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Trip Report Introduction: Intra-Europe Extravaganza

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Trip Report: Intra-Europe Extravaganza

In June 2025, I had a fairly manic flying month, driven primarily by the following factors:

  • A good friend was getting married in Germany, and the closest airport was Stuttgart
  • The Paris Air Show was happening, and since I’m looking long-term for a career shift into aviation (in the consultancy realm), I wanted to get some exposure as to what type of companies I could work for
  • I’d originally had a weekend trip booked to Amsterdam before I put the Paris Air Show in my calendar (for various reasons), so just re-routed, transiting through Amsterdam at both ends

The two events weren’t happening particularly close to one another (they were two weeks apart), and I needed to be in office (in London) in between. However, I figured I’d write about these two short trips as a single trip report, as I had the opportunity to fly a range of intra-European products that I was excited about.

The Flights I Booked On This Trip

British Airways and Eurowings both fly from London to Stuttgart. I’ve flown British Airways’ shorthaul economy class before, though I decided to redeem miles for business class, given that there was award space available. Why would I pay extra miles for a free middle seat, and not much else? That’s because British Airways’ Stuttgart route operates out of Heathrow’s Terminal 3, which meant that I had access to all of the amazing Oneworld lounges there. The flight itself was operated by an A320 with British Airways’ older interiors, and while uneventful, I figured it was time to write an updated review of the product.

a row of seats on an airplane
British Airways A320 Club Europe

While there was award space on the way back, I decided to try out how Eurowings would fare on this route, as I’ve never flown the airline before. The flight fare cost €199.99 (£173/HK$1,852) before add-ons.

an airplane with rows of seats
Eurowings A319 Interior

Originally, I had tickets booked to Amsterdam for a weekend in mid-June. I’d specifically sought out a cheap flight out of Southend Airport, which is dominated by easyJet traffic. Surely, my Southend to Amsterdam flight cost a mere £28.99 (HK$310). I’ve flown easyJet before and noted my observations, though I figured this time I’d probably go ahead and write a proper review.

an airplane with seats and windows
easyJet A320 Cabin

Since I didn’t find anything attractive on the way back, I booked a flight in British Airways’ Club Europe again. This time, since my flight was operated by an A320neo, I mainly wanted to be able to review the airline’s new cabins, which are available on some of the airline’s A320neos and A321neos. I did end up getting lucky on this segment, and was able to review British Airways’ new A320neo cabin.

a person standing in the middle of an airplane
British Airways’ New A320neo Cabin

When I figured that the Paris Air Show was happening this weekend, I decided to just book tickets out of Amsterdam, since I’d already purchased the original air tickets and wasn’t keen for them to go to waste. Airfare wasn’t cheap by the time I booked between Paris and Amsterdam, though I figured this was worth the splurge, given my career thoughts at the time. On the way there, I managed to secure a one-way ticket on Transavia’s A320neo which left me a convenient connection at Schiphol Airport. This set me back €194 (£167.77/HK$1,796).

a row of green seats in an airplane

I didn’t manage to find a decent cash fare on the way back, but did find award space on Air France. This flight was originally scheduled to be operated by an A220, but was last minute switched to an A319 operated by subsidiary AMELIA. I used 25,000 Flying Blue miles (and €65/£56.03 in taxes), which I transferred over from American Express – economy class would’ve set me back 17,000 miles, so I figured it was worth the marginal upgrade to try out the onboard product upfront.

a person standing in the aisle of an airplane
AMELIA by Air France A319 Business Class

So in summary, expect these six flight reviews from me over the course of this trip report:

The Lounges I Reviewed On This Trip

I was able to visit quite a few airport lounges on this trip, so expect reviews of:

a room with a large chandelier and couches
I managed to check out some fun lounges on this trip, including the Oneworld Lounge Amsterdam (AMS)

The Hotel I’m Reviewing On This Trip

While I stayed at a few hotels over the course of June, I’ll only be reviewing one, as I didn’t manage to check out any of the other hotels properly. Specifically, I checked out the Moxy at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), which I’ll be reviewing.

a bar with tables and chairs in a room with purple lights
The swanky Moxy Paris Charles de Gaulle

For what it’s worth, I spent one night at the ARCOTEL Camino in Stuttgart (which I didn’t spend much time in at all, as I was out seeing friends at night and left early the next morning), and I spent a night in the local village hotel where my friends got married. I didn’t realistically get to spend lots of quality time reviewing either.

Conclusion: My Intra-Europe Extravaganza

I had the privilege of doing lots of intra-Europe flying in June, and thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of my travels over the course of the month. From lounge hopping at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, to trying to get to Charles de Gaulle Airport from Paris Orly Airport at 11 PM in the evening, to flying out of Southend Airport for the first time, to relentlessly tracking the tail number of the outbound London to Amsterdam flight so I could review the new interiors on my inbound flight, I got to nerd out in a way that only the nuttiest of aviation nutters will appreciate.

I’ll be releasing reviews regularly over the coming days, and can’t wait to share my travels with you.

Which review are you most looking forward to reading?

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