Trip report: British Airways Business Class Leeds to London
Leeds Bradford Airport is a tiny international airport at Yeadon, halfway between Leeds and Bradford. However, the slow local Bus 757 from Leeds Railway Station takes nearly an hour to wander through the Yorkshire valleys to get to the airport, which is the highest airport in England, at nearly 700 feet.
I arrived early, to try out the new First Class lounge. So early, the BA checkin wasn't open, but thank goodness for online checkin, and I was through security in just a few minutes.
The lounges are upstairs, around the impenetrable corridors, and past the Saltaire Bar, named after the Victorian model village and world heritage site.
At first I was taken aback at the entrance to the lounge, as there was a long queue, and a note on the door warning that the lounges were 'completely full' today.
British Airways doesn't have a lounge at Leeds Bradford, and I was quickly waved into the White Rose Suite, but as a Qantas Platinum member was also asked if I wanted to try the Runway Club. The suite of three pay in lounges, all come at different price points. The cheapest is the Yorkshire Lounge (designed for Leisure customers, basic snacks), White Rose Suite (Business, buffet and staffed bar), and The 1432 Runway Club (Premium, open self serve bar, waiter service, and cooked to order food).
The White Rose Suite is a pretty good lounge, and surprising to find at a regional airport. Read the full review of the Leeds Bradford International Airport White Rose Suite Lounge.
It has a buffet and staffed bar, and pleasantly has Old Speckled Hen too. However, it was pretty busy - I struggled to get a seat at the window, and notably as soon as one people left, another person took their seat.
I had some breaded chicken, pasta and salad from the snack bar.
Quickly checking out the 1432 Runway Club, I was empty - this is the elite, First Class lounge, with waiter-led service, and could the considered the Concorde Room of the North, as it were. The buffet in the Runway Club was also significantly better.
The A319 operating this flight appeared on time, and within a very short time boarding was called. Boarding was quick, and I settled into 1A for my very short trip south to London. Seating is BA's classic Club Europe, with the three seats turned into two, with just a flap for the middle seats to hold cocktail glasses.
The flight was to be all of 25 minutes on the clock. As such I wasn't expecting much in the way of a Business Class service.
However, with only one other passenger in Business Class, there was a full Business Class service, including hot towels before takeoff. No menus alas, but then again there was only one meal to speak of, which was brought out to me with a quick 'Do you want to eat' almost as soon as we were airborne.
However, the British Airways inflight meal for domestic business class was very good, with starter, main and desert.
Starter was panacotta with dried tomatoes.
Main was a platter with smoked salmon and lemon. Coleslaw. Tomato with avocado. Prawn, and shrimp paste.
Dessert consisted of chocolate moose.
Plus a hot roll and butter.
Drinks quickly came around, with an offer of Champagne. Then white wine, with two bottles before we were on the hold above Houndslow.
There was of course no inflight entertainment, unless you include the moving map, or British Airways inflight magazine, HighLife.
The crew really couldn't do enough, checking every five minutes if I wanted anything more, although it was hard to see if I could have eaten or drunk any more in the 25 minutes before arriving at London Heathrow terminal 5. Indeed, it took nearly that long to taxi to the gate.
A quick trip in on TFL's temporary rail service (previously known as Heathrow Connect, the stopping train service) before the Queen Elizabeth line takes over the rail route from LHR to central London, and at only £12 much cheaper than the HEX, and only slightly longer.
I was into Paddington only an hour after having left Leeds.
So, the bottom line is, is it worth spending an extra £49 to upgrade to Business Class on such a short route. In terms of time spent in luxury - no. But if you include the free lounge access - which would have been £35 anyway - in effect it was £14 for a three course dinner, three bottle of wine, and all the space I could want.
Put into those terms, it's a bargain.
See the full British Airways Leeds Bradford to London Heathrow Business Class video:
Lux-traveller paid its own way for this Trip Report on British Airways class, and travelled incognito.
| British Airways Leeds Bradford to London Heathrow Business Class
| |
|---|---|
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Lux-traveller.com rating:7 out of10 | |
| Seats: | 4 - Standard economy seats with a little more space |
| Food: | 6 - surprisingly good |
| Service: | 7 - excellent, and can't fault it |
| IFE: | - None |
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