Review: British Airways A319 Business Class

From London to Basel, we flew on British Airways in Club Europe business class on the Airbus A319, a short but pleasant flight. Business class is arguably unnecessary on these short flights, but it is certainly appreciated to guarantee that the middle seat remains open.

British Airways A319 Business Class Review (LHR-BSL)

I booked each ticket for 9,750 Avios + $ 41.00, which I considered a decent deal considering economy class tickets were over $200 each and I did not want to fly easyJet from Gatwick because I had checked baggage.

We arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 via the Heathrow Express about 70 minutes before departure. It was a quiet evening at the airport and there was no wait to check-in for our flight. I had checked in online, but we had three bags to check.

The agent was quite jovial and presented each of my children with an activity book.

Security took just a few moments – there was no line. It was serenely quiet considering this was during peak travel season.

The lounge was a bit crowded, but we enjoyed supper before boarding the late-evening flight.

British Airways 756
London (LHR) – Basel (BSL)
July 2023
Depart: 8:20 PM
Arrive: 11:00 PM
Duration: 1hr, 40min
Aircraft: Airbus A319-100
Distance: 448 miles
Seats: 2A, 2C, 2D, 2F (“Club Europe” Business Class)

Onboard, we took our seats and were surprised to find business class was only two rows on this flight – typically this is a more business-heavy route. The upside to having economy class seats with a blocked middle serve as business class is that business class can be enlarged or shrunken based on flight loads.

Seats

I did not bring out my measuring tape, but the first few rows allegedly have 30 inches of seat pitch while the remaining rows, with the exception fo the exit row, have 29 inches.

This particular aircraft had not been retrofitted with in-seat power or USB ports, unlike my A320 flight from Zurich on a prior trip.

No blankets or pillows were provided. The kids sat across the aisle from us and did quite well.

The middle seats include a removable table that can be used to house beverages.

Food + Drink

Dinner was served after takeoff. I wrote already about the special meals I ordered and how they turned out exactly the same as the regular meals in the cabin.

The choices included an heirloom tomato salad with mozzarella or smoked salmon with shrimp. Both were served with a warm bread roll and a small mousse-style dessert.

The bar was open, though I just drank sparkling water (and some nuts with it).

I prefer breakfast flights, where you can enjoy a hot egg breakfast, but having eaten in the lounge this meal was just a nice icing on the cake.

IFE + Wi-Fi

This flight did not have any form of IFE or wireless internet.

Lavatory

The lavatory was showing its age: the sink basin was cracked and the corian-style counter was out of date 20 years ago. Great soap from The White Company, though. I also liked the picture of the London Eye.

Lost Item

My son Augustine left his sketchbook onboard, which makes me feel so bad. It was never located (we even made an in-person visit to the lost and found at Euro Airport in Basel) and was actually very cool – he loves drawing and had created a travel-themed book. Needless to say, he was devastated.

CONCLUSION

We landed ahead of schedule in Basel and were soon on our way to Germany (in BSL you can enter on either the Swiss or French side, but also walk back and forth between the two on the upper level).

Another short, unremarkable, but comfortable flight on British Airways.