Introduction

It’s just a short walk of about eight minutes from the London City Courtyard Hotel to the airport. The weather has changed overnight. Where it’s been surprisingly warm all week, today there’s a nip in the air.

Check-In

My first stop is at the check-in counter to drop off my little suitcase, to avoid the hassle of having to finding a place to store it in the cabin later on. There are three dedicated counters open for Business Class passengers and I’m seen to straight away.

Airside

From check-in I head one floor up to security and the airside area. Security is swift and efficient. There are three lines open with five positions at each line.

My next stop is at the Soul & Grain bar, where I grab a sourdough bagel with omelette and tomato chutney, and a cappuccino. It’s very busy and noisy in the waiting area. The latter is mainly because there are two stag parties, both of which are headed to Ibiza on the same flight. Good times for the crew, I’m sure…

Boarding

At 06h25, gate 7 shows up for my flight on the departures display. By the sound of it, the Ibiza flight is boarding from the gate right next to ours.

I step out onto the apron. I’m seated on row 2, but I’m still tempted to follow the others to the rear door, just to take a few closeup photos of the logo on the tail. But then I figure I shouldn’t make a nuisance of myself and take the forward door after all.

The Cabin & Seat

I’m seated on 2D, which is the window seat on the bulkhead row on the starboard side. And the pitch is huge! It’s definitely the best seat in the house. I can fully stretch my legs without reaching the bulkhead. There are only five passengers in the Business Class cabin on today’s flight.

The Service & Crew

There are three cabin crew on this flight. The purser in charge of the Business Class cabin is a young lady from eastern Europe, judging by her accent. She’s great! She’s polite and very helpful. It’s little things. For example, she tells me I need to either wear my cardigan or store it in the overhead bin for take-off and landing. And then volunteers to place it in the overhead bin for me so I won’t have to get up.

We taxi out for depature to take off pointing west. You’ve just got to love a good London City take-off. Once we’re on the runway, the pilot flying applies the parking brake and then pushes the throttles into the take-off thrust position. With a low, menacing growl, the whole aircraft starts shaking. Then, suddenly, the brakes are released and we go careening down the runway to leap into the air just a short while later.

The Meal – Breakfast

The meal service starts just as we reach the coast and the channel. There is a choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian hot breakfast. I go with the latter.

The hot meal is served with a warm bread roll and butter. There is no jam. In addition, there is a bowl of plain yoghurt with dried cranberries, which are, undoubtedly, the blandest, most overrated berries ever.

The hot meal is nice. It contains an omelette with chives and cheese, a grilled tomato and mushrooms, caramelized onions, and a rasher of grilled bacon. To drink, I have a coffee with milk and a glass of still water.

Arrival

It’s a gorgeous day in central Europe today. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. As it’s still quite early in the day, there isn’t a lot of haze in the air, making the Alps stand out in dramatic contrast against the pristine blue sky.

We land on runway 14 and then taxi past all the wide-bodies parked at the mid-field pier. We cross runway 28 to access the main apron and continue to our remote parking stand near the former Swissair hangar that is still in use today. It’s just so nice to be back home!

Conclusion

I always enjoy flying to and from London City Airport. The proximity to the city is brilliant! As traffic increased through the years, the airport has gradually expanded. Where initially aircraft would backtrack to the end of the runway, there is now a taxiway that runs the full length, which has allowed the airport to increase its runway capacity. And it is quite amazing how many flights there are out of London City. My only criticism is that the airside expansion of the terminal has not kept pace with the increase in traffic. It also doesn’t help that what little space there would be, is taken up by retail.

British Airways was great, yet again. The crew were professional and the purser in particular was friendly. I also appreciate the catering on BA. Air France doesn’t serve hot meals at all any more on their short-haul flights, while Lufthansa usually just tries a bit too hard with its idiotic Taste of Heimat and still misses the mark.