British Airways A321 Club Europe Review: Corfu to London Gatwick – Spice, Shortages, and Sweet Surprises
- Helena
- Jul 22
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 4
If you’re considering flying British Airways Club Europe to London Gatwick from Corfu, this review covers everything you’ll want to know – from boarding logistics to onboard service and (most importantly) the food. For those who don't know, Club Europe is British Airways' brand name for its European Business Class service.
Let’s just say… it was a flight full of sunshine, delays, and a few catering curveballs.
What we paid...
For this flight, we decided to redeem some of our Avios. As this was a trip for Sam's birthday we wanted to do something a bit nicer, and it help that we had a companion voucher earned from our British Airways Premium Plus American Express that halves the Avios cost for a reward booking. In total, this flight cost 19,250 Avios and £59.00 in taxes, with the £59 being paid with our British Airways Premium Plus American Express as this card earns 3 Avios per £1 spent at British Airways.
Until 15th July you can get an increased sign up bonus of 50,000 Avios on the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card. Read more about it here.
Gate to Tarmac: The World’s Shortest Airport Bus Ride?
Our return from Corfu started smoothly. The gate opened at 2:04pm, and by 2:06pm, we were herded outside into the warm Greek sun, waiting on the tarmac until 2:18pm.
Stood directly across from our plane, no more than 20 metres away, we were bemused when a bus drove up to drive us to the plane. A bus transfer? Of 10-metres? When we had just watched the passengers disembark and walk across the tarmac to passport control? Yup!
Blink and you’d miss it. Needless to say everyone on board was utterly stunned by it! By 2:20pm we were onboard the Airbus A320, ready(ish) for take-off.
A slight quirk to this flight, one that you may notice on your ticket if flying British Airways to Gatwick. This flight was operated by "BA Euroflyer". Don't worry though, this is merely for administrative purposes, for you and I, there is no difference in what is offered in Club Europe.
Airspace Congestion and Delayed Departure
While boarding was efficient, we weren’t going anywhere fast. Thanks to congestion along our route to London, we began taxiing at 3:05pm, finally taking off at 3:19pm Greek time.
The silver lining? A stunning aerial view of our Corfu hotel as we climbed out over the island.
Seatbelt signs were off by 3:26pm, and the cabin crew quickly kicked into gear.
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The Seat
If you have read Sam's recent review of the British Airways Club Europe seat on his recent trip from Heathrow to Budapest, then you will know that when flying within Europe, that Business Class is the exact same seat as Economy but with the middle seat blocked out by a tray table.
In the sense that you are guaranteed a middle seat free it is great, but please don't go into this expecting a lie flat seat.
The seats were a little worn, with quite a lot of dust and dirt in various crevices of the seat. It's not ideal, I don't like it, however these planes have very quick turn arounds between flights so it is to be expected that the cleaning isn't quite as thorough as we might like.
Club Europe Drinks and Pre-Dinner Nibbles
At 3:30pm, the drinks service began, with a good selection of wines, spirits, and soft drinks. A little BA classic – the nut selection – was served around 3:50pm, just enough to tide us over before the main event. The nuts were a lovely little Rosemary flavoured concoction and were genuinely really good. Sam and I both opted for a glass of Castelnau Champagne to round off a lovely holiday. Gently sipping away at the drink, no slammers here!
The BA Club Europe Meal Dilemma: Three Mains… If You’re Quick
The food service officially started at 4:18pm. Now, it's important to note that we hadn't paid to select seats for this flight because a) we didn't want to fork out money for that, and b) we knew we'd be sitting together anyway. This meant that we were near the back in row 8 of the Club Europe Cabin which was 10 rows and extended beyond the first exit row of this Airbus A321.
Unfortunately, that meant that by the time the lovely crew reached us at the back of the cabin at 4:33pm, two of the three main course options had already run out.
The choices had been:
Braised lamb neck with crushed new potatoes, spring onion, green beans, peas mint and rosemary jus,
Herb-marinated lemon prawns , pickled apples, pickled red onions and celeriac remoulade
Sun-blushed tomato and edamame bean risotto (the vegetarian option) with radish, goat's cheese, cavolo nero (Sam hates this) and parmesan.
Both the lamb and prawns were gone by the time the trolley reached us, leaving only the risotto for Sam.
My Meal: Spice Overload
As per usual I ordered the "No Lactose Meal", something which fully confused the member of cabin crew who served us, presenting it to me with "I don't actually know what this meal is".
The started was a pepper, sweetcorn, and chickpea salad. It was fresh and tasty, no complaints here.
My main on the other hand was a disappointment. A tomato tagine with rice. Sounds good on paper, but the only real flavour was aggressive spice. It wasn’t balanced or interesting – just heat for the sake of heat. I don't handle intense spiciness as well as Sam, but even he said how spicy it was. A bold move from BA to do a special meal extremely spicy!
My dessert was of course a fruit salad… which unfortunately had absorbed the warmth of the main course thanks to BA’s storage logistics. Nothing like tepid melon to round off a meal. At this point in my lactose intolerant life I am just so used to being always given a fruit salad as a pudding, so once again I just want to give a shout out to Emirates for managing to do both Lactose free desserts exceptional well on our recent flight.
As a bonus (or perhaps an apology?), BA also included an apple and cinnamon cereal bar. Not exactly gourmet, but appreciated given the circumstances.
Sam’s Meal: Salad, Risotto, and the Rindiest Cheese Ever
For starters Sam had an orange, mango, and cauliflower salad with lemon and chive crème fraîche. Sadly, it was on the wetter side of tolerable, with very little flavour.
The main, as mentioned was the sun-blushed tomato and edamame bean risotto – the last remaining option for us back-of-cabin diners. The texture was a little dry, though the goat’s cheese topping was decent and helped lift the dish.
Sam then benefited from a cheese course … well, more like the end-of-block rind with barely any usable cheese. Definitely a “scraping the bottom of the barrel” moment.
The dessert was a millionaire’s shortbread dessert pot – it was sweet and just the right size.
Clearing Up and Brewing Teas
Meal trays were cleared by 5:03pm, and by 5:15pm, teas and coffees were making their way through the cabin. The crew remained friendly and attentive throughout.
Descent and Arrival at London Gatwick
We started our descent at 3:38pm UK time, with a short bit of holding at 3:59pm. Finally, we landed at 4:12pm – a little later than scheduled, but pretty much par for the course given the earlier congestion.
Final Verdict: British Airways Club Europe Review Corfu to London Gatwick
The British Airways Club Europe experience on this Corfu to London Gatwick flight delivered on space, priority boarding, and crew friendliness.
Where BA continues to underwhelm is catering – both in quality and quantity. If you’re seated towards the back of the cabin, be prepared for limited choice. And if you’re vegetarian? Brace yourself for either fiery spice or bland carbs.
Would I fly Club Europe again on this route? Sure – but next time, I’ll bring snacks.
Helena
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