Review: British Airways A320 Economy Class [2025]

By Leila

an airplane at an airport

We took our familiar evening flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to Basel (BSL) on British Airways, this time on an Airbus A320 in economy class. While nothing remarkable, the experience was solid.

British Airways A320 Economy Class Review [2025]

You might enjoy comparing this review to the same route in 2021 and 2023. I don’t review this flight every time I fly it (and honestly, nothing much has changed since last time), but I like to update reviews, so here’s a quick look at what to expect.

I booked this flight using Avios at a cost 4,500 Avios plus 31 USD each, a far better deal than the 279 USD one-way price.

We took the London Underground to LHR T5 and arrived to a very quiet check-in area at around 7:20 pm.

an airport terminal with a few people

By the time we got to the gate, boarding had already commenced.

a sign in a building

a view from a window of an airport

a large airplane parked at an airport
Wish were boarding the A380 instead!

British Airways 756
London (LHR) – Basel (BSL)
Friday, May 16
Depart: 8:15 PM
Arrive: 10:50 PM
Duration: 1hr, 35min
Aircraft: Airbus A320 (G-EUYJ)
Distance: 448 miles
Seats: 7C (Economy Class)

We flew out of gate A21 in T5, which required an escalator down to the jetbridge and then a long walk down the jetbridge to the aircraft.

a girl on an escalator

a child standing on a walkway with a luggage

Seats

Seats on British Airways in economy class aboard the A320 have a width of 17.7 inches. Legroom depends on row number:

  • Rows 2-10: 30 inches
  • Row 11: 34 inches (exit row)
  • Row 12: 35.0 inches (exit row)
  • Rows 13-29: 29.0 inches
  • Row 30: 28 inches

There are 180 seats onboard. Seat recline three inches and all seats (with the exception of those in row one) have moveable armrests.

This is a “variable” business class aircraft, meaning the partition between business and economy class can be moved depending upon the flight load. Here, five rows had been set aside for business class and we found ourselves in row seven.

a row of seats in an airplane

a row of seats in an airplane

a girl lying on a seat in an airplane

I greatly appreciated that each row had two universal power outlets plus a USB-A charging port.

a close up of a power outlet

Individual air vents are available above each seat.

an overhead panel with lights and a seat belt

a row of seats in an airplane

Although business class was full, economy class was mostly empty and we ended up with the entire row seven to ourselves, A-F. That was great because Augustine and Claire were teasing each other so I banished Augustine to 7A and Claire Marie to 7F…

a child sitting on a plane

a child sitting in an airplane
He wasn’t happy when I told him to get his foot off the seat…

a girl eating an apple on an airplane

a girl sitting in a seat with a thumb up

IFE + Wi-Fi

British Airways offers Wi-Fi from OnAir at a cost of:

  • 4.99 GBP – streaming
  • 2.99 GBP – messaging

If you want streaming IFE (movies, TV shows), you must pay for Wi-Fi, which is a different system than BA’s transatlantic partner American Airlines, which does not require you to purchase Wi-Fi in order to stream content on your portable device.

a screen shot of a phone
a screenshot of a blue box
a screenshot of a social media ad

 

It got dark shortly after takeoff, but the kids enjoyed looking out the window during the flight.

a child sleeping in a plane

Food + Drink

Complimentary bottled water and a light snack (on this flight, shortbread cookies) were offered one we leveled off.

a bottle of water and a bag of peanuts on a white table

A wide range of food and beverage items were offered for sale from BA’s “High Life” menu. I had pre-ordered a grain bowl from Pollen + Grace, which was very satisfying.

a screenshot of a food order
You can pre-order on BA up to 12 hours before your flight for LHR departures

a brochure of food and drinks

a food in a container

a bowl of food on a table

a bowl of food on a table


> Read More: Delicious Superfood On British Airways


Lavaories

The BA A320 has one lavatory in the front reserved for business class and two in the rear reserved for economy class. Clarie Marie had to use the facilities so we went back mid-flight and found the lavatory clean and well-stocked.

a person standing in an airplane

a sink and toilet in a bathroom

a toilet in a plane

a toilet in a plane

a sink in an airplane

CONCLUSION

Boring is okay on a 90-minute flight from London to Basel. I greatly enjoyed my “superfood” dinner, the flight was on time, and we had plenty of room to spread out. There’s not much that distinguishes BA from its low-cost competition, but I do appreciate the Wi-Fi, power outlets, and large menu of buy-on-board items.