London Gatwick (LGW) to Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) BA Flight Review

BA2814 from London Gatwick (LGW) on Club Europe and Pearl Fast Track arrival review

Flight: LGW – SSH BA2814 Biz
Trip Cost: £5700 for two of us, flights and hotels, all inclusive.
Details: Club Europe and Pearl Fast Track arrival

It’s an early cab ride at 4.20 am and glad that the Irishman took one for the team and carried the conversation with a significantly chatty driver for that time in the morning. The conversation was all about driving in bad weather, and he told an exceptionally long story about an exceptionally long drive to Glasgow in the snow. I was just glad that he wasn’t driving us to Glasgow and that it wasn’t snowing.

We hadn’t flown from LGW in what feels like a while, and I couldn’t remember the last time I was in the BA lounge there.

We flew through check-in and security, and unusually for us, we did a little duty-free shopping. Duty Free bargains seem few and far between these days, and having had a look at some products before the trip had realised that some products are more expensive at the airport (Benefit make up as an example). Perfume had a great offer, saving me £20 on my steadfast perfume (Chanel) product versus the high street or UK online.

I always think that LGW is the lesser of airports when compared to London Heathrow (LHR) but was surprised that LGW is rocking and rolling earlier than LHR. I have been at LHR T5 just before 5 am and waited for the check-in desks to open, and the lounges there do not open until 5 am. LGW, I was surprised to learn that the BA lounge opens at 3 am. Looking into it, LGW’s restrictions on ‘night departures’ are less stringent than LHR’s. Now it makes sense.

We head straight to the lounge through what is already a bustling terminal.

Smaller than the Galleries lounges at LHR T5 but still perfectly formed, is how I would describe LGW South’s BA Lounge. There is a separate lounge for BA first class and Gold Club members.

Breakfast is on offer, and I have a scoot around. There is an upstairs area that only had two people sitting in it, and it had a cool BrewDog set up with a pour-your-own-draught option. Did you know that BA’s call sign is Speedbird and the collaboration with BrewDog started to commemorate BA’s centenary anniversary?

The Irishman enjoys a breakfast, and I opt for a naughty Bucks Fizz. The lounge serves Prosecco and not Champagne and I have read on many blogs that if you ask for a glass of Champagne, you will be given one. Clearly, I am no fizz snob, so I never asked, so have not checked that out to be true or false!

Flight is announced on the board to be boarding. We head off only to arrive at our gate with no boarding happening – one of my pet hates.

We board the A320 – it’s over 20 years old and, unlike my Cairo trip, sadly does not include the new sleek Collins Meridian interior design. See my Cairo trip review to hear about the new interior design by Collins Aerospace.

There is a lot being said that this is a long route for BA to be operating a Club Europe cabin which is often seen as a short-haul product.

Club Europe operates economy seating in narrow-body aircraft mostly with a 3-3 configuration with the middle seat not being used, often with a tray table covering the seat. Not very popular but always argued it is similar to many European airlines short haul offering. I hate to think of anyone who is not a frequent traveller that books business class and expects the flat bed and in flight entertainment system and instead gets Club Europe. You would be gutted.

However, for a flight time that is published at 5h 10mins outbound and 5h 50 inbound, it is one of the longest routes that BA operates a Club Europe config. Cairo (see my Cairo January 2026 review), Hurghada are two more routes at approximately 5 hours and Istanbul and Tbilisi follow closely behind with 4h 30mins.

I am not a fan of airline breakfasts – in economy, biz or in first. As we are Egypt-bound, the menu is without pork. With a chicken sausage and a turkey rasher on offer, I just pick around the egg and the one cherry tomato and regret not having breakfast in the lounge. My mistake.

We enjoy some fizz and as no in-flight entertainment system (another important element not on a Club Europe cabin) we play a couple of rounds of Backgammon before turning to some downloaded films on our own devices.

Cabin crew, sorry to say were functionary. Not rude, not impolite, but just vanilla. Compared to the Cairo flight just last month, it was a massive disappointment. My flight to Cairo with my work industry wingman was made so much better by how great the crew were (check out the review – they were such good fun and as such our flight was epic).

Wifi is available and also free if you are a Club (BA loyalty scheme) member.

Since booking Sharm, TikTok has been throwing apt posts my way. One theme was to expect queues and disorganisation at the airport on arrival and also, especially on departure.

I booked a ‘fast track’ option with Pearl. The website is pretty poor and not that easy to use but paid $70 ($35 each) for a fast-track option upon arrival. We disembarked (seems all disembarkations are via bus, no air bridges in sight) and were bused to the terminal.

As soon as we entered the terminal, our Pearl representative was waiting for us. They navigated our way to luggage reclaim, through passport checks and checking we did not require a visa (from the UK you require a visa to enter if you are heading outside of Sharm).

They sorted the trolley and luggage for us, and we left the terminal, being fast-tracked through the final security check. Was it worth the $70? I don’t think we saved a bucket load of time or stress, but firstly, I could see that perhaps during peak times the airport could be chaotic and secondly, it was a luxury not to have to worry about the possible queues.

Top Tips for LGW-SSH

Make sure that you have some films or TV downloaded to watch on the route due to no IFE system.

Become a BA Club member, it’s free and you get free WiFi onboard – if available.

Don’t rely on the aircraft having power sockets. On my recent flight to Cairo we had no power sockets, so if you are using your own devices, you may get cut short so ensure you have a power bank with you.