Getting to Croatia in British Airways Premium Economy
My Route on British Airways
I have had my sights set on visiting Croatia for quite some time but had never found a flight under $1000. Surprisingly, I was able to find a flight from Chicago O’Hare to Zagreb on American for just over $600. The flight connected in Boston and then codeshared with British Airways connecting in London-Heathrow before eventually arriving in Zagreb.
For my return flight, I would connect in Philadelphia instead of in Boston taking the same route. My departure date was December 25th, and my return date was January 1st. These dates were perfect because I would be able to see my family in Chicago before I left.
The first part of my journey was a separate ticket from Minneapolis to Chicago. I arrived on December 21st in Chicago and celebrated the holidays with my family.
My trip to Croatia got off to a rough start. On the morning of December 25th, I received a text message saying that my flight from Boston to London was delayed 4+ hours. This delay would cause me to miss my connection from London to Zagreb. After calling both British Airways and American and getting nowhere, I went to the airport. Thankfully, an extremely helpful American Airlines employee spent 15-20 minutes going through One World and British Airways to switch my flight, so I went from Chicago to London and then London to Zagreb. This flight change would make it so I would not miss my connection.
Getting to Croatia - Table of Contents
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British Airways Premium Check-In at Chicago O'Hare
My parents live only a few minutes from O’Hare Airport, so after I switched my flight, my father drove back and picked me up. I returned to my parents’ house for a little more Christmas celebrating before returning to the airport. My flight to London departed from terminal 5, and check-in was extraordinarily long and disorganized. There were no electronic check-in options, and all passengers waited in line to speak with an agent.
There were three lines, but only one of them was for passengers without frequent flyer status. I waited in line for 90 minutes as we had just had two agents working the line of over 100 people.
When it was my turn to check-in, I was given a pleasant surprise. British Airlines had automatically upgraded me from economy to premium economy. It sounds like this was due to a family needing my seat to complete a row of 4. My new seat was a huge upgrade from the aisle seat on the second to last row of the plane to an aisle seat in premium economy.
I cleared security within a few minutes. An interesting side note is that there was no TSA Pre-Check inside International Terminal 5 at O’Hare Airport.
Leg 1 - British Airways: Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
At the Gate/Boarding - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow on British Airways
I was lucky that I arrived over 3 hours early. Check-in took over 90 minutes, and by the time I got to the gate, they were about to start pre-boarding. My upgraded seat came Group 3 Boarding (One World Ruby), and I was on the plane about 45 minutes before departure.
British Airways Premium Economy
Premium Economy on British comes with a few added perks. The seat is similar to a domestic first-class seat and has further recline, a footrest, and a larger TV screen. I was assigned seat 36G, which was in a 2-4-2 configuration. A few days earlier, I had flown in on American Airlines’ domestic first class. This seat was maybe slightly more comfortable but not by much.
The premium economy cabin is a little bit isolated. Once the curtains were closed, our entire section only consisted of 4 rows in a 2-4-2 configuration. After a while, I actually began to feel a little claustrophobic.
My only complaint was that the tray table was in the armrest, and being 6’5, 270 pounds, made it difficult to use. About 30 minutes after takeoff, the crew served drinks. I received two tiny cans of Diet Coke with Ice. This drink service was not much different than what I remember from regular economy.
Dinner on British Airways in Premium Economy - Chicago O'Hare to London-Heathrow
The options for dinner in the Premium Economy Section were the traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner or Chicken Pasta. I chose to go with the traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner. It was served with mashed sweet potatoes, a salad, and a British Pastry desert.
The meal was excellent when compared to other airline food. I am not sure if this was a Premium Economy perk or if this was the meal everyone received. Regardless, it was excellent and filling.
British Airlines Wifi
I purchased the Wifi on this flight and was disappointed. The Wifi access that I bought was the streaming quality, as I thought it would provide faster speeds for working on my website. It cost £18, and despite paying for the premium Wifi, I still had many disconnects and slow loads. About 3 hours before landing, the Wifi disconnected and never came back on. A few weeks later, British Airways refunded my Wifi payment.
Snack and Landing - British Airways Premium Economy
Just before landing, we were given a croissant with tomato and herb cream cheese. The flight attendants began serving it within 45 minutes of landing. After a brief cabin cleanup, we arrived at London-Heathrow. After clearing security, I found my new gate and was ready for my flight to Zagreb.
Leg 2 - British Airways: London-Heathrow to Zagreb
Before finding my gate, I stopped to eat one of my favorite meals, the traditional English Breakfast. The English Breakfast includes two eggs, potatoes, sausage, thick-cut back bacon, toast with Irish butter, tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. My favorite Heathrow restaurant for the English Breakfast is Wagamama. Although my meal was rushed due to my short connecting time, I wasn’t going to miss out on one of the best things about connecting at Heathrow.
By the time I was done with my English Breakfast, it was time to go to the gate. My flight was departing from the C Gates in Terminal 5, which meant I needed to take the transit. I arrived at my gate just as my plane was boarding.
The flight from London-Heathrow to Zagreb was just under 2 hours. The Airbus A320 was completely full, and I was happy that I had an exit row seat, which gave me a little bit more room. There were no aisle exit rows available, so I had chosen seat 12F. I am not a big fan of the window seat because there isn’t much room to move around, but for a short flight, it was comfortable enough.
I arrived in Zagreb about two hours later. Clearing passport control was easy. The border agent simply scanned my passport and stamped it without even asking a question.
By the time I got to the baggage claim, my bag was already out. Customs was as easy as walking through and giving a stern “no” when asked if I had anything to declare. It was a long day of travel, but I was thrilled to be in Croatia for the first time. I checked into my airport hotel to get a few hours of sleep until I continued my journey to Dubrovnik.
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