Trip Report: Seville 2019 British Airways European Economy

In the past couple of weeks I travelled to and from Seville. The flight on the way out operated from London Gatwick on board a British Airways A320, an upgrade from the normal A319 that operates this Tuesday afternoon service, whilst the flight on the return leg was another British Airways flight, this time operated by an A319 instead. Both flights operated from the South Terminal at London Gatwick.

When we were flying out we arrived at Gatwick relatively early waiting outside Gatwick north terminal before walking into the airport and to the British Airways check in area, where the queues were not excessively long thankfully so it was through to security which was also relatively quick fortunately for us. Once through however there was what I hate most about the airport experience, the dreaded walk through world duty free. This place full of marked down goods that you will never once consider buying has made it their mission to make you spend as long as possible walking through here winding you way around in circles and forcing you past the pungent smell of the perfume being waved in your face by the heartless sales people. After this walk however we were out and free and had about an hour before our gate was called. Another issue with our flight was that at mid-afternoon (3:25 to be precise) you end up arriving at the airport too early to have lunch beforehand but too late to be able to eat lunch afterwards. Therefore, you end up having to go around Gatwick searching for somewhere to eat which won’t break your bank account. For me this ended up being a BLT baguette and a coke from a cafe on the upper floor of the terminal which I can’t remember the name of now but I would highly recommend for some food that feels pretty decent value for money (it’s quite close to Starbucks if you want to find it) as well as two cheap sandwiches from boots and a bottle of water for the flight, the overall total of which coming to a little bit over £10 if I remember correctly. After this it was time to get down to our gate. 

After the wonders of world duty free I thought I’d walked far enough for that day, however the planners at Gatwick had other ideas allocating us gate 28, an absolute marathon from the main part of Gatwick, which probably took about 15 minutes to reach which also included a bit of a run right in the middle for no particular reason. Boarding here however was relatively quick, despite being in group 4. On the plane I was in the second row from that back, in a window seat however, which gave a relatively nice view from the window. However, the one disadvantage of bring here was that the noise during take off was immense and on the verge of deafening. 

The flight itself however was without much problem. I spent most of the time catching up on some TV as well as doing some revision as well and before what felt too long we were on approach to Seville airport. The landing itself was pretty soft and the taxi to the airport wasn’t that long either. At the airport it took a little while for the jet bridge and being right down at the back of the aircraft, I was unfortunately almost the last person off the plane. However, in the long run this didn’t make that much difference as there was still a queue at passport control and at baggage reclaim I had to wait for my bag too. Leaving the airport after this came almost without issue. 

One of the things that I found amazing whilst in Seville, which was particularly apparent as the hotel I was staying in was located right underneath the flight path was the large difference in aircraft they serve Seville in comparison to London. Out went the airlines I was used to like British Airways, Virgin and easyJet, in came the Low Cost Carriers of Europe such as Transavia, Vueling and Ryanair a highly noticeable change and one that I appreciated greatly.

As for the flight back, if there is a way I would use to sum up Seville airport it would be slow and inefficient. Right from our check in the lady took an absolute age to print off my boarding pass and check my bag in, probably taking round about five minutes in total to do everything. Luckily, I was right at the front of the queue, however as a member of a group of 60 it took around about half an hour to check everyone in. From here it was to security, the first queue for this wasn’t all that bad, however once in queue for the actual check, it felt like the whole queue ground to a halt, with nothing moving for about five minutes, which was frustrating watching other people who you’d previously been ahead of in the queue managing to get through ahead of you. Once through this however we had about 20 minutes before we needed to be at our gate and after buying some more food, somehow even more expensive than what it was at Gatwick, with it being a whole €10 for a baguette, bottle of Fanta a small tube of Pringles. 

However, the compliment I would give to Seville airport would be that the variety of aircraft at the airport at the time I was there was nothing short of exceptional. Whilst I was there I saw the Evelop A350, an Atlas Air 747, DHL A300 and a Lauda A320, all of which were firsts for me. I must say that seeing the evelop A350 taking off from our gate made me really really regret not having my camera, it was honestly one of the prettiest take offs I’ve ever seen as it was from the perfect angle. 

However after a bit of a pause in the gate area to top up the charge on my phone it was time to board the plane. Being one of the last passengers on board is not an experience I’m that used to, however it was nice to have a shorter than usual wait on the aircraft before beginning to taxi. At the start of my taxi was one of my favourite things to do. Rather than the more conventional push back routine with a tug, with the extra space in front of the aircraft we were able to just pull forwards and turn. The taxi to the runway was quite as short one, passing in between most of the aircraft parked up. After a short wait at the end of the runway to allow a Ryanair 737 to land we lined up at the end of the runway, where in the short pause before take-off I was able to spot one of the Airbus Beluga aircraft in the Airbus hanger near the runway, another new aircraft for me. Take off was smooth as well and we were soon climbing through the clouds for take off. The flight itself was smooth again, with me this time using the time to eat my dinner and write a bit more for the blog. Out of the window I had the delight of being able to watch the sunset, my absolute highlight of any flight I get to have the window seat for. However it was soon dark and we were coming into Gatwick which brings me up to the time I’m currently writing this at.

Arrival into Gatwick was not that spectacular. With it being night time there wasn’t really anything at all that you could see outside the window, so all that there was to do was just to sit and wait for the landing. Once on the ground during our short taxi to the South terminal to the terminal, I was able to get a glance at the BEA painted A319, one of the aircraft that I have been desperate to see at some point, and one that hopefully I will get to fly at some point during the summer, with a further two flights on British Airways currently booked. On arrival we pulled into our gate and we were soon getting off the aircraft. One thing I had forgotten about Gatwick was how nice the South terminal arrival area was, a complete contrast to the North Terminal domestic arrivals that I had walked through a few weeks previously which feels like it consists solely of old and unloved corridors, this area was bright and had large windows on either side and is an area that I hope to come back to another time. Passport control and baggage reclaim were both relatively quick which bought a close to my trip this time. 


If you want to read more reviews of British Airway's european economy class read my reviews from my trip to Berlin as well as my trip from Christmas to Jersey.