Planning our Venice, Italy Itinerary was easy enough but as a solo traveler, I was torn with the additional costs of the Venice water taxi and the whether upgrading to Club Europe on British Airways was worth it. My niece and I were booked in coach (World Traveller) on British Airways from London Heathrow (LHR) to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE). I paid for a ticket which included one checked bag and then paid even more for our seat selection. British Airways charges everyone for a seat (annoying I know). So when I received an email asking for even more money for an upgrade to Club Europe (considered business class), I was a bit hesitant. Did I want to upgrade to Club Europe for the Venice flight of 2 hours?
The pros and cons of upgrading to Club Europe from London (LHR)
My inner accountant always does an ROI of the additional costs and most times my logic works out. There are a few times when logic loses and feeling takes over. In this case, I considered the pros and cons of the upgrade:
Pros of upgrading to Club Europe:
- Check in Desk at Heathrow Terminal 5 using Business Class desks (flying carryon only let us bypass the business class desk)
- Fast Track Security Line (used by business class and elite travelers)
- Increased baggage allowance
- Access to British Airways Lounges in Terminal 5 – food, drink, seating, etc.
- Boarding Group 2 (note boarding group 1 is for those who need assistance or have children)
- Meal/Drinks onboard and could order gluten free meal for my niece
- First eight rows of plane
- First off the plane to immigration (since the UK left the EU during Brexit) – need to know if gate exit or stairs to bus (no benefit for being first to immigration)
- Middle seat empty
- Club Europe tier points (a great benefit if chasing elite status on British Airways)
Cons of upgrading to Club Europe:
- Seat size same – BA planes are all coach seats. (Club Europe generally means the middle seat is left empty)
- Additional Cost of 90GBP
- I would likely not eat the meal served
Club Europe from London to Venice, Italy
When I looked at the cost, it converted to $108 US one way. Is that a good price to pay to avoid the long security lines and wait in the lounge to enjoy the amenities they provide? Is the meal onboard any good? My niece could order a gluten free meal but I knew that I would not be eating from the menu as past flights offered food choices that I wasn’t fond of. (that day’s menu was curry or salmon).
I asked my sister if she wanted to upgrade my niece and she said “yes” so I upgraded both of us. It hits differently when booking the initial coach vs business class ticket and seeing the price difference when the upgrade is $100, at that point compared with all the other expenses, it can seem a great deal and not a lot of money to some. If I was traveling solo, I’m not sure if I would have upgraded for the additional cost.
Our Experience:
- Check-in was quick and easy using the kiosk to obtain our paper boarding pass (we also checked in online and could use that boarding pass and code). At Heathrow, I prefer the paper boarding pass to scan at the security kiosks and boarding gate as my phone is always a bit dodgy to get the scan to take.
- Security was quick as we scanned our boarding pass and were quickly in the queue of ten passengers ahead of us.
- Fast Track has two security screening machines and can accommodate eight people at a time loading their stuff into the bins.
- Neither of us beeped and our bags cleared security without issue (wait time was nearly 30 minutes otherwise if your bag needed to be manually searched).
- Security time was less than 15 minutes with our carry-on bags.
- The South Galleries Lounge was busy with all seats full for the Tuesday morning so we wandered a bit to wait for folks to leave their seats. We stayed for a bit over an hour to enjoy the food/drink, private restrooms and quiet.
- At the boarding gate, which was next to Starbucks in the main terminal, we queued up to use the e-gates to board as group 2 so were among the first passengers on the plane.
Upgrading from Venice, Italy to London Heathrow
When I considered upgrading the return flight, I did some research to see that
- There’s no BA lounge in Venice
- You can buy fast track security in Venice for 10 euros
On our return flight we were booked in row 9, right behind Club Europe folks paying more. Arriving in Heathrow meant we would use the e-gates so no need to be first off the plane. So paying for a meal onboard seemed like the only benefit and British Airways sells food onboard already (although not gluten free). We lucked out that no one was seated in the middle seat so my niece had the window and I had the aisle seat.
I chose not to upgrade to Club Europe from Venice as I didn’t see the benefit of the additional cost. (Note: my niece was not happy with this decision as she expected a gluten free meal for the short flights)
The security line was not an issue as it moved quickly, we cleared in about 10 minutes. No need to buy fast track access.
The Venice, Italy airport is small with a general waiting area and some shops and restaurants. I bought food prior to passing through e-gate immigration to the second waiting area which had only one shop and restaurant. Once through immigration you can’t go back so time this accordingly. When they posted the gate downstairs as a remote stand with bus transit, it got crowded as three flights were leaving at the same time and the bathroom had two stalls. There were vending machines for food/drink if you didn’t want to go back upstairs. This wait was a bit miserable and upgrading wouldn’t have helped in any way other than put us on the bus first to wait on the plane instead of the terminal. That meant we were boarding group 9, the last to board the bus to drive us to the plane. Hindsight, I would have stayed longer in the general waiting area, enjoyed food and drink at a leisurely pace and made my way to the lower level when the crowds had dissipated. But, of course, I did it all wrong and being solo would have been fine but with my niece, Aunt Sue definitely was not her favorite person on this travel day.
Final Thoughts – Paying to Upgrade to Club Europe
Overall, yes, I would pay to upgrade to Club Europe from Heathrow as the benefits were worth it but I would not upgrade to Club Europe on British Airways from Venice back to Heathrow. As with any upgrade offer, do the research and understand options available. Then weigh the value of the benefits against not only the cost but also time savings and lower stress levels. Once you are though with the logic, consider the feelings of all involved – and if you are traveling with your 16 yo niece, just suck it up, pay the upgrade and make sure she gets her gluten free meal to keep family harmony.