Like any typical full-service airline, UK flag carrier British Airways offers a comprehensive business class offering across its mainline fleet. Known as Club World, or Club Europe on short-haul aircraft, this product comes in various shapes and sizes depending on the exact aircraft and its seating configuration.
Recent years have seen British Airways begin to overhaul its Club World offering with the introduction of a brand-new product known as the Club Suite. The most notable change this new seat has offered is the introduction of a four-abreast 1-2-1 configuration, with every single seat offering direct aisle access.
With first class cabins becoming a rarity in the world of modern commercial aviation, high-end long-haul business class offerings with low-density configurations have taken on greater importance. The introduction of the Club Suite, which features personal doors for additional privacy, 198cm (6ft 6in) beds, and 17-inch entertainment screens, according to BA, is the airline’s way of joining this trend.
There is plenty of competition on the busy London to New York route, where British Airways now operates all its flights with the new Club Suite.
Photo: British Airways
However, as lovely as the new product is, it is yet to become a ubiquitous offering on British Airways’ long-haul aircraft. According to aeroLOPA, it features on all of the carrier’s Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 787-10s, but only some of its 777-200ERs, 777-300ERs, and 787-8s. Meanwhile, none of its A380s or 787-9s have been fitted with Club Suites, although retrofits are planned for the coming years.
For British Airways’ planes that don’t yet feature the Club Suite, passengers in Club World must contend with a product that is sadly now rather outdated. On wider aircraft such as the double-decker Airbus A380, these seats are laid out in a staggered ‘yin-yang’ configuration with a 2-4-2 layout.
In other words, this setup features twice as many seats per row as the new Club Suite product. Furthermore, half of the seats face backward, and both the bed and entertainment screen are significantly smaller than the new offering. Specifically, these measure 183cm (6ft) and 12 inches, respectively.
Photo: British Airways
Of course, the same high standards when it comes to the onboard service of food and drink are still present. However, where possible, these older seats are best avoided from a comfort point of view. British Airways’ 787s are slightly better in terms of their old Club World product configuration, with ‘only’ seven seats per row.
BA’s short-haul offering is Club Europe, and, like many European flag carriers, simply consists of a blocked middle seat. While this offers greater operational flexibility with varying business and economy loads, the comfort levels are obviously inferior to, for example, domestic first class in the US. That being said, Club Europe passengers do get better catering and baggage than their economy counterparts.
What do you make of British Airways’ various Club World configurations? How many have you flown in? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
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