TRIP REPORT: British Airways, London - Belgrade

TRIP REPORT

Written by Stefan K.

Sunday 29th September 2024 marked the sad day for frequent BEG-LHR-BEG travellers: the end of British Airways in Belgrade. The final BA rotation took place o after just 11 months of thrice weekly service.

The service was re-launched on 31st October 2023 following an 11-year break and was super exciting for those visiting friends and family from both the UK and wider, connecting the US, Canada, and Australia to Serbia. The flight was also popular amongst British tourists wanting to visit the majestic capital and I convinced many friends to try it out.

BA operated 3 flights a week, with BA888 departing in the early morning from Heathrow and arriving into Belgrade just before noon. The return BA889 left Belgrade and arrived into London around 2pm. These flight times were a lot more convenient than Air Serbia’s JU210/JU211 rotation as it meant I got a full day in Belgrade when flying from London. Throughout its entire service, prices remained very competitive, especially in Club Europe, and they were always very busy.

It was nice to see another globally connected airline in Belgrade and bringing another oneworld airline and its connectivity to the region. I wanted to share my experience flying between London Heathrow and Belgrade from earlier this year in celebration of what was a great and affordable link between the United Kingdom and Serbia.

Date: 10th May 2024

Flight: BA888

Route: London Heathrow (LHR) – Belgrade Nikola Tesla (BEG)

Aircraft: G-MIDS (Airbus A320)

Seat: 3A (Club Europe)

Flight time: 2hr 15mins

I paid £180, about €215 for this one-way flight, which I thought was quite a good deal considering Air Serbia can charge some €300 for an economy return. This flight was a great way to get 40 tier points for the British Airways Executive Club at a pretty good price.

I arrived at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 in the early hours of Friday morning and made my way to the dedicated Club Europe Check-In area in the far left of the terminal to drop my bag and print a boarding pass. There was no queue, and an agent swiftly attached an orange priority tag to my bag, and I was on my way to Fast Track Security.

Business Class Check-In, Terminal 5

Security only took a few minutes, and I was soon through to the main concourse. There are 3 business class lounges to choose from at T5 (Galleries Club North, South and B-gates) so I made my way to the Galleries South Lounge complex. I prefer it to the North lounge as it’s usually a lot quieter now that Club check-in area has moved to Zone A on the North side of the terminal. Access is granted by a business class ticket (Club Europe or Club World), BA Executive Club Silver or oneworld Sapphire.

The South lounge complex contains 2 other lounges as well as the Galleries Club: the Galleries First lounge, which is only for those with a Gold card or oneworld Emerald, and the Concorde Room, exclusively for those in First Class and Gold Guest List (BA’s top frequent flyer status).

I was greeted by the usual horse in a coat in true British style – a lovely welcome to the lounge

As I was in Club (business), I went up to the top floor towards the Galleries Club Lounge South. The agent at the entrance was quick to scan my boarding pass and addressed me by name, informing me that my flight was due to depart from the B-gates and that she suggested I go there as it would be a lot quieter. I took her advice and made my way towards the underground train to the B and C gates.

The B-gates lounge can only be accessed if your flight departs from a B or C gate. Almost all of BA’s long-haul flights depart from one of these but it is worth checking beforehand. I prefer this lounge over the rest as it is the quietest and most relaxing, so I recommend. If your flight departs from the A-gates, you can still gain access to the lounge, but you must factor in time to get back to the main terminal building to catch your flight. Remember to take the lift to floor -4 and walk back via the moving walkways as the train will dump you in Arrivals and you will most likely miss your flight!

I took the train on the 2-minute journey to the satellite B terminal and made my way to the lounge. It’s always a treat to depart from the B-gates as you get to see many widebodies up close.

A 26 year old Boeing 777-200ER, G-VIIL preparing to depart for New York JFK as BA117

A 3 year old Airbus A350-1000, G-XWBC preparing for its departure to Tokyo Haneda as BA7

The lounge was pretty empty and according to Lounge Bird, it was only 20% full so it was easy to find a seat by the window overlooking the apron. The lounge had just had a refurbishment, and it was a very pleasant space to wait for my flight. There was a full buffet with hot and cold food, a hot drink station and plenty of wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks. All the food and drink is self-service. I decided to have a small breakfast and a Buck’s fizz (champagne and orange juice!) and enjoyed the sunrise over T5.

I still had an hour before boarding, so I decided to take a shower in one the newly refurbished showers before my hop to Belgrade. There were only 4 shower rooms but at 6:30am I got a one straight away. They were spacious and had a towel, shower gel, shampoo, and a razor.

After a nice refreshing shower, it was time to make my way to gate B47 for my flight to Belgrade. The flight was scheduled to be operated by one of British Airways’ old inherited aircraft, G-MIDS from bmi (British Midland International), a regional airline that was taken over by BA in 2012. The seats are not as aesthetic as the usual BA interior, but they were still comfortable, leather seats with the usual white antimacassar. One perk was that the seats were much wider than normal.

My aircraft, G-MIDS, a 23 year old Airbus A320 preparing for boarding

I arrived at the gate just as boarding began. Boarding was enforced by groups, starting with Group 1 in a separate queue. My boarding pass was scanned, and I was soon on my way down the jet bridge to board my flight to BEG.

As usual for Europe, British Airways Club Europe is made up of an empty middle seat with a shared table in the middle. Today, there were 9 rows of business, so I imagine that quite a few people enjoyed the attractive fares in Business. The economy cabin was completely full as well, with the gate agents pleading for people to gate-check their carry-on bags. Those in Groups 1-3 (Club Europe, Executive Club Bronze, Silver, Gold) are exempt and were able to take their bags on no problem. It was very busy on my flight so I couldn’t take a picture of the seat, but here is a picture from another flight, featuring the normal seating.

The middle seat is left empty and features a table in the middle

My view from 3A.

We pushed back on-time and taxied to runway 09R for our departure to Belgrade. We took off over the city 13 minutes behind schedule. It was a very smooth take off from Heathrow and had some lovely views of London as we climbed.

As we approached the cruise, the cabin crew came through the cabin with breakfast and drinks from the bar. There were 3 options to choose from: A Full English, Vegetarian Omelette, and a Charcuterie plate. I opted for the omelette which in my experience is always the safest option with BA. It was served alongside some fresh fruit, a strawberry yoghurt, and 2 hot croissants.

Spinach and ricotta omelette.

I was also served another champagne and orange juice (Buck’s Fizz for fellow Brits!). The crew were fantastic and proactively offered to refill my glass twice more. Once the meal was cleared, the crew offered tea and coffee and were always visible, chatting to passengers.

Cruise at 35,000ft

The rest of the flight was very smooth and before I knew it, we started our descent into Belgrade and the fields of Serbia came into sight. We had a straight-in approach from the northeast onto runway 12R, the new inserted runway at BEG.

Touched down 17 minutes early. The old runway’s resurfacing is looking good.

After a short taxi, we arrived at gate A05 and that marked the end of a very pleasant flight with British Airways. I quickly disembarked and made my way to passport control. The queue was pretty short, but I imagine as I was quick to leave the aircraft, I managed to beat the passengers from the Qatar Airways arrival from Doha.

My baggage was already waiting for me in the baggage hall, and I was quickly on my way in a taxi to Belgrade.

Overall, I had a fantastic flight with BA in their Club Europe cabin, and it was a great way to reach Belgrade. It was good to see some competition on the LHR-BEG route and it kept Air Serbia’s prices relatively low compared to the past, which have been very high. As a frequent flyer with British Airways and a frequent traveller between London and Belgrade, it’s very sad that this service has been discontinued but I remain hopeful to see it return one day.

Thank you for your short but sweet service BA!

Thank you for reading this trip report and hope to see you again in another one! Safe Travels and Srećan Put :)

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