Best seats in British Airways' A320 Club Europe business class
British Airways' Airbus A320 Club Europe business class provides all of the typical business class perks – priority check-in, airport lounge access and priority boarding to name a few – except for an actual business class seat!
Yes, fly in Club Europe and the seat you'll find on board is no better than in economy, except with a cocktail tray beside you instead of a seatmate: so choosing the right seat for your flight plans becomes even more important.
Australian Business Traveller scopes out your best options whether planning to work, dine, relax or even nap on your next Club Europe flight.
British Airways Airbus A320 Club Europe business class: the basics
Officially, Club Europe offers a 2-2 seating layout: although realistically, there are still three seats on either side of the aisle – the middle seat is just never sold when business class passengers are on either side.
Business class begins at row 1, but the size of the Club Europe cabin can vary from flight to flight owing to a moveable curtain between business class and economy, with cocktail shelves in the middle seats removeable so that each row can be converted to economy.
On flights that require more economy class seats and fewer spots in Club Europe, British Airways can slide the curtain forward, detach a few cocktail tables and voila – what was business class is suddenly cattle class!
It's for this reason that we always select a seat further forward wherever possible, to minimise the chances of being relocated if the rows further back are switched from business class to economy.
AusBT review: British Airways Club Europe business class
British Airways Airbus A320 Club Europe business class: best seats
The best seats in the house – 1A, 1C: Not only do these seats look great on a boarding pass, but despite what the BA seat map suggests above, many aircraft no longer have a bulkhead wall in front of this row.
Instead, you can stretch your feet forwards as far as you like and can chat with the crew if you fancy during take-off and landing as they're seated opposite. You're also guaranteed to be the first off the plane as you arrive, because the door is quite literally next to your seat.
However, this row does feel quite 'exposed' during boarding as all of the other passengers walk directly in front of your seat (and stand on your toes if you're unlucky), so avoid rushing to board or plonk yourself elsewhere if you value your privacy.
For inflight productivity – 1D, 1F: The presence of a bulkhead wall ahead of these seats means that there's nobody in front to recline, so you're guaranteed ample space to work on your laptop...
... and given that the remaining rows of Club Europe seats feature no more legroom than in economy, this is a much more important consideration than on your typical short flight with Qantas or Virgin Australia, because when a passenger does recline, there's barely any room for your knees, let alone your laptop:
Just note that these jets don't offer AC or USB power, so make sure your gadgets are charged-up before leaving your the lounge, office or hotel.
For high-flying couples – take your pick: With the middle seat blocked from sale in Club Europe, couples, friends and colleagues can take their pick of business class seats, with one passenger choosing the aisle and the other selecting the window in the same group.
For enjoying the inflight meal – aim further forward: With meal service beginning at row 1 and then proceeding rearwards, sitting closer to the front means you'll receive your food faster and will have the best chances of securing your preferred dish.
That's especially so on very short flights like London-Paris where pilots often commence their descent only a few moments after you've been served!
For a sneaky nap – take a window seat: With nobody stepping over you, you're cleared to doze from gate to gate – but even if you can't, there are often some great views to be enjoyed, particularly on flights between the London and Italy.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
Isn't "Best seat in British Airways..." an oxymoron?? 😈😈
03 May 2013
Total posts 684
Surely this article is a joke. "Best" in any category relating to BA is pure PR spin. Club Europe is one of commercial aviations biggest fallacies and rip off in terms of hard and soft product relative to price. Don't even get me started about international F and J.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2424
Our 'best seats' guides simply highlight the most favourable seating options within each particular cabin and aircraft, as we publish regarding airlines around the globe. You'll find more of these here.
BA Club Europe certainly isn't up to scratch compared with even domestic business class in Australia (and as noted in the article, these seats are practically just economy), but as some of the seats in the cabin are better for business travellers than others, we've published this particular 'best seats' guide to help those travellers select the seat that best-caters for their flight. :)
(I certainly do miss the old Club Europe seats and legroom, however!)
British Airways - Executive Club
18 May 2017
Total posts 13
Hi @ChrisCh
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1563
I never though that there is a "good" seat in so-called "eurobusiness", and now we talking about "best" seats! Though you always can say that semi-rotten oranges are far "better" than fully rotten ones.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 176
In my experience most euro biz don't even have the middle seat tray... so it is all relative!
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
31 Jan 2013
Total posts 26
Appalling. I would think that there are enough J flyers willing to pay for a proper short haul J product. The Australian domestic business class is leaps and bounds ahead of this.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 580
Corrrect Australian Domestic, which is the equivalent of European International is light years ahead of this garbage. Even when I lived in the UK and flew Club Europe, it was better than now, but still ordinary by Australian domestic standards. In 4 years I took about 60 return trips on Club Europe. The only good thing was the number of status credits I earned, and the T5 First Class lounge, which was brand new at the time. I went from LTS to LTG in that time.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2012
Total posts 159
On flights of an hour or so, the seat is not much of an issue, but on three hour flights such as Malta, there is no fun in sitting like this. BA needs to consider some form of onboard entertainment offering too!
25 Feb 2017
Total posts 5
Recently flew KBP - LHR in Club Europe. I struggle to see how they can justify that as business class. Absolutely no leg room, no entertainment for a 3.5hr flight and a average meal that wasn't much better than economy.
British Airways Executive Club Gold
25 Jun 2015
Total posts 20
@ChrisCh
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 580
Unless I am msistaken the LGW ones are the ex BMI ones which would make sense why there is a difference. As I've not heard of any refurb program at BA that has reconfigured the front of the a/c. Just seats.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2012
Total posts 159
10 of the Gatwick A320s were somewhat strangely all purchased second(or third) hand a few years back from a variety of different airlines, as a plan to speed up the withdrawal of the 737 fleet.
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 580
Right you are. A319's ex BMI, plus a couple of ex BMI/ex BMed A320's and a mix of other second hand A320's. Sounds nasty but then again the 737 fleet wasn't the nicest either.
03 May 2013
Total posts 684
The A321's used to Amman, Beirut, TelAviv etc were ex BMI and have very nice J lay flat seats which in an alternating 1-2 config. Thankfully BA kept the old BMI J configuaration in these birds !
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 580
Reasonably sure the new seats came after BA brought BMI rather than being a BMI product. Though it's possible BMI had started the process at the time of takeover.
20 May 2017
Total posts 1
Recently travelled from Berlin to London in BA business. Only four pax in cabin, plus one upgrade. I was third to be offered a meal, by which time the original two choices had become one. Same thing on the reverse journey. Shocking fee to select seats at time of booking. The seats compliment the service!
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