| British Airways | Basel (BSL) → London (LHR) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 08/05/2024 | Short review - 3.5/5 |
| British Airways | London (LHR) → Basel (BSL) | A320neo | Economy Class | 11/05/2024 | Current review |
| British Airways | Basel (BSL) → London (LHR) | A320-200 | Economy Class | 08/05/2024 | Short review - 3.5/5 |
| British Airways | London (LHR) → Basel (BSL) | A320neo | Economy Class | 11/05/2024 | Current review |
Hello everyone, and welcome to another review of a flight from London to Basel/Mulhouse aboard a British Airways A320neo.
I'll meet you at London's Paddington station.
I have several options for getting to London Heathrow Airport. There are several train/underground lines to reach London's largest airport. These include the "Heathrow Express" train, the "Elizabeth" and "Piccadilly" subway lines, several bus routes and, of course, cabs.
Staying close to Paddington station during my short (but superb) stay in London, the Tube's brand-new Elizabeth line seemed the most suitable. The journey costs £12.80 (€15.20 or $16.50) and takes just over half an hour.
The Elizabeth line serves terminals 2, 3, 4, and 5. The trains are new and equipped with air conditioning. The only drawback is the lack of space for bulky luggage.
We arrived at London Heathrow International Airport in West London.
Today I'm flying home on British Airways, so I get off the train at its terminus, Terminal 5.
A few elevator floors up, I find myself in the departure hall of Terminal 5.
To my right, the area reserved for Business Class passengers, and then in the rest of the hall various counters (autonomous or not, depending on the destination) dedicated to Economy Class passengers.
So today I'm off to Basel, Switzerland's stock market capital. With no luggage to check, I head straight for the security checkpoints. A good thing for smoothing passenger flow, two checkpoints are set up in the single concourse, and screens displaying passenger numbers are located throughout the terminal. Too many passengers on the left? We go right, which is what I did.
Tonight, it's not too crowded, the bulk of the traffic has already passed, and the first long-haul flights are starting to depart.
The controls go quickly, and I soon find myself on the airside.
The terminal is very spacious and bright. The large glass walls let in the golden light perfectly.
My plane's gate isn't yet displayed, so I take the opportunity to wander the duty-free aisles.
Once I reached the other end of the terminal, I saw a notice board telling me that my flight would depart from Concourse B. Finding myself in Concourse A, I hurried to find a way to get to Concourse B. This wasn't a problem, as the directions were obvious. I cross the whole terminal again but on the lower level.
I discover that it's a train that will connect concourses.
Terminal 5 at Heathrow has 3 concourses (A, B and C). European flights generally depart from Concourse A, while long-haul flights depart from Concourse B and C. However, as in my case, it's not uncommon for European flights to be moved to the other concourses due to a lack of space in the first.
The train takes just a few minutes to reach Concourse B, which is empty!
Indeed, it's practically deserted. All flights have left, most stores are closed, and all seats are free. It's nice not to be crowded, but it's like déjà vu when you see airports emptied of passengers in 2020/2021.
I take advantage of this moment to take photos and watch the departing planes.
The airport is ready to welcome the 777X in a few years/decades???
Lufthansa CityLine A320neo ready to take off for Munich
Austrian Airlines A320neo departs for Vienna
A Virgin Atlantic 787-9 flying to Mumbai
Japan Airlines 777-300ER taking off for Tokyo
British Airways 787-9 taxiing to runway 09R
British Airways A380 heading to Boston-Logan Airport
Like the check-in hall, Concourse A, and the rest of the terminal, Concourse B is very clean and bright. A very good point.
At around 7:45 pm, boarding for my flight begins.
Our aircraft today is G-TTNI, an Airbus A320neo received by the airline in February 2019.
Boarding is by groups of 1 to 5, of which I am one. So, I'm among the last passengers to board the plane.
A long jetway links us to the plane, and the crew welcomes us with a smile.
The cabin is the standard British Airways cabin on its A320 family aircraft. A 3-3 configuration, with the front rows dedicated to Business Class, the "Club Europe Class".
I return to my seat not far away, 7F, on the window side of course, with a splendid view of the engine.
Each seat is equipped with an adjustable headrest (pictures are from the previous flight), a USB port, a coat hook, and a tray table.
The seat pocket contains the safety card, the menu, and the sickness bag.
It doesn't take long for us to set off, and for the crew to carry out the safety instructions. During the taxi, we witness a magnificent sunset.
The taxi isn't very long, and we soon reach the threshold of runway 09R.
At 20:45 local time, the pilots line up and take off, heading for Switzerland (or France...).
After take-off, we make a sharp right turn to avoid flying over downtown London, then a right turn to head for the EuroAirport.
On-board service
A few minutes after all those turns, the crew started distributing bottles of water to all economy-class passengers, along with a small snack. We have a choice of mini-cookies or English vinegar chips.
Having taken the chips on the outward journey, I opted for the cookies (which were very good!!).
Unfortunately, no extra services will be provided free of charge. But if the crew is nice, ask for water or other snacks and they'll give it to you without a problem. I say this because, on the outbound flight, I wasn't able to review, the crew filled my pockets with cookies and snacks.
If you'd like something more substantial, you'll have to pay extra. The Buy-On-Board service is not excessively expensive and offers a wide choice of drinks and food.
To make up for this, British Airways offers Wi-Fi for messages to members of its loyalty program, so make sure you join it before the flight. Once you're in the air, it'll be too late to sign up.
As I have a British Airways account, I take the opportunity to connect to it and it works very well.
We also have access to an online platform to track the progress of our flight, as well as information about our destination. If you want to watch movies, you'll need to subscribe to the superior Wi-Fi package.
We continued our flight at an altitude of 29,000 feet, flying over Paris on the way.
After just under an hour's flight, we begin our descent into Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg airport.
During our approach, we fly over the town of Mulhouse in southern Alsace and then line up on runway 15.
We landed at 10:56 pm, a negligible minute behind schedule.
We soon reach the small terminal.
Deboarding goes smoothly, as does passing through Swiss customs.
I leave the terminal through the "Sortie France" door.
So that's how this Flight review ends. I hope you've enjoyed it, and I look forward to seeing you soon on other flights.
London Heathrow Airport was a very good experience. The airport is well-served by various means of transport and is clean, fluid, and bright. The large openings on the tarmac allow claustrophobes to feel at ease and avgeeks to enjoy themselves with stars in their eyes. A great experience to round off my stay in London.
England's national airline did not disappoint. Punctual, its crews are smiling, friendly, and professional. The cabins were very clean and the service was correct. To top it all off, Wi-Fi for messages is free and available at a lower cost for surfing the net. A good experience that would be repeated.
Smooth and clean, Basel Airport is a good place to start or end a flight.
