normal difference in price of several hundred pounds, why would you bother?

What do you actually get apart from a bit more food and drink? I bet its not several hundred pounds worth!
A dedicated check in desk (at LHR T3)? The que for normal bag drop is normally minimal.
The BA lounge at Heathrow? Do they even have one at T3?
A bigger seat? Seats are exactly the same on the Embraers out of LCY. Dunno what they will be like to Gib on an A320 though . .

Anyway we did pay the extra for the upgrade. Suffice to say this will be our first trip in a non Steerage Class :ok:

[mixture]

Club Europe is a waste of money for the vast majority of travellers.

Only reasons to use it are :
(a) Someone else is paying for your ticket
(b) Its a reward flight and you can't think of anything better to do with your points
(c) ex-EU flights where the entire booking has to be made in the same class, so you're there because you have to be, not because you want to be.

The seats are exactly the same as economy seats. Only difference is there isn't a fat slob sitting in the middle seat.

Extra food and drink is about the full extent of it, and the food's rubbish anyway so that just leaves drink really.

[Aksai Oiler]

Have to concur with Mixture, I flew to AGP CE last Wednesday, checked in at the First desk at Gatters and they forgot to load my baggage too.

Item C is not necessarily correct though. I have had plenty of trips, ex Europe where CE out and ET next leg or return leg.

[Basil]

OK at £15 - at a lot more I wouldn't bother.

[Dan Dare]

You do get lounge access for that, so £15 sounds very reasonable for a comfortable wait at the airport with free drinks and snacks. I would certainly pay.

[The SSK]

The price differential has little or nothing to do with the actual or perceived value of the frills. Premium fares are priced at ‘what the market will bear’, and are aimed at travellers whose demand elasticity is very low. The frills are basically there to provide product differentiation which creates some sort of distance between the high-end and low-end payers.

Largely, you’re paying for flexibility and availability. A £100 premium on the fare is well worth it if it saves a businessman a night’s hotel.

That said, Mrs SSK gets a bit sniffy if we don’t get C-class on out ID100 tickets. Personally I don’t give much of a toss on a shorthaul flight (although lounge access is nice).

[mixture]

You do get lounge access for that, so £15 sounds very reasonable for a comfortable wait at the airport with free drinks and snacks. I would certainly pay.

Unless you're a silver, gold or premier card holder. In which case lounge access is already yours. :E

[Metro man]

I took the upgrade offer on a LHR - ZRH one way earlier this year. Benefits were, lounge access at T5 (very nice), fast track immigration, increased baggage allowance, more space and better food onboard.

It was worth the extra cost with the offer, particularly as the wife had so much shopping the excess baggage charges alone would have been dearer. It wasn't worth the price difference when I first booked the flight though, that was way too much.

[mixture]

Sorry to rain on your parade Metro man, but I think I need to point out a few things....

lounge access at T5 (very nice),

But this is already a benefit for BA Exec Club and OneWorld frequent flyers anyway.

fast track immigration

Only because (assuming your profile is correct) you are a passport holder of some Asian country. UK/EU passport holders cannot use the fast track immigration service. The fast track immigration service is also already available to non-UK/EU passport holders who have the right BA Exec Club and OneWorld card.

If you're talking about the fast track security lane rather than immigration, this is also available to the right BA Exec Club and OneWorld card holders.

increased baggage allowance

Again, available to BA Exec Club and OneWorld cards. Plus most people don't use the increased baggage, especially on a short haul european flight !

more space

More space horizontally yes, because there's nobody in the middle seat. The seat pitch increase is minimal.

better food onboard.

Not really, its still airline food and its still industrial mass produced disgusting slop.

[Rwy in Sight]

I took a couple of very short trips in August and in the first one I decided to use the privilege of having a priority tag on my luggage. I tried it again on the return leg and on the second trip (both ways). It worked wonders and it allow me to walk to the lounge in a very confortable way. And then I received the bag very early (with a little waiting) on all four legs.

It is a privilege I did not use but now I thik I will use more provided the conditions are suitable.

Rwy in Sight

[ExXB]

I found that 'priority' tags on baggage were a mixed blessing. In fact my baggage experience with one airline was such that I asked the check-in staff not to put a priority tag on my bag. I also stopped using my baggage tag signifying I was one of their gold Club members. Last off a couple of times and missed the connection at Heathrow more times than I care to remember.

[jimma]

You need 30 short haul Euro Traveller flights to get Silver status and lounge access.

[Truck2005]

CE to Cyprus was a waste of time the few times I got it. They were using what must be the last 737-200 in existence. Same seats and pitch as far as I could see. The lounge was a good bonus but as for the flight, forget it. I believe they are used Airbuses now because the serviceability rate on the 732 is low. Perhaps the seats etc may be better but will not bother

[Momo]

Personally, I take it only when on the short-haul leg of a long-haul flight. The main benefit I get at the Geneva end is being at the head of the immigration queue as the UK is not a Schengen country. That's one benefit you do not get with a status card. It is also one of the best benefits of being at the front of the plane for travel to the USA, I feel. (On the way home to Europe from the west, the best benefit is clearly sleep.) And of course on A320s the seat width is wider as it is five across, as well as the middle seat being empty.

In terms of Club benefits you get with the status cards as well; T5 Fast Track departure security is generally not faster than the regular lanes. However, there can be huge différences in other airports and in T1. The T5 lounges are all magnificent. The Silver lounge has the better selection of reading material. The Gold one has better food and more space. Never been in the true first lounge (Concorde room.) as Gold does not get you there.

[radeng]

The Airbuses they got from BMI don't have decent seats. Most other Airbus in CE have somewhat wider seats, especially in A and C.

The free champagne should help the dirty weekend get off to a good start!

[mixture]

Never been in the true first lounge (Concorde room.) as Gold does not get you there.

Gold doesn't, but Gold Guest List or Premier does. Also if you've got a Gold, but also a Concorde Room card, that will get you in.

I've been in there once.... distinctly unimpressed.... a bit dark and dingy, plus its not self service, you have to ask for your drinks and food. I guess its there to cater for celebs and others who are used to be waited on hand and foot.... I prefer to be self-sufficient !

The first lounge is perfectly fine, and the business lounges, although a bit more crowded are still miles better than sitting out with the unwashed masses airside.

[Metro man]

I don't have a BA Exec or OneWorld frequent flyer card so I wouldn't have got the perks without upgrading to Club. Non EU passport so the fast track was useful. I would take the upgrade offer if I got it again but wouldn't book Club as I can't justify the price difference.

[WHBM]

CE to Cyprus was a waste of time the few times I got it. They were using what must be the last 737-200 in existence. Same seats and pitch as far as I could see. The lounge was a good bonus but as for the flight, forget it. I believe they are used Airbuses now because the serviceability rate on the 732 is low. Perhaps the seats etc may be better but will not bother
The last BA 737-200 in service was retired on 9 Feb 2001, 12.5 years ago.