Flights

The British Airways Club Suites were officially announced five months ago and were set to debut on British Airways’ newest long-haul aircraft, the Airbus A350 which they started to take delivery of this summer. Once the delivery date of the first aircraft was confirmed, BA announced the first destinations would be Dubai and Toronto, but for a few weeks over the summer crew familiarisation flights would operate to Madrid. No set dates were given by BA for these Madrid flights, but information about them leaked on various websites, so once I heard that this information was credible I didn’t hesitate in booking a return flight to Madrid on the fantastic new British Airways A350 Club Suites.

If you’re flying from British Airways Terminal 3, you can of course use the British Airways business and First lounges, but if your have BA Silver or Gold status, or equivalent One World status, or travelling in Business or First, you also have access to the Cathay Pacific Business and First Lounges as well as the newly refurbished Qantas Club.

I first flew with Qatar Airways a little over two years ago on a trip to Adelaide Australia and I was so impressed with every aspect of their service, that I didn't hesitate to book with them again on my most recent trip to Adelaide.

From the lazy bubbles slowly rising through the glass of Grande Siècle to the tranquil, mood-lit cabin, every element of British Airways First Class oozes elegance with subtle hints of quintessential Britishness. It's easy to forget you're soaring through the skies at 30,000ft when you are enclosed in your own luxurious cocoon, where anything is just a button-press away. 

Fifteen years ago Concorde graced the skies between London and New York, holding the prestigious British Airways flight numbers BA1, BA2, BA3 & BA4. Unfortunately since the retirement of Concorde in 2003 you can no longer fly to New York in a mere three hours. A few years back British Airways launched their Club World London City Service between London City Airport and New York's JFK airport, adopting Concorde’s flight numbers. The British Airways Club World London City Service operates an all business class Airbus A318 featuring just 32 flat bed seats.

Just like the once a day British Airways Boeing 777 service between London and Madrid, Iberia also run a long-haul aircraft once a day between London and Madrid. This service runs late afternoon from Madrid to London, and returns to Madrid early evening. After taking the British Airways service on my outbound flight to Madrid, on my return I flew Iberia Business Class from Madrid to London.

Once a day British Airways operate a Boeing 777 on their London Heathrow to Madrid service. The upside is that if you're travelling in Club Europe you actually get a Club World flat bed seat. As I was booking a trip to Spain this summer I decided I would fly British Airways Club Europe to Madrid on this particular service, for this added bonus.

Just over a year ago British Airways announced that after many years they would recommence their London to Kuala Lumpur service. It was announced that the service would be operated by their brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and with an upgraded, more exclusive First Class cabin. As soon as I heard about this I just knew I had to book British Airways First Class from Kuala Lumpur back to London Heathrow.

To end my amazing trip to Australia I decided to book a stop over in Malaysia on my return journey. I already had a flight booked from Kuala Lumpur to London with British Airways, so I just needed to find a flight to Kuala Lumpur from Adelaide. I looked at many options including Qantas, Malaysia Airways and Singapore Airlines, but then by chance I heard about an option with an Asian low cost airline, Air Asia. Premium Flatbed is the Air Asia low cost business class product which I had found.

To start my four month trip to Australia I flew Qatar Airways Business Class from Munich, Germany to Adelaide, Australia, changing planes in Doha, Qatar. On previous trips I have flown to Australia with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines and also Qantas. With all the amazing deals which have been available recently on Qatar Airways Business Class, I thought that I should book my next trip to Australia with Qatar Airways.

This is my 5th trip to Adelaide, Australia, a place I have fallen in love with and can't get enough of. On previous trips I have flown with Emirates, Malaysia Airlines and, of course, British Airways. As I would be flying back-to-back flights with British Airways, and then Cathay Pacific, I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to see how British Airways Club World compares with the ever more impressive business class products emerging from Asia and the Middle East.

By booking a mid-afternoon flight, I avoided having to get out of bed at such an unsociable hour, like I have been used to on many of my recent trips. We arrived at Heathrow shortly after 10am and walked over to the British Airways First Class check-in area. We were met by a member of staff, who had approached us before we had even reached the counter. He asked where we were flying to, and took us to the next available check-in agent who checked us on to our Miami flight quickly and efficiently.