London Gatwick to Tenerife South (LGW-TFS) in British Airways Club Europe. October 13
Our holiday this year takes Mrs AOTQ and I to Tenerife, conveniently timed to coincide with our first wedding anniversary (harder to forget that way). Having rented a very old Canarian house just a stone's throw from the sea on the quiet north coast, we thought it worth starting the trip as comfortably as possible.Arriving at LGW north terminal with more than enough time to make full use of the lounge was a good idea, as we managed both the breakfast and lunch servings. What was less wise was our rush to get into the lounge as we had forgotten that the Canary Islands are outside the EU for duty-free purposes, so we missed the chance to stock up the non-EU priced booze.
The lounge was not too busy, but as usual for Gatwick being holiday central had more of the 'sharp-elbowed', pickled retirees desperate for the final sandwich, than the more polite business types you get at LHR!
A welcome find next to the London Pride in the fridges was Tiger beer, for the novelty if nothing else.
Boarding was over what always feels like the world's tallest footbridge, departure for which was left somewhat late causing the final champagnes to be downed a little too fast...
We needn't have worried as there was a crowd at the gate and boarding was around 10 minutes late. Take off was over 30 minutes later than advertised.
The aircraft was an ex BMI jet, apparent from the BMI livery on the cabin control screen, slightly different seating (which felt more cramped than the BA jets) and rather useful little 'stirrups' on the seat ends to allow shorties to reach the lockers.
The seats were no wider at all than those in Euro Traveller, unlike those on the BA jets which can be cranked out to make the middle seat narrower, instead having this table which was handy when the empty Pommery bottles started amassing.
I don't know how the legroom actually measures up but it did feel smaller than other CE flights I'd been on.
Service began fairly promptly after take off but I found the whole thing lacking somewhat. Perhaps it was the lack of canapes (I got them on an Istanbul trip, which was a full 40 minutes shorter), maybe it was the feeling that when asked for a drink re-fill it felt like I was being cheeky or maybe it was the hot meals being unceremoniously tipped onto the plate on the trolley, as opposed to being down in the galley (plenty of time to do that). I had read on this forum that the service on the ex Midland jets wasn't as good due to space restrictions. Whatever the reason, I think I would like to try another European carrier's premium short haul cabin for comparison.
The meal choices were indeed chicken or fish, being chicken curry or salmon salad. I plumped for the curry, which was very good. Mrs AOTQ had the salmon, commenting that it was of a high standard.
The bar offering lifted my mood no end, as I proceeded to lighten the burden of the fine choice of ale on board.
It would have been nice to round lunch off with something stronger (especially as the wife lost the toss and was driving on the other side) but the trolley didn't come round again, and I didn't fancy being made to look like an inconvenience to the crew.
Verdict: lounge- great, food and drink- very good, service- must try harder.
Next week we will be doing it in reverse, so keep an eye out for (what I think is) the first report from the new lounge for BA pax at TFS.
AOTQ
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