When it comes to BA CityFlyer, most people think of London City with no lounge access, a cramped tiny space in which you just can't move anywhere and frank departures from an airport that was never designed to cope with the number of people that London City sees on a daily basis. What people don't realise, however, is that BA CityFlyer also has some very nice regional leisure routes over the weekends when demand for London City flights just isn't there.
Welcome to my review of one of them, the BA CityFlyer route from Manchester to Malaga in Club Europe.
One of the best things about flying with BA CityFlyer out of Manchester is the lounge access. Manchester can be just as crowded as London City, and just as hectic so having the lounge to escape to for a bite to eat, to be able to catch up on some work etc is a godsend. However, during breakfast, the food options are extremely limited. Those wanting a hot breakfast will have to wait until onboard.
My plane on this flight was the Embraer E190SR, the cabin of which is in a 2-2 layout in both Club Europe and Euro Traveller. However, I found the seats somewhat more comfortable than some of the seats found on British Airways mainstream Club Europe, especially when it comes to the newer Airbus planes. The 2-2 layout means no middle table which could present a problem for those wanting to be productive on their flight however, the tray table was of a decent size.
Hot towels were handed out after take-off and our breakfast orders were quickly taken, I choose the Full English option which is pretty much what I always go for when doing breakfast flights and I must say, I felt like the food on BA CityFlyer is much better than British Airways mainstream Club Europe services. It's more substantial and tasted so much better.
I've been on evening flights too, and the food again on BA CityFlyer in the evening was also much nicer and seemed to be a bigger portion. I feel that this is because there's no lounge access at London City, as well as no middle seat table, therefore the focus has to be on the food served during the actual flight.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Club Europe offering that BA CityFlyer has, the crew were really attentive and had time for every passenger, and came around to ask how the food was or if we needed any other drinks etc. The food was really nice too and lounge access was a bonus to get away from the noise of the main departure lounge area. However, if lounge access is important to you then I'd recommend not using BA CityFlyer out of London City just because there is no lounge there.