Business class flights in Europe are often underwhelming - how about BA's Club Europe from Madrid?

Like many people, I have always been unsure about flying Club Europe with British Airways (or most European airlines). For a normally much higher price, you get the same seating with the middle seat left empty. Yes, there is an improved level of service and catering – but is this essential on a short flight?

I had the chance to try it out for the first time post-pandemic recently, with a British Airways Club Europe connection to a long-haul Club World flight. This was a British Airways Airbus A319 operated evening flight from Madrid Barajas to London Heathrow.

My overall experience was positive. While the seating and offerings were much as expected, I was impressed with the ground experience and onboard service overall.

As always, the flight experience starts at the airport. With a short-haul business class flight, many of the benefits are found here – and this was undoubtedly the case departing from Madrid.

Check-in at Madrid Terminal 4 opens two hours before departure for British Airways flights – in reality, staff arrived and opened the desks about 20 minutes before this. If you are flying on an Iberia-operated flight, you have the advantage of Iberia desks being open all day for early check-in or bag drop. There was already a long standard queue formed by the time check-in opened, but Club Europe has a priority queue (also for oneworld status members).

For further time-saving, Club Europe passengers can use the priority security lane. Again, this had a much shorter queue. I was checked in through security and on the train connection to the satellite terminal just 15 minutes after arrival. All British Airways flights depart from the T4 Satellite terminal – used also for all Iberia's non-Schengen and long-haul flights.

British Airways does not have its own lounge in Madrid (it only has these in a few locations outside London). Instead, Club Europe passengers and those with BA Executive Club silver and gold status use the Iberia lounges.

Iberia operates two lounges in Terminal 4. The Dali lounge is located in the main terminal and is used for European Schengen zone departures. The Velázquez Premium Lounge is in the satellite terminal. British Airways passengers can use either lounge – but it is a much better idea to use the satellite terminal lounge. You need to head there for the flight anyway, and it is a much larger, better equipped, and (usually) quieter lounge. It is, after all, the main lounge used for Iberia's long-haul departures.

Entry to the lounge is, unusually, through the main duty-free shop. The lounge door is located right in the middle of the store – no doubt due to a deal between Iberia and the operator! It does work well, though – it is very convenient to wander out and pick up any purchases you want to make. Since Brexit, UK-bound passengers can buy full duty-free goods too, but need to be aware of import limits.

I have used this lounge many times, and it is one of my favorites in Europe. It is not the most luxurious or flashiest, but it has all the right elements of a great lounge. It is large, open, and spacious, with various seating areas and types. It offers excellent runway and apron views from windows running the entire length of the lounge. As it caters to long-haul flights, there are plenty of showers and even a rest area with curtained-off recliners.

Food and drink are all self-service. I much prefer this – there is no need to queue, and you can take as much or as little as you want of different items. There are separate cold and hot buffets and a number of different drinks stations. This includes a lovely wine bar area at one end of the lounge with several types of wine (mostly Spanish) to compare.

With the fast check-in and security, I had over an hour in the lounge to work and enjoy some food and wine. Boarding is not announced, but BA shows this in the app. Gates are close once you are in the satellite terminal, and you will have already cleared passport control after exiting the connecting train.

I have flown in British Airways Club Europe many times and knew what to expect. The cabin on all British Airways' A320 family aircraft is the same – identical rows of seating with a flexible divider to change the split between the economy and business cabin (known as Euro Traveller and Club Europe on British Airways).

The only difference in Club Europe is that the middle seats are left empty, with a divider / fixed tray table. There are minimal other differences with the cabin. There is no at-seat power or WiFi. The seat pitch is the same cramped 30 inches for the whole aircraft, although the front row 1 offers more space. With fewer passengers, there should be better access to overhead space (although the bins were full by the time I boarded) and fewer passengers using the dedicated toilet for the cabin.

is not the most exciting cabin – and, of course, even less so on the Airbus A319 with the smaller cabin. On this flight, there were six rows being used for Club Europe. The cabin was full, but with the space provided by the empty middle seats, that makes much less difference than it would in economy.

British Airways is one of those airlines where the onboard experience can be very different depending on the crew operating the flight. This flight turned out to be one of the better BA flights that I have experienced.

The food offering has improved post-COVID. The whole meal is served on a single tray with starter, main course, and dessert (although for short-haul, this is less contentious than on long-haul servicing). I chose a Thai prawn curry as a main course (the other choices were a rigatoni pasta and tomato salsa or sliced roast beef and potato salad). Portions were not large (there were just three prawns in my curry!), but the food was hot, tasty, and adequate for a short flight.

Service alongside this was excellent. Everyone was offered several drinks (before, during, and after the meal), and there was someone in the cabin almost the entire time. Some people may find this intrusive, but I thought that this worked nicely for an early evening flight where most people were eating and drinking. In comparison, on my outward Iberia flight before, the crew had rushed through the cabin once to distribute items and then were never seen again.

Perhaps I got lucky with a good crew, but overall this was a relaxing, friendly, and well-served flight. I hope it is indicative of service levels post-COVID – time and other experiences will tell!

British Airways can offer a very mixed service in Club Europe depending on the flight, crew, and items loaded! It would be good to hear more people's recent experiences in the cabin. Have you flown with British Airways in Club Europe post-COVID? Let us know in the comments.

Journalist - With almost a decade of experience in the publishing sphere, Justin has built up a deep understanding of the issues facing aviation today. With a keen interest in route development, new aircraft, and loyalty, his extensive travels with airlines such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific has given him profound direct comprehension of industry matters. Based in Hong Kong and Darlington, UK.