BA722 Business Class London Heathrow to Vienna

BA722 Biz Class from London Heathrow to Vienna Review – including BA lounge review at T3

April 2026

This trip had been planned for a while. It was a birthday weekend away for my other half — the Irishman. We’ve made a bit of a tradition of travelling for his birthday and, over the last sixteen years, have enjoyed some brilliant short breaks together.

This time, I’d chosen Vienna.

I’d never been to Vienna — or Austria at all. The Irishman, on the other hand, had been once before, for a marathon. It’s a story he loves telling. He signed up for a race knowing nothing about it, arrived to find it ran through mountains, was given a whistle “in case he got lost”, took over four hours to complete, and still finished fourth overall. A detail that will, quite rightly, never be forgotten.

So, when I suggested Austria, his response was somewhere between “been there, done that, got the finishers t-shirt” and polite resignation.

What he didn’t know was that I’d secretly arranged for his oldest and dearest friend from Ireland and his wife to meet us in Vienna as a surprise. The planning for that alone took weeks: aligning flights from London and Dublin, arrival times that worked, and a destination that didn’t feel like too much of a stretch for anyone.

To the Irishman, this probably felt like one of those moments where I’d got a destination into my head, and that was that. Little did he know.

An Early Start (and a planning fail on my part)

At Cut Luce, I’m big on honesty – both about what’s great and where I mess up. This trip it started with the flight timing.

I’d booked BA722, departing Heathrow Terminal 3 at 07:25 on Saturday morning, because I was working an evening event the night before. What actually happened was a 16‑hour workday, finishing at 22:30, getting home just before midnight, grabbing around three and a half hours’ sleep, and then setting an alarm for 03:30.

The taxi arrived at 04:30. There were showers, hair washing, and packing still to be done. Being tired was an understatement.

Our taxi driver asked us if we had everything – passport, keys, phone? Yes, we did. Ten minutes into the drive, Rob realised he’d forgotten his phone.

The driver was decidedly unimpressed. The Irishman was convinced I was furious. I tried – with varying degrees of success – to hide my feelings. By the time we reached Terminal 3, we were around 30 minutes behind my carefully plotted schedule.

Not an ideal start.

Check‑In and the Upgrade Gamble

We’d originally booked Economy both ways. Club Europe was expensive when I booked through BA Holidays, and for a two‑hour flight, I couldn’t really justify it, particularly as I’m a BA Silver member with lounge access and extra baggage anyway.

That said, if you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll know I always ask about upgrades. What I learnt this time around is that if you book with BA Holidays, you are unable to see upgrade opportunities for flights on the BA app – I check the BA app almost daily for upgrade opportunities when I have a flight booked. You may be surprised by how pricing varies, and there are often some bargains to be had. I called BA to check on this, and they confirmed that yes, if you book through BA Holidays, you can’t upgrade on the app or online- only by phone. The app is clunky at best – often being directed through to the BA website so multiple clicks are required to get to where you want. This is one frustration of mine, having chosen BA as my loyalty airline. The option to speak with BA Holidays to find out about an upgrade feels archaic in this day and age. Interesting I had an expression of interest email from BA recently asking if I would be interested in joining a test group for their new app. I have signed up and will keep you posted!

When I spoke to BA on the phone, the agent was really helpful and said that the flight was very quiet and the upgrade was just over £150 each. I politely said thanks but no thanks- I have gotten over any awkwardness when quoted a price for an upgrade – either on the phone or face to face, and just saying no- it’s too much.

At the Business Class check‑in desk (another Silver perk), I asked about upgrading. Good news: upgrades were available for £97 per person. As it was a special weekend — and I wanted the Tier Points — I agreed.

Then things got complicated. The BA staff member tried to process the upgrade and take payment.

The price suddenly changed to £125 per person, so the BA staff member had to follow up with a call. Anyone who’s upgraded at BA check‑in knows this moment — the agent has to phone through, and it can take seconds… or ages. Check out my Cairo review– that was over a 30-minute wait to sort out a booking that I thought was done and dusted.

The BA staff member could see this could be a wait, so he sent us through to the lounge with instructions to pay there once it was resolved. Not the best feeling leaving check-in knowing that the upgrade was not secured.

British Airways Lounge – Terminal 3

Fast Track security (another Silver benefit- and remember this is a benefit if someone is travelling with you that is not Silver, i.e the Irishman. He gets to check in a biz counter, fast track with me and use the lounge) was efficient, and we soon found ourselves in the BA Lounge at T3 – somewhere I hadn’t visited for a while. When I used to work in Dubai, I mostly travelled through T3 with Emirates, with the odd BA flight mixed in, so I have spent more time in the Emirates lounge at this terminal.

The best comparison I can give is the BA lounge at Gatwick: smaller than the T5 lounges, but perfectly formed. Comfortable, calm, and doing exactly what it needs to.

Within the lounge and at the help desk, the £125 price still showed. I was tempted to just pay and move on, but given the near‑£60 difference from what I’d agreed to, I held out. I sent the Irishman to settle in while I tried to resolve it.

A genuinely lovely BA staff member — American, polite, and determined to help — took over. After some digging, he asked me to go and sit down and promised he’d come find me. By the time I found the Irishman in the lounge, he already had coffee and breakfast, so I grabbed some lounge content and finally sat down with my own cuppa.

Not long after, the staff member found me, and we headed back to the desk. Payment was eventually taken, despite a brief card‑machine drama, followed by another hiccup when the boarding passes wouldn’t print. He was clearly mortified, but handled it brilliantly — calm, professional, and apologetic without needing to be.

Upgrade secured at last.

Boarding: Club Europe

With time ticking on, I made a quick detour to Jo Malone (note: no duty‑free bargains on large three‑wick candles here), before heading to the gate, empty-handed. Boarding was by group, and as Group 2 — Business Class and Silver — we were called early.

However, boarding was via bus. Never my favourite, but I do admit there’s something satisfying about walking across the tarmac to the aircraft. We ended up being first off the bus and, for once, I boarded before everyone else — which meant I managed to grab a couple of shots of an empty aircraft cabin. Small things, big joy for aviation nerds.

This was a standard Club Europe configuration: 3‑3 seating with the middle seat blocked by a tray table. Perfectly normal for European short haul, though still slightly underwhelming if we’re being honest.

We departed on time.

In the Air: London to Vienna

Menus were handed out shortly after take‑off. I often say I don’t really enjoy breakfast on planes, but this flight surprised me. Rob opted for the full English; I chose the omelette, which was genuinely excellent. It comes with a rosti/hash brown item, which was scrummy.

Tea and coffee followed, but I was cheeky and had a Bucks Fizz. Later on in the flight, the birthday boy decided it was time for a beer. His first choice — BrewDog Speedbird — wasn’t available. He then requested a fruity ale from the High Life menu and was told he could have one… for £6.

I queried this, but it was confirmed. Slightly disappointing to pay for a beer after upgrading to Business Class. Writing this now and looking back on previous content, Speedbird has been available on biz, so not sure what happened here.

Otherwise, service was efficient and friendly, and I even managed a short nap — no small achievement given the lack of sleep.

Arrival in Vienna

As we began our descent, an announcement warned of possible delays at immigration. I immediately pictured long queues and kicking myself that I had not researched this (check out my Sharm El Sheikh review, where I purchased airport arrival fast track service), but thankfully it didn’t materialise. Immigration was quick and efficient, despite clear preparations for heavier traffic.

Baggage took a while — priority tags once again proving largely meaningless — but eventually our cases appeared. Taxis were easy to find, and the journey into the city cost around €60.

And just like that, we were in Vienna — with Rob still completely unsuspecting about what (or rather who) was waiting for him.

Top Tips

Always always ask at every touch point for an upgrade. I have gained great value upgrades on the phone, on the app, at check-in and onboard. Be relentless!

If you have an early morning flight from London Heathrow, be wary that they don’t open prior to 5 am, so don’t bother getting there too early.

Duty Free- be wary – check out what you want to but at Duty Free versus high street or online prices. I often find that it is cheaper to purchase outside of duty-free.

Sounds obvious, but if you are looking for an early morning flight, take the time to do the math and work timings backwards. If your flight is at 06.30 am, check-in could be 04.30 am (if travelling from LGW), if you have an hour to get to airport, that is 03.30 am taxi, if you need an hour to go get ready, then 02.30 am is your alarm call…..you see where I am going with this point. An early morning start is one thing but consider what you are doing the day and night before and also what the plans are once you arrive.