Club Europe on British Airways is hardly worth the Avios or cash unless of course you have plenty of both or it’s on sale. However, I recently discovered the best European Avios redemption in business class, which, of course, makes it an excellent value.
I knew there was a flight on a bigger plane from London to Athens as I had flown with it, but it had the old-style business class seats, so although it was more space it wasn’t anything fancy.
However, with the retirement of these planes (or the availability of long haul ones) they have now put on the route a Boeing 787 which has full reclining business class seats.
The 787 has the standard business class seats which yes, they are not the best of the industry (they are getting upgraded) but for a flight of 3hrs and 20 min, they are great, especially when travelling with a toddler.
We flew last week, and I have to say full-flat seats in business for a European route are my preferred way of travel, especially when you can redeem Avios points for it.
Business Class with a flat bed to Athens
The 787 flies this route on a Friday at 12:40 pm from London Heathrow arrive at 6:25 pm in Athens Greece.
The return is at 7:55 pm from Athens and arrives in London Heathrow at 9:45 pm.
It makes for a great weekend trip to Athens with at least one way in business class with a flat-bed.
Especially if you have a limited amount of Avios and you would like to experience business class style seats.
We came back to the UK after six weeks in Greece and while exploring the Athenian riviera.
I was looking for a Friday night flight when I noticed it was on a Boeing 787.
Prices for the flight even in cash were not too bad at £350 per person one way though return always cost less currently, you can book return for this flight for £200, for October during the BA Sale.
I decided to book on Avios since it is a good redemption for the cost of a one-ticket and I was looking for all three of us.
The flight in business was almost full; I think they were only a handful of seats available in the cabin.
We did visit the business class lounge, which was only a short walk from the gate where we departed.
The lounge is nothing special to be honest and a little outdated. There was very little on offer in terms of food: some small sandwiches individually packaged tea, coffee and soft drinks. I ended up at Grigoris for some hot sandwiches.
I had to ask for bottles of water as there were non-available in the fridge, which they reluctantly gave, as some other guests saw me and asked as well. Not sure why they were hiding them.
We managed to be noticed, though, as my daughter kicked the table and smashed her milk cup on the floor.
I guess this is a welcome to the travel world with a toddler. I do believe I kept my cool quite well.
The Flight
Boarding for the flight started from the back to the front, so business class passengers and those with children boarded the flight almost last.
It is a new thing that airlines started doing during the pandemic as I had seen several reports of them, though Ryanair didn’t do this when we flew to Greece.
The cabin was a standard 787 with seats; I had booked the 6F and 6J which are the same seat I had when we flew from Doha to the UK when baby S was only four weeks old.
The seats are comfortable, and because I had booked us next to each other, we could pass baby S through the window, which made it easier for us. My husband was rear-facing, so we could see each other and also let S play and watch.
Business-class and flat-beds make travelling with a toddler much more manageable. Not hassle-free as she wouldn’t sleep or settle for more than 10 minutes but having space for her to move and for us to be able to relax a little bit more makes it one of my best redemptions.
The food on board was a box with a quinoa salad, chicken sandwich, a drink and a dessert. No hot food options but considering you are travelling during these times it’s understandable.
Staff are always polite and welcoming, which is what I find with all British Airways crew. They came along the cabin several times, and for a short flight, it was more than enough.
Redeeming for business class
Redeeming Avios for Club Europe is not always a good option as you don’t have a flat-bed or space but rather an empty middle seat.
However, with this route option, you get a flat-bed, fewer Avios for redeeming and also it is a reward flight saver where your taxes are minimal.
You can pay as little as £0.50 and 23, 500 Avios for a one-way redemption.
- 23500 Avios + £ 0.50
- 21000 Avios + £ 15.50
- 18500 Avios + £ 20.50
- 17000 Avios + £ 25.50
- 12500 Avios + £ 50.50
- 9000 Avios + £ 70.50
Even if you do book this cash, it still makes a good purchase as prices are between £200- £330 during their BA Sale and you earn the tier points depending on the week you are looking to book.
If you were to do this, you could also use part of your Avios to reduce the cost of your ticket.
- £30 off with 3,000 Avios
- £70 off with 10,400 Avios
- £130 off with 24,000 Avios
- £180 off with 36,200 Avios
- £230 off with 48,600 Avios (depending on the price of your ticket)
Overall for me, this is truly one of the best European business class Avios redemption you can have on this route.
You can check the prices and book here if you are booking with cash. Skyscanner gives you the price for £15 cheaper per person, and you still receive your Avios anyways so might as well get the discount.
Make sure you use the Skyscanner monthly tool to find the cheapest options. You can find it here.
At the moment with the same, it doesn’t make sense to book a redemption since a return flight is only £200 in business class. If you are looking after the sale or at any other time when the price is higher, redemptions do make better sense.
You get to experience what British Airways business class is without paying the taxes and if you don’t have that many Avios and you are saving for a special treat.
You can easily book this as a one way for a weekend away and a low-cost carrier for £20 to return to the UK.
At the moment Athens is on the air corridor so you wouldn’t have to quarantine, you need to complete the PLF for both Greece and the UK.
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