Thank you for your r/r/c. I'm a former air stewardess, now working as a Project Manager in a Civil S...
Thank you for your r/r/c. I'm a former air stewardess, now working as a Project Manager in a Civil Service department. Studying part-time with the Open University for an English and Politics degree.
Member since:01.11.2002
Reviews:89
Members who trust:106
GB Airways is a franchise of British Airways. They have BA flight numbers, check-in desks, aircraft livery, service standards and membership of the Oneworld Global Airline Alliance. Just like flying on the ‘real’ BA you can earn and redeem miles and points and have all the benefits of Executive Club membership.
They currently fly to 28 locations in the Mediterranean and North Africa from Heathrow and Gatwick airports. A new base in Manchester is opening this summer. GB Airways has 13 aircraft and 900 employees.
How to book your flight: The flights can easily be booked on ba.com and you get an e-ticket rather than a paper one which means you can’t lose it!
Prices: I found the prices very reasonable. I booked a return Heathrow-Malaga for £80. In a lot of cases they are actually cheaper than the low-cost airlines and you can fly from a better location (Heathrow in my case) and you get full service in the airport and on board. Flying Club Europe will generally cost you about 3 or 4 times the Euro Traveller price at the
cheapest. As it was just me flying, my parents declined to pay for Club when we could get such a cheap ‘normal’ ticket. Oh well!
Check-In: As I’m an Executive Club cardholder I could check in online 24 in advance. You get to choose your seat this way, it’s fantastic! For non-club members you can check in 12 hours before. You can of course use the airport check in desks or self-service check in at the airport.
At the Airport: I had to go to the self-service check in desks to print my boarding ticket. There was a BA employee (dressed in the nice new uniform) on hand to assist if any passenger should encounter a problem. I then took my suitcase to the Fast Bag Drop where the friendly Passenger Services Assistant took my bag off me and asked me the usual security questions. The whole process took about 3 minutes.
Boarding: As I had checked in the night before I got to the airport around 50 minutes before the flight was due to take off. Boarding commenced at 6.30am and it must be noted that contrary to the BA website, Club Euro passengers were not given priority boarding. I was greeted by a smiling stewardess onboard and found my way to my pre-booked seat, seat-7C, an aisle seat.
The Flight: It was around half full, there was a lady sat by the window seat but the middle seat was free. There were no passengers in Club but the curtain was still drawn to keep us peasants out J and we were not allowed to use the lavatory up there.
The legroom was actually quite good, around 33 inches I think. Apparently the seats in the first few rows of Euro Traveller have slightly more legroom. Breakfast was served, it consisted of:
Sausage, Baked Beans and mini potatoes squares. A bread roll A Yoghurt Orange Juice
It was very tasty and of course it was free! Drinks were also served followed by tea or coffee later on in the flight. If you required champagne, unlike in Club, you had to pay for it.
The Cabin Crew: There were four cabin crew onboard the airplane (An A320) and they were such fantastic people! They were very friendly, polite and helpful. One of them spoke Spanish and another spoke French. Unlike the BA employees, they were still wearing the old ‘Aztec’ printed uniform.
One of the stewards started chatting to me, so I went to the back of the plane to the galley to talk to him and I was offered free champagne! A stewardess also came back and I started talking to them about their jobs. When I younger, before retail took its toll on me (LOL) I really wanted to be airline cabin crew. They encouraged me to apply to GB Airways and told me how much they enjoyed their jobs. Sadly I’ve just been offered a fantastic new job so I had to decline…maybe one day though when I’m sick of office work and want a new challenge!
Time: The flight departed and landed on time although we had to wait 10 minutes at Malaga for the aircraft steps to be attached. We were then taken by bus to the terminal.
Code sharing: As BA is part of the Oneworld Alliance some of your flights may be code-shared. This means that your flight will have a BA number but you will fly on a partner airline instead. You can still use your Executive Club card and gain/use miles and points etc. Flying back I was on Iberia…but that’s a whole different review, which I shall be writing soon.
Is flying Club Euro worth it? Well you get priority check in at a special check in desk…but if you use online/self service…who cares? You get to go through Fast Check security at certain airports. Now if the airport is busy this is FANTASTIC! But if it’s quiet…like early in the morning you have very little to gain. The BA airport ‘Terraces’ lounges are great, you can relax, take a shower, have free food and drinks both before and after your flight…but they are not available everywhere. At certain airports you will have to sit with the ‘commoners’ in the regular lounges I’m afraid! I think you can use Oneworld Alliance Partners lounges though at airports where they have them. You can also pay a small supplement sometimes to use a non-airline specific lounge…say £15!
You don’t get priority boarding. (From what I’ve seen) Onboard you get slightly more space, better food, more attentive service and free champagne. Oh and a lavatory so you don’t have to walk through Traveller down to the loo’s. You also get ‘The Curtain’ pulled after take-off so you have the feel of a private cabin. You get off the plane first and your luggage has a priority sticker on them, supposedly to make sure you get them quicker and they get better care…you don’t always get them quicker though as I have discovered! And you get more miles and points on your Executive membership.
If you have the money to spare or someone else is paying and you want the luxury…why not?! Or you could save the money and buy something you really want. Euro Traveller is good enough on these short flights!
The bottom line: I would highly recommend GB Airways! Travelling in economy on this airline means you aren’t treated like cattle.
Coming next...My Iberia review of the flight home...
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Advantages: On-line check in for some airports, good prices if you are flexible on travel times, comfortable planes, free food and drinks Disadvantages: Flexible check-in means greater chance of mislaying luggage, inflexible in respect of changes, food a little iffy
sue.51 25.12.2004 (25.12.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of GB Airways
Advantages: Quality of British Airways!, Great on-board service!. Disadvantages: Pretty expensive as only recognised airline company which flies to Gibraltar!
Martin_Lee20 20.07.2000 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of GB Airways
Advantages: On-line check in for some airports, good prices if you are flexible on travel times, comfortable planes, free food and drinks Disadvantages: Flexible check-in means greater chance of mislaying luggage, inflexible in respect of changes, food a little iffy
sue.51 25.12.2004 (25.12.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of GB Airways
Advantages: Quality of British Airways!, Great on-board service!. Disadvantages: Pretty expensive as only recognised airline company which flies to Gibraltar!
Martin_Lee20 20.07.2000 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of GB Airways
Advantages: Can be cheap, wide variety of destinations and routes, online booking, friendly cabin crew Disadvantages: Can be pricey, no frills, not so good check in experience, out of town airports
Katieshaz 27.12.2007 (29.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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