In mid-2019, British Airways introduced an all-new business class product, which represents a massive improvement compared to the carrier’s previous product. As is often the case when airlines introduce new business class seats, the challenge is actually getting a plane featuring those seats (Lufthansa can tell you all about it!).
While the airline had at the time outlined a rollout schedule for this new product, as you’d expect, the pandemic has delayed things a bit. So in this post I wanted to take a look at the current state of British Airways’ Club Suites rollout.
What are British Airways Club Suites?
Club Suites is the name of British Airways’ new business class product. This cabin consists of reverse herringbone seats with doors — specifically, British Airways selected a modified version or the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat. This gives each passenger a fully flat bed, direct aisle access, and a privacy door.
This is an excellent product, among the best business class seats you’ll find out there. Read my review of British Airways Club Suites here.
While this is objectively a solid business class product, what makes it most exciting is how much of an improvement it is over British Airways’ old Club World business class. British Airways’ previous business class product consisted of seven to eight seats per row (depending on the plane and layout), and was among the tightest business class products out there.
You can always tell if your flight is scheduled to feature Club Suites based on the seat map. If you’re flying a wide body British Airways jet and the seat map shows four seats per row in business class, then your flight features Club Suites. Meanwhile if it shows more seats per row than that, then it doesn’t feature the new business class.
Of course keep in mind that last minute aircraft swaps can happen, especially for routes operated by planes that don’t have full product consistency.
Which planes have British Airways Club Suites?
Back in 2019, British Airways announced it planned to complete its Club Suites installation by 2025. At the time the airline shared the below graph about the rollout schedule.
As you’d expect, a lot has changed since then — British Airways retired the 747, the Boeing 777-9 is delayed until at least 2025, etc. So let’s take a look at the current state of British Airways introducing Club Suites by fleet type.
I should mention that aside from routes operated by planes that exclusively have Club Suites, British Airways doesn’t really guarantee Club Suites on other routes. The exception is London (LHR) to New York (JFK), where the airline does consistently fly aircraft with Club Suites.
All Airbus A350-1000s have Club Suites
All British Airways Airbus A350-1000s feature Club Suites. This was the first plane to feature Club Suites, and all planes have been delivered factory fresh with the new cabins. The airline has a total of 18 of these in its fleet, and there are no additional A350-1000s on order.
All Boeing 787-10s have Club Suites
All British Airways Boeing 787-10s feature Club Suites, as they were all delivered with these cabins. Aside from the A350-1000, this is the only other plane to have 100% consistency when it comes to Club Suites. The airline has a total of 24 of these on order — seven have been delivered so far, and the remaining aircraft will join the fleet in the coming years.
Most Boeing 777-200ERs have Club Suites
This is where it gets a little tricky. British Airways has 43 Boeing 777-200ERs — long term, 28 of those are based at Heathrow Airport, while 15 of those are based at Gatwick Airport. British Airways doesn’t have plans to reconfigure the Gatwick jets anytime soon, since they operate leisure oriented routes.
All 28 Heathrow based 777-200ERs have Club Suites, so the process of reconfiguring 777-200ERs is complete. The catch is that there are temporarily three Gatwick based 777-200ERs flying out of Heathrow, so you may still end up on a non-reconfigured 777-200ER out of Heathrow for the time being.
Most Boeing 777-300ERs have Club Suites
British Airways has 16 Boeing 777-300ERs, and 13 of those feature Club Suites. It’s expected that the remaining planes will feature the new cabins within the next year.
No Boeing 787-8s have Club Suites
British Airways has 12 Boeing 787-8s, and none of them feature Club Suites. While the retrofits on these planes were supposed to start in late 2023, that has now been delayed, and we can expect the first 787-8 to feature Club Suites at some point in 2024. I wouldn’t expect this project to be done before 2025.
No Boeing 787-9s have Club Suites
British Airways has 18 Boeing 787-9s, and none of them feature Club Suites. Much like on the 787-8, these retrofits have been delayed, and we can now expect this project to start in 2024. Don’t expect 787-9s to be fully reconfigured before 2025.
No Airbus A380s have Club Suites
British Airways parked its Airbus A380 fleet at the start of the pandemic, and only brought these planes back to service in late 2021. British Airways intends to keep flying these planes for years to come, and plans to reconfigure these aircraft with new cabins. Currently the plan is for this project to take place in 2025 and 2026, though who knows if that plays out as intended.
What about first class on planes with Club Suites?
This is a question that frequently comes up, so in the interest of being thorough, I figured I’d address it. For planes that have been reconfigured with Club Suites, what happened to the first class seats?
Bottom line
British Airways has made good progress with rolling out its Club Suites business class, and at this point the airline offers the product fairly consistently, at least on certain aircraft types. Currently you’re guaranteed Club Suites on the A350-1000 and 787-10. Furthermore, most Heathrow based 777-200ERs and 777-300ERs have Club Suites. Meanwhile as of now, you won’t get Club Suites on the 787-8, 787-9, and A380. In 2024, 787-8s and 787-9s should start to get Club Suites, and in 2025, A380s should start to get Club Suites… maybe.
If you are flying British Airways business class, it’s definitely worth seeking out the new Club Suites product.
What’s your take on British Airways’ Club Suites rollout schedule?
