Bits: extra BA Corfu service, Fortnum & Mason offering ‘eat on board’ hampers in T5

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Worzel says:

  8 Jan8 January 06:20

  Nice image of CFU Rob.

  For those able to drag themselves away from the pool, there are a couple of cafe/bars(centre of image) where you can view all the action at very close quarters.

• The rise of carry-on flight food as options for those travelling from Heathrow T5 | The Tech Traveller says:

  8 Jan8 January 07:38

  […] just this morning, Rob at HeadforPoints reports that Fortnum and Mason have launched their own range of take-away picnic hampers (known as […]

• Nick says:

  8 Jan8 January 08:16

  I can already hear the “pretentios snob” comments and snorts from other passengers in economy. Probably from the crew too mind you! 😉

  • Adey says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:04

    Ha Ha

    I’m confident the hoi poloi won’t have heard of F&M 🙂

    • flyforfun says:

      8 Jan8 January 10:10

      You’ve never been in F&M at xmas time then! 😉

      I work nearby and popped in at lunchtimes occasionally to see the chaos. It was like all the extras from “The only way is Essex” were shopping there!!

      • Lady London says:

        8 Jan8 January 14:36

        November is a very good time to visit Fortnum’s. They have all the Christmas decorations out, but not yet the Christmas crowds. Plus tourists have been slightly less in recent years except for peak tourist periods.

        They also run some events for their customers typically one or two might fall around that time and they can be very nice evenings.

        • Lady London says:

          8 Jan8 January 14:37

          PS Fortnum’s can also be a much cheaper place to pick up your lunch if you’re working near there, than many of the sandwich bars around. Not a lot of people know that.

    • Aeronaut says:

      8 Jan8 January 12:47

      Like flyforfun says, I’d suggest your confidence is misplaced!

• harry says:

  8 Jan8 January 08:33

  On a quiet day we could open up the debate about CE vs ET: is it worth the extra?

  Looking at RFS (Avios) redemptions, on my fairly typical route it’s 6500/7500 vs 12750/15000 – so a difference of c.7000 – c.£70. https://headforpoints.com/2015/07/27/british-airways-avios-redemption-pricing-by-route/

  What do you get for your money?

  – same seat but nobody in the middle
  – emergency exit seats in ET are far better if you’re tall
  – slightly better food in CE
  – better access to the loos in CE
  – cabin crew generally more charming in CE but not a given
  – lounge access for CE & dedicated check-in desks (who checks in? lol)
  – often quicker egress & access to security at destination

  I’ve probably missed out something.

  But not for nothing to many FTSE100 companies have an economy only in Europe policy for flight under 4 hrs. We long ago decided it simply wasn’t worth the money for a 2 hr flight.

  Anybody disagree?

  • Danksy says:

    8 Jan8 January 08:58

    depends if you’re chasing tier points 😉

  • John says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:32

    Agree with most points, but many people do check in luggage. On occasion I have found it faster to trek down to the far end of T5 to offload my bag in the Club area, then walk back to security, but this is never the case when returning to London

    I only fly CE if wanting TPs or as part of ex-EU.

    European airlines probably should follow the lead of SK and call it Econ+

  • Daz says:

    8 Jan8 January 09:33

    I use avios only for CE flights and would not generally pay for it. I use CE to align myself to a long haul business flights exiting another EU airports. The baggage allowance and relative absence of muppets pushing, shoving and putting the kitchen sink in the overhead is my main reason for flying CE not the seating or food really.

  • Gavin says:

    8 Jan8 January 10:29

    As a data point my ex-Dublin flight last week was upgraded to CE, on the flight back the agent at SFO put me in an ET exit row seat so an interesting direct comparison.

    Better legroom in the ET exit row. Same seat. Middle table in CE I found annoying when struggling to get in and out, plus you can’t stretch out if no-one is in the other seat. CE brekkie on the morning Dublin flight was a bonus though I’d already stuffed myself at the hotel. Service in CE is usually ‘sunnier’ and less rushed because fewer people to attend to, also a calmer cabin is nice.

    When I flew to Istanbul CE fasttrack immigration saved me at least an hour so CE was helpful then.

    Despite all this positivity about CE, bar the tier points, if I was paying I’d take the exit row every time as I’m 6-1! With redemptions I’d be more inclined to go for CE.

    • Daz says:

      8 Jan8 January 10:42

      Gavin,

      You can get rid of the table in the middle on CE; depending on the age of the seat row will determine how you fold the table up. You can then lift the middle arm rest – Have a look on Youtube.

      • Gavin says:

        8 Jan8 January 11:13

        Might try that next time on a longer flight, again it depends if anyone is in the other seat!

  • Nick M says:

    8 Jan8 January 11:00

    As a couple travelling with a (currently) 16 month old it can be a fine line between 2 adults and an infant in CE or 2 adults and a child in ET… once she is over 2 and needs a full seat I imagine ET will be a no brainer the majority of the time!

    • Rob says:

      8 Jan8 January 11:09

      We always fly CE – I am Avios-rich so it makes sense. For a family of 4, 2×2 seating also makes more sense.

      Your chance of getting the exit row without status is slim. Similarly, if you don’t have status you also get lounge access as well.

      • xcalx says:

        8 Jan8 January 12:58

        Even with status you can lose the exit row. We booked ET over the New Year and had the exit row booked . BA then kept moving the CW rows from row 6 to row 12 and kept dumping us at the rear of the plane every few days. I thought I had the exit row on the outbound flight as CW ended at row 9 but no got moved again within 24hrs. At check in the agent saw all the seat changes and blocked the middle seat in row 13 as the flight was not full.

      • Callum says:

        8 Jan8 January 16:00

        I’ve gotten the exit row on every single BA ET flight I’ve ever taken with no status… (Granted I mainly fly LCC in Europe, but I still fly BA around 6 times a year).

        Even on my last two flights that were HBO, so no seat choice at all, I’ve convinced staff to move me to an exit row!

        • harry says:

          8 Jan8 January 16:05

          I have always managed to get exit row window in the last couple of years as well, you just have to be quick on the draw at T-24hrs or else maybe I have a lucky route where people are loth to pay in advance for seat reservations.

  • Simmo says:

    8 Jan8 January 11:41

    I always fly CE when possible (low cash rate, upto £100 more than Y, or Avios redemptions available).

    As a late twenty something, with a somewhat expendable income, a unfounded ‘fear’ of flying, and an urge to reach at least silver each year; I really value the relaxing and rush free benefits when flying up front.

    Being Silver I find getting the front row with the little extra room pretty easy 90% of the time. I always try to take full advantage of the lounge and drinks on board. Leaving the plane first is also valuable to me when you need to get through immigration get to the taxis quickly.

    I think the Silver status is my main pull towards flying CE – with two or more long haul flights with friends/family on redemptions I really value the free seat selections.

    I only really question myself when I’m on the return flight with a poor lounge and having to drive once landing back in the UK.

  • Twams says:

    8 Jan8 January 11:50

    I think this would be a great debate to have.

    One more thing to add to your list is boarding priority; this can be important to nab space if you are taking full advantage of your hand baggage allowance on a busy flight, although less of an issue in CE.

    Also status is an extra complication, if you already have lounge access /priority at security etc, that reduces the additional value of CE still further

    • DW201 says:

      8 Jan8 January 14:04

      I have silver from many many short haul economy work flights.

      Never book CE despite being 6″2. Got upgraded a few times and don’t understand the point when most of the benefits come with my status anyway.

• idrive says:

  8 Jan8 January 13:42

  Last week I booked a CW one way redemption with BA, found out I could not select a seat and had to pay! is it normal, since when? As I usually pushed all my bookings via CX Gold (not this time), I never realized before. I know instead that Status does not help for HBO fares, but this was a full Avios redemption..

  • Lady London says:

    8 Jan8 January 14:44

    It’s a particularly miserable policy of BA that they can charge you for a Business Class seat and not allow you to select your seat immediately.

    What you don’t know is that for every corporate account I’ve worked for with every corporate travel agent they DO give the ability to select the seat immediately upon booking.

    It helps a lot to be corporately connected if you’re flying BA in particular.

• Daz says:

  8 Jan8 January 13:50

  Ref the F&M “doggy bag”: Just let me step from my Ivory Tower – Lidl should get in on the act at the departures terminal; everything in the photo above you could get in Lidl for less than a third world country’s yearly council tax, and very nice food I would assume it would be.

  Whilst the Lidl logo would not get you any Brownie points from admirers in the jet-set, it would probably save you and the family being linched and made to walk the plank for being a smart ar%!e in Euro Traveller. ;-}

  • DW201 says:

    8 Jan8 January 14:03

    1000000% agree.

    I find it hard to eat healthy in T5 and the GR lunchboxes are great but no reason for the cost.

    In australia they have make your own salad bars in departures…

    • ankomonkey says:

      8 Jan8 January 16:51

      Sumo Salad is my favourite…

• Worzel says:

  8 Jan8 January 16:04

  Briefly putting my head above the Parapet; I wonder how Lord Sugar would asses the “hamperling” ?

• dicksbits says:

  8 Jan8 January 21:00

  I remember being really surprised a few years ago when I booked my first Club Europe seat as a Bronze member of the BAEC and finding out I had to PAY to select my seat in that cabin.
  I still think it’s ridiculous. Sure, keep the front row for Gold and Premier members, but the rest of the seats…?

  • Leo says:

    9 Jan9 January 10:19

    What within 7 days of the flight?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.