Review: Istanbul-London In Club Europe On A British Airways Airbus A320

British Airways operates several daily flights between Istanbul and London Heathrow; today, we will fly to the UK from Istanbul in British Airways Club Europe on the Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline offered a good flight and service, but the poor Club Europe cabin shows itself on a long flight like this.

Getting to Istanbul Airport

This was my first time departing from the new Istanbul Airport, which opened in 2018. Fortunately, the metro line to the airport had opened just the week before, with just one connection now to the city center as the extension to Gayreteppe is complete, so I decided to try it out.

The metro is modern and efficient but, much like the airport, massive. The ‘connection’ between lines involved rising up with six escalators, walking around 700 meters to the following line, then making a similar descent, taking over 20 minutes. On arrival at the airport, there is a similar hike, plus a full security check at the entrance to the airport – from train arrival to check-in desk took over half an hour!

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

To reach the airport from Taksim or Sultanahmet, I would suggest planning a full two hours.

Airport check-in and lounge

British Airways check-in desks open two and a half hours before departure. I arrived with just under two hours to go, and there was minimal wait. Club Europe has a dedicated fast check-in, and passengers can use the airport’s fast-track security and immigration; this saved a good 20-minute wait.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

There is only one third-party lounge currently at Istanbul Airport – the IGA lounge – and Club Europe and Executive Club elite-status members can use this. This has to be one of the largest lounges I have ever seen – the photograph below is of the lounge area map shown on entry.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

The lounge was very busy for this early afternoon departure but big enough to handle it. There was a good selection of food on offer, with several self-service buffet areas as well as freshly prepared options, including falafel and Pide (Turkish-style pizza).

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

Alcoholic drinks are offered in two bar areas, with pleasant bar seating to be found. There is even a pool table available – a first in an airport lounge for me.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

The lounge is located on the upper level, looking out over a large part of the main terminal below. It is open, bright, and has some exterior views but, sadly, not proper runway views. There are some good distant runway views from the far end of the lounge area, which strangely seems to be used more as a storage area with no seating.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying
 

There is also a smaller IGA ‘pop-up’ lounge that passengers can use. This is located by gate A6 (very convenient for this flight as it was departing from the adjacent A5 gate). It is only a small space featuring a limited self-service selection, but it is an excellent option for those looking for something close to different gates in such a large airport. This is a concept I would be pleased to see adopted in other large airports.

The Club Europe cabin

British Airways (along with many other European airlines) offers a straightforward Club Europe cabin. The whole narrowbody fleet is fitted the same way. These aircraft operate even longer mid-haul routes such as Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and Cairo. There may be some windows where British Airways puts a widebody on such routes (and sometimes on shorter European routes for training or cargo needs), but this is not standard. Tel Aviv has recently been confirmed to be starting up again in April 2024, and it will drop to an Airbus narrowbody.

Photo: Senohrabek | Shutterstock

The Club Europe cabin is essentially the same as the main economy cabin (Euro Traveller with British Airways, shown below), just with the middle seat blocked and a handy table placed there. A moveable divider allows the airline to offer different cabin sizes as needed (on this flight, there were nine rows for Club Europe).

Photo: British Airways

There are no additional cabin or seat features. This cabin style, of course, is not great for passengers, but it makes economic sense for airlines.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Fying

Inflight service and entertainment

There is no pre-departure service except a quick greeting and a menu handed out. Drinks were offered very soon after take-off, with Castelnau Brut Reserve champagne on offer, followed by prompt offerings of refills before food orders were taken. Three choices were offered for lunch – British roast beef, which the crew had to explain to almost everyone was a poorly named cold salad, pan-fried prawns, and a mascarpone mezzaluna pasta dish.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Club Europe

There was also a potato salad-based starter and two dessert offerings, all served together on one tray. I opted for the prawns, and it was very good. There is no further service for the remainder of the flight, although you can request more drinks – as many passengers did.

WiFi was offered on this flight, priced at £4.99 for one hour of access and £11.99 for the whole four-hour flight. This is one small area where British Airways could do something to improve Club Europe – allow complimentary access. No seat-back entertainment is offered, but there is power to charge your devices.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

This contrasts strongly with Turkish Airlines, where seat-back screens were offered with a good selection of the latest movies and complimentary WiFi. This also means there is no flight information or map available. I really missed this; while there were incredible views on the afternoon flight, I had no way to work out exactly where we were.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

If you want to sleep, you will soon realize the limitations of the seat and cabin. Likewise, if you want to relax and watch a movie, you are out of luck unless you bring your own. I wanted to get some work done on this flight, and that is perhaps where the Club Europe cabin works OK. With the table and space next to you, there is enough room to set up a laptop comfortably.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

British Airways or Turkish Airlines?

I flew out to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines from the UK. This, again, was on an Airbus narrowbody aircraft, but it was a very different cabin experience. Turkish Airlines offers a dedicated business class cabin with larger seats, more legroom, and a full entertainment system. On some flights (particularly from London Heathrow), the airline operates widebody aircraft with proper lie-flat business class products.

Photo: Justin Hayward | Simple Flying

Just for this reason, I think any passenger with the choice (given similar prices) would opt for the better product. On a short European hop, it might not make much difference, but with a four-hour flight, there is a real improvement.

Related

Review: What’s It Like In Business Class On Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A321s?

Turkish Airlines offers a decent, dedicated business class cabin on most of its A321 aircraft.

It is also worth noting that Turkish Airlines serves Istanbul directly from several UK airports (including London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh). British Airways only operates from London Heathrow.

Overall, this was a perfectly acceptable flight with good service and attentive crew. It is unfortunate, however, that British Airways continues to offer such a product on its medium-haul routes. These are premium routes, with other flight options available. There must be something that can be done to improve the cabin and offering.

Have you flown British Airways in Club Europe, particularly on its longer routes? What did you think of the cabin and the experience? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.