Background
I travelled from Ibiza in the Balearic Islands to London City Airport in April 2022 to once again check out BA CityFlyer's Business Class service. CityFlyer is British Airways' wholly owned and London City Airport-based regional airline that primarily serves the needs of business travellers flying between London City and Europe's main financial capitals, using a fleet of Embraer 190's.
In recent years however, CityFlyer has branched out to offer a small number of leisure destinations based on the highest demand of those worn out city workers who like to party in places like Ibiza on a weekend.
As with all other British Airways flights, CityFlyer is fully integrated in the Executive Club programme. You can earn and redeem Avios points and your Club status will be recognised for things like advance seat selection and lounge access.
The London City-Ibiza route is popular in Economy class (Euro Traveller, as BA calls it), but less popular on today's flight in Business Class (Club Europe, as BA calls it).
Timed to depart Ibiza at 1030am, I knew from experience that this flight would feature BA's dreaded 'brunch' catering service. That's important and we'll return to it later.
Check in
Check in was conducted in the app on my iPhone and, unlike another recent London City experience with Swiss, I was able to collect my boarding pass immediately with the necessary bar code to get through the e-gates in Ibiza.
I never check a bag in so skipped the need to use a check in desk.
The lounge
BA, as with every other airline using Ibiza Airport, uses the AENA Sala Cap des Falco lounge for its premium passengers. As far as BA goes, access to this lounge is with your business class ticket or holding Silver/Gold status in its Executive Club programme.
Readers should note that departing from London City airport, there are no airline lounges which makes business class less appealing than if you were flying from Heathrow or Gatwick where BA has its own lounges for premium passengers.
The food offering here is good and staff were regulary topping up both food and drink. There was no hot food at this breakfast time but every other option to make up a continental-style breakfast was available.
Boarding
Boarding was, as usual on this service, by bus today. There was no priority boarding at the gate and so the usual rush ensued. I'm always baffled why people rush to board a bus then end up at the complete wrong end of it, so actually walk on the plane last anyway.
Using my BAEC Gold status, I managed to bag seat 2D at the time of booking. This is the best seat on CityFlyer's Embraer 190 as it offers huge legroom. With only two of us in business class, I had the seat next to me free as well. Result!
Readers should know that unlike Club Europe flights from Heathrow and Gatwick, CityFlyer does not block the seat next to you. On a full Club Europe flight, you will have someone sitting next to you. This is unlike CityFlyer competitor, Swiss, who also flies from London City but who do block the seat next to you in their business class cabin.
The flight
No welcome drinks or in fact any interaction with the crew was given as we boarded. This was surprising in the sense that it would have been surprisingly easy to do, given only two of us in Club Europe today. The cabin manager was largely unengaging for the entirety of the flight and seemed to be genuinely unhappy in his job. Ho hum, you occasionally meet people like this. Thankfully not very often.
There is no in-flight entertainment on CityFlyer and although the seat does recline, I was happy just enjoying the views from the window which, admittedly, were stunning, as we flew north over mainland Spain.
Food and drink
There were no menus on today's service. As with BA mainline from Heathrow, the standard of catering varies wildly on CityFlyer depending upon the departure time of your flight. CityFlyer's catering has rapidly deteriorated in recent years on daytime flights (flights departing after 0930 and before 1700) and these days more closely aligns with BA's mainline Club Europe offering from Heathrow and Gatwick, which is nothing to be proud of.
In particular, CityFlyer Club Europe meals served on flights departing between 09:30 and 11:29 serve the dreaded 'brunch*', which is the most notoriously awful meal service that Club Europe offers. It barely meets the definition of rabbit food, let alone brunch.
Today's pitiful meal consisted of a slither of cheese, slither of ham, quarter of an egg and some various vegetation plus what was, admittedly, a tasty, but small dessert with a small rectangle of bread.
There is a decent range of complimentary bar drinks in Club Europe but Mr. Grumpy was in no mood to serve so I had to ask on two occasions for a top up of champagne.
Readers may be interested to note that bar drinks are still free on CityFlyer in Euro Traveller (with slightly less choice than Club Europe). Another thing that lessens CityFlyer's Club Europe product advantage.
* - flights to Greece (JMK, JSI, JTR and SKG) always receive a satisfactory (hot) meal. Breakfast is served on flights departing up to 1029am and dinner is served on flights departing 1030am onwards i.e. the weaker 'brunch', 'lunch' and 'afternoon snack' offerings don't exist on these routes
Arrival
Prior to landing we were offered nothing. Our less than happy cabin manager swiftly removed used trays and glasses, then proceeded to sit down for the rest of the flight staring into his phone. He wasn't web surfing however as CityFlyer doesn't offer wifi.
With some glorious views over London as we descended into LCY, with an ontime arrival and swift progression through immigration, the benefits of flying into LCY are clear to see.
Verdict
It's difficult to figure out why you'd fly Club Europe on daytime services with BA CityFlyer.
You're not getting a blocked seat next to you, the meal service is distinctly poor unless you are flying before 0930 or after 1700, alcohol is still free in Euro Traveller and there are no lounges at London City Airport on the outbound sector. Airline lounges have been rumoured at LCY for several years, but so far, to no avail.
That said, I only paid £135 for this one way flight versus BA's Ibiza-Gatwick flight which was more than double at £280, had I booked that. Picking up cheap tier points to maintain my Gold card with BA is always handy.
There's no doubt that CityFlyer, like other airlines that serve London City Airport, serve a niche market of people whose employers will literally pay anything to get their executives to/from their Canary Wharf desks as quickly as possible on peak morning and evening services.
CityFlyer's Club Europe product represents extremely poor value for money. But ironically, CityFlyer's economy (Euro Traveller) product is one of the best in Europe. So if you're flying on your own dime, enjoy CityFlyer's excellent economy product and smile at the money you've saved.
Flight facts
Aircraft type: Embraer 190SR
Flight duration: 2 hours and 19 minutes
Seat configuration: 2-2
Price: £135
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