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British Airways CityFlyer food from London City Airport continues to excel

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I have mentioned the good London City food before but after a pleasant flight on a recent Friday I thought I would flag it again.

I flew back from Berlin into London City on BA CityFlyer. Club Europe food on City Airport flights is very good.  Even for short hops such as Berlin, you get a menu and a choice of two hot main courses. 

My meal is pictured below (click to enlarge) which was ‘salmon with pumpkin tortellini garnished with asparagus on a seafood bisque’.  It was a little overdone but generally tasty.  The other option was ‘pork teriyaki garnished with rice and red pepper slice’.

The reason the food is good, of course, is that the other Club Europe benefits are minimal.

You don’t get an empty middle seat flying into London City as the aircraft are 2×2.  Flying outbound, you don’t get lounge access at London City because there isn’t one.

If you are travelling in Economy on BA CityFlyer, there is good news for you too.  British Airways does not operate ‘buy on board’ on CityFlyer because of the lack of storage space, so you will receive a free drink and a (tiny) snack.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

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American Express Business Gold

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Comments (42)

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

  • Rich says:

    I would sooner spend less time at the airport so factoring in lounge time is not important. I think it’s great that you can still almost turn up and take off at LCY. The economy product good enough and the leg room decent or very decent if on the larger EMB. Paired seating a bonus if travelling as a couple.

  • baccarat_guy says:

    It’s a great video. I am glad you shared it. I seem to recall hearing Gabriel Leigh speak at Travel Magic (? think I got that right) in Brussels more than a few years ago. Agree, the quality of the production is spectacular. Of course, it reminds me how much things have changed over the past few years.

  • Bach says:

    OT – anyone knows for how long the IHG free night voucher is valid?
    Also IHG creation was I think launched approx 20 months ago so we are past the time where first persons who took the card for 1 year and tried to churn after 6 months wait for another sign up bonus… any success to report?

  • W says:

    As for the Amex to Iberia transfer: received my miles on the 10th, but haven’t received a bonus yet.

  • AndyGWP says:

    OT – I’ve had a Revolut card, but unsure if there’s a fee for topping it up with a credit card? (specifically I want to top up USD with my Creation IHG card). App seems to indicate there’s a charge but unsure what it would be, and also unsure whether Creation would count it as a cash advance. Anyone know? :/

    • Steve-B says:

      I was also curious so I topped up a nominal amount using my IHG card on Friday to test whether it would be treated as cash advance. Currently showing as a pending transaction and no sign of a cash advance fee.

      • AndyGWP says:

        Thanks – this sounds positive. I need to book something in the Hilton Americas sale and can’t use my Lloyds card (as it will trigger the voucher and I don’t want it yet). I have till tomorrow evening to book, so if it goes through, would you mind posting back here? 🙂

      • Steve-B says:

        Interesting, thanks. Will likely post on my account tomorrow so will report back.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        Neither my Hilton or my IHG have been charged any fees the couple times I’ve topped up Revolut

      • Nick M says:

        I’m njm42… I’ve topped up Revolut with a few different cards and haven’t been charged a fee

        If I remember correctly, there may be a fee if using a USD debit card (?) – or this could be for something completely different

      • Genghis says:

        I’ve been charged fees with Revolut from Creation at statement date. A no go now.

      • Steve-B says:

        OK, so maybe my enthusiasm for not seeing any cash handling fees on my Creation account this morning will be short lived (statement due this week) 🙁

      • AndyGWP says:

        Hey Nick M – what cards have you successfully used to top-up the Rev card without any cash advance fees?? 🙂

    • Alex Sm says:

      Can you do this using a Curve card as an intermediary and then recharging to Creation IHG?

  • Tim M says:

    HFP often fails to appreciate that the BA CityFlyer flights operating out of what Londoners call ‘The Regions’, what 87% of us call ‘The UK’, are the last remaining sensible use of Avios.

    The Embraer 190s are the poor-man’s Concorde. They are almost the same size and layout internally. In business class, there is champagne and better food than available on any other airline operating those routes.

  • sunguy says:

    I see what you did there Rob…. as LCY is next door to the EXCEL centre and thats primarily where cityflyer go from ! 😉

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

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