Flights – Palma Mallorca to Gatwick South (British Airways)

My flight to Palma last week didn’t go entirely smoothly, but I’m impressed that British Airways have already agreed to pay the EU261 compensation on this, which is very efficient of them. The aircraft for this flight was the Airbus A320 G-EUUT, an aircraft British Airways have had since it was new in 2007 (although it now has 180 seats, which is 30 more seats since it was first brought into use, which shows how the aircraft has been densified).

The queue to board, all orderly. I liked Palma Airport, it’s spacious and there are plenty of places to eat, to sit and to wait. I suspect that it is much busier during the summer months and customers then might find it slightly less spacious, but the terminal all seemed comfortable and modern.

This seems to be the standard out-station way of splitting the groups, although the group numbers are still called consecutively. There didn’t seem to be any real delays in boarding, but British Airways have started to get people to wait on the airbridge in a style which is more Ryanair and easyJet. Apparently this speeds up boarding, but I can’t imagine that it’s by much.

I shifted from the window exit row seat to the aisle exit row seat the day before the flight, I prefer aisle seats as I like being able to get out without disturbing anyone. Not that I got up during the flight, but it’s nice to have the option. I’ve had a little run, which has run its course, of booking window seats though as the views are sometimes worth it. Incidentally, the crew were very tolerant of the number of people who had bags under the seat in exit rows, despite about eight announcements not to do this. Also, I had no-one next to me, so it felt all very spacious.

My bag, sitting quietly in the corner, in my full view at all times. I can’t imagine anyone would want to steal it, but I like it being visible. I did note the number of customers who put their bag in the lockers and then walked to their seat, often what seemed another twenty rows back. This then meant that some customers boarding a little later couldn’t find locker space to near their seat, so had to walk back past their seats to stow their bags. That’s fine when boarding, but it’s more of a challenge going against the flow when disembarking.

The crew seemed competent and professional, with the pilot making appropriate announcements throughout the flight. The flight landed a few minutes early and I was particularly pleased that I was able to leave the airport terminal within ten minutes of the aircraft doors opening. All told, all very lovely, and the cost of the flight was around £25 each way.