- British Airways introduced the Club Suite in 2019 as a major upgrade to its dated business class.
- The cabin has so far been deployed on Airbus A350, Boeing 787-10, and some Boeing 777 aircraft.
- The airline’s Heathrow-based long-haul fleet, including the Airbus A380, will be retrofitted by 2026.
British Airways announced its newest business-class seat — dubbed the Club Suite — in March 2019 as part of a multi-billion investment, and now it’s being deployed across more of the airline’s fleet.
The seat first rolled out on the carrier’s newly-delivered Airbus A350 aircraft the year it was introduced and has since been deployed on its Boeing 787-10s and some of its Boeing 777s.
Now, the rest of the fleet, including the carrier’s Boeing 787-8s, Boeing 787-9s, and Airbus A380s, are due for a Club Suite retrofit over the next few years.
Compared to British Airways’ old business class, the Club Suite is a significant upgrade with improved space and privacy. Here’s everything customers can expect.
British Airways launched its Club Suite in mid-2019, representing a huge improvement from its dated business class cabin.
British Airways’s business-class upgrade comes as traveler expectations evolve to seek more premium amenities, like privacy doors and direct-aisle access.
The trend follows the likes of Qatar Airways, Emirates, and All Nippon Airways, all of which are known for their top-tier business-class cabins.
The new seat, which is a customized version of the Super Diamond made by Collins Aerospace, has so far deployed on BA’s A350s, 787-10s, and most of its 777s.
The Super Diamond business class design is a common pick among airlines thanks to its privacy and optimized space, with carriers like Qatar, American Airlines, and WestJet, among others, also sporting the seat.
However, pandemic-related delays have made the rollout slower than expected.
According to British Airways, the original timeline was expected to see the entire widebody fleet retrofit with the Club Suite by 2025.
“At British Airways, we have one of Europe’s largest long-haul fleets and most far-reaching global networks, so it will take some time to make the cabin available to everybody, ” Former British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said in 2019. “We hope that as more customers have the chance to experience it, they’ll enjoy traveling in it as much as we’ve enjoyed designing it.”
It’s now expected the Heathrow-based long-haul fleet retrofit will be complete by 2026, the company said in November.
The retrofit includes British Airways’ aging A380s, which the airline has opted to keep instead of retiring like many other global carriers have decided to do.
Also coming to the A380 is a new first class, British Airways CEO Sean Doyle said at a media event in London on March 4.
After flying the new Club Suite from London to New York this month, I think British Airways has fixed the problems of its less-desirable business class product.
I flew on one of British Airways’ retrofitted 777s and think the hard product is easily competitive with the likes of Delta and Condor. One small nit to pick: The headset’s output was scratchy, and I had to use my own set of headphones on my flight.
Notably, the airline ditched the cramped 2x4x2 layout of the old product in favor of a 1x2x1 cabin for the Club Suite.
British Airways’ dated business class cabin is still on a large chunk of its long-haul widebody planes, and it falls way behind competitors due to its lack of privacy and efficiency.
This means that, unlike the old product, the new design offers all passengers direct aisle access and better privacy.
British Airways’ old cabin featured rows with up to eight seats across, so those next to the window did not have direct aisle access.
Customers also complained about food being handed over to the aisle passenger to reach the window seat, as well as aisle-seat travelers having overall less privacy due to the lack of doors.
The privacy is thanks to a personal door that creates a fully enclosed pod, almost like a little mini-hotel room.
On my particular flight, I chose seat 17A in the back corner of the Club Suite cabin, and I thought it was a perfect little nook.
Cruz, the former CEO, said in 2019 that the new Club Suite’s privacy and direct-aisle access design was “incorporated as a direct result of the feedback we’ve had from our customers.”
Also featured in the Club Suites is an 18.5” television screen, which comes with an accompanying remote.
Customers can expect entertainment like movies, TV shows from Paramount+, music, and games. The back of the remote has a full keyboard and a gaming toggle.
There are plenty of storage options, too, including cubbies, a shelf, and tabletop space.
Some airline business class products, like those on Air India and Air New Zealand, lack proper storage, which can be a nuisance for travelers needing space for laptops and books.
A universal power outlet and USB ports can be found inside the larger of the cubbies.
The adjacent cubby is narrower but can hold things like a small book or e-reader. My 10-inch Kindle Fire did not fit, though.
Meanwhile, the side cubby features a mirror and a shelf stocked with a water bottle and an amenity kit.
The amenity kit came with an eye mask, socks, lotion, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and lip balm — the standard across most airlines.
The tray table is stored under the television and can be adjusted to sit closer to or farther away from the passenger.
The table is large but does not have the same flexibility seen in business class on carriers like Korean Air, for example, which features tables that swivel into several different positions.
While passengers will be served plenty of food to stay full on long-haul journeys, business-class customers also have access to the Club Kitchen.
The Club Kitchen is a self-service station in the galley stocked with snacks and drinks, like wine, soda, and chips.
Among the most important features of the seat is its lie-flat bed, which can be converted at the touch of a button.
A panel located next to the seat can adjust it into a recliner or fully flat, which makes it easy for travelers to deploy the bed on their own.
Some carriers, particularly Air New Zealand, require assistance from the flight attendant to prepare the bed — which is not an ideal design.
The bed has a reading light, a mattress pad, a soft blanket, and a large pillow. And the seat itself provides good padding and space.
Customers commonly complain of narrower-than-desired beds in British Airways’ old business class.
In the Club Suite, however, I personally found the bed big enough to lay on my side or stomach.
However, the airline did not provide slippers or pajamas, which are seen on others like Condor and Air India.
Condor offered slippers on my business class flight from New York to Frankfurt last June.
Air India’s pajamas and slippers were one of the better amenities offered in its mediocre 777 business class.
While British Airways’ doesn’t provide sleepwear, customers will find that one of the Club Suites’ only downsides.
The new seat also lacks the increasingly popular USB-C ports, and the airplane I flew on didn’t have working WiFi.
British Airways’ emailed me after the flight saying the broken internet was due to a malfunctioned antenna, but the transparency was a nice surprise.
Compared to British Airways’ dated business class, the Club Suite has the much-needed privacy and space improvements expected of modern global carriers.
Travelers can look forward to consistency across British Airways’ Heathrow-based long-haul cabins as the A380s, 787-8, 787-9s, and the remaining 777s are reconfigured come 2026.
