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British Airways has just unveiled the new Club World Suite which it will be introducing into its fleet later this year. I’ve only had a few minutes to scan through the pictured and watch the video BA have provided but, based on what I’ve seen, I’m truly astonished – it’s a real suite!
Here’s what it looks like:
I’m genuinely blown away.
British Airways will be introducing a truly fantastic Business Class seat…and it comes with a door! I never thought I’d see the day…… 🙂
The new Club World Suite will first be installed on BA’s new A350-1000 aircraft which Airbus will begin to deliver in June this year and, for anyone wondering what the cabin will look like, here’s a seat map the airline has provided:
Yes, that’s an all-aisle access 1-2-1 cabin layout (as we were promised) with a total of 56 seats…and that’s a big Business Class cabin for an A350.
Per British Airways this is what the new Club World suite and cabin offers:
- Personal door
- 40% more storage than the current Club World seat
- A vanity unit with mirror
- Wi-Fi
- 18.5″ IFE screens
- HD gate-to-gate entertainment
- PC/USB power at every seat
As for the new aircraft…
“The A350 aircraft itself will also promote a feeling of well-being, space and calm due to its reduced noise levels, high ceilings and ambient lighting which is intended to compliment the time of day and outside light.
Customers will leave their flight feeling rested thanks to higher levels of humidity and refreshed air as the cabin pressure is equivalent to an altitude of just 6,000 feet. T
here are also environmental benefits to flying on the state-of the-art A350 as 25 per cent lower fuel burn significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
Here’s a video of the new cabin that British Airways has released.
New Club World Suite Roll Out
The first British Airways A350-1000 is expected to be delivered in June and the airline says that’s when it will confirm the exact date the aircraft will officially join its fleet.
As BA has done in the past, the first A350-1000 flights will be operated between London and Madrid (in mid-August) and the airline gets its crews accustomed to their new aircraft and the first long-haul flights are set to start on 1 October….which seems like quite a long time from when BA is expected to first take delivery.
Head For Points has reported that the first official long-haul routes will be London – Toronto and London – Dubai.
British Airways is calling the period from October onwards ‘Phase 2’ of the rollout and it’s during Phase 2 that a further three A350-1000s are due to be delivered and two Boeing 777s will be refitted with the new cabin as well.
The beginning of 2020 is when ‘Phase 3’ will be launched and that the period during which the new Club World Suite will slowly be rolled out across the fleet (let’s hope BA is quicker with its rollouts than United!).
Bottom Line
I’ve been a very harsh critic of British Airways in the past (and the airline has deserved it) but I tip my hat to the airline today as it has caught me completely off guard – I didn’t believe for a moment that it would introduce a genuine suite as its new Club World product.
The seat looks fantastic, the detailing looks great, I love the large Business Class cabin and I can’t wait to try this out – I’ll be doing my best to book myself on to one of the first short-haul flights the aircraft flys and, if I’m lucky, one of the first long-haul flights too.
What do you guys think? Did anyone really think we’d see a suite unveiled today?
Yes, they have apparently done a good job here. Let’s hope they know how to keep the seats and cabin clean. The number of times I have had to clean up other people’s detritus (most often breadcrumbs, but also used blankets and slippers) even in First is amazing. One time at LHR I had to clean up breadcrumbs from a croissant (the incoming flight must have had a breakfast service) as soon as I had boarded the aircraft, while we were still on the ground of course, and one of the supervisors in a high viz jacket just stood by and watched me. When I was done, he asked if it was OK! 😀
The comment is totally off-topic though; we all have good and bad experiences of companies but they don’t always need to be shared
To add to my comment above : my seat was 1A on a B77W! So much so for F cabin glamour. 😀
Please tell me it was at least an award booking! 🙂
Smart – They’ve dressed up that seat par excellence! Adding the doors to the B/E Aerospace Super Diamond are a stroke of genius I’ve flown the China Airlines version which doesn’t have the doors of course, still very comfortable and Very stylish – design personalisation and attention to detail (like you see on CI) adds so much to an “immersive” experience. But OF COURSE BA are rolling this out “slowly” – Even just upgrading Two of their new 77Ws – Bet you they’ve got current CW still flying around in 5 years time.
No details given on retrofit beyond 2019. The challenge will be the actual supply and on-time delivery of the seats from the supplier. Installation on each aircraft will be planned around any C or D checks, First or World Traveller / Plus enhancements.
Apparently BA have refused to confirm if Club Suite will be / won’t be retrofitted to the A380s. Guess time will tell – it’ll probably be a few years yet before decide what their plan is with the A380s – a lot will depend on the economic situation and whether or not BA have leased or bought their A380s.
I think we’ll have the old Club World seats still flying for years to come…probably more than we realise right now.
It’s certainly an improvement. Any idea about seat pitch and width? Also, will there be reasonable foot space or a really small cubby?
No news about seat pitch or seat width but, assuming BA hasn’t done anything silly (and it doesn’t look like it has) the B/E Super Diamond seat (which is what this essentially is) should be fine for both…but I suspect we’ll have a few complaints about the foot cubby.
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