There's gotta be a oneworld way - BA458 London to Madrid

There’s gotta be a oneworld way – BA458 London Heathrow to Madrid

In this epic:

Let’s fly BA458!

BA458 London Heathrow to Madrid
British Airways Airbus A321, Seat 23A, EuroTraveller (Economy Class)
773 Miles Flown, 393 Miles Earned, 10 Tier Points earned.

I boarded the plane and was welcomed aboard. I headed down to the first set of emergency exits – where my seat would be located.

British Airways seating – B/E Pinnacle. These are Club Europe seats – the main difference is the middle seat has a tray in it, there’s an antimacassar, edible food and bubbles.

Being where I was, I had practically unlimited leg room.

How’s THAT for legroom?

In a lot of ways, this is very nice. However, there was one minor little problem – the window… or lack of thereafter.

Grr.

Although the window view looked lovely first thing. But then the sun makes the world a better place.

Loads were light on this trip to Madrid that day. Even the second bus was lightly loaded. With everyone aboard, the plane was buttoned up, and the safety demonstration began.

With that – our plane begun the taxi around Heathrow Airport – thankfully short. With a roar, the engines came to life to propel the Airbus A321 into the sky.

The plane had a gentle accent in the to sky as it tracked and begun its trip to Spain, with some wonderful light on the way.

See you in a few days UK….

IFE was in the form of the moving map, which was on display.

Service begun with a drinks and breakfast snack in EuroTraveller. Yes, we all know that buy on board is coming (in the hardest for of Buy on Board), but for now, British Airways are still living up “To Fly, To Serve”, with a croissant and drink service.

To Wrap, To Serve

I’d say this is £5 of product in new BA money.

I’ve seen worse fillings.

The croissant was edible, and was seemingly fresh. Drinks were provided – I went for a Diet Coke and Water. Whilst the bacon roll served UK domestic was tastier – this was reasonable for a short continental route.

Meanwhile outside, it was a reasonably nice day. It always is at 35,000ft.

The crew were friendly enough, performing multiple cabin checks to ensure everyone was happy.

I took a comfort break – and also assessed the load of the plane. It was empty.
The plane was comfortable – mainly as there were individual air vents. Always good to control air in your face.

Eventually, the cabin was cleared down as we begun our decent into the Madrid area. Sadly, the weather was the same as London – in other words, wet.

The plane made its decent successfully, and touched down at Madrid Airport – completing the first hop of this trip.

The plane begun its taxi to the terminal – thankfully a short taxi. After a few minutes we were parking at the gate.

Peeling off.

An Iberia A340 in a engine test area.

Aeroflot A320 taxing past.

With a 55 minute connection – I wasn’t in the mood to hang around to get off the plane. So when the bongs went, I went for my bag, and got in the queue to get off.

With the light load – I was on my way quickly.

Overall: Short-haul done right is entirely possible – and this flight proved it with attentive crew, reasonable catering and comfort – proves it. It’s a shame British Airways management thinks otherwise, and prefers to cut everything…

Next: The Spanish Solution… hmm. Run!

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European readers.

There’s gotta be a oneworld way – BA458 London to Madrid

There’s gotta be a oneworld way – BA458 London Heathrow to Madrid

Let’s fly BA458!

Related