British Airways is in the process of overhauling its long haul fleet, as the airline installs its impressive new Club Suites business class product on most long haul aircraft.
In late 2020, British Airways also introduced a marginally improved first class product, featuring a door. However, there’s a bit of confusion about which planes feature this, so I wanted to take a closer look at that in this post (especially as I’m hoping to fly this product on my upcoming review trip).
In this post:
British Airways’ strange premium cabin evolution
Historically British Airways’ first and business class seats haven’t exactly been industry-leading. First class was nothing special, and more like a great business class product. Seats were in a 1-2-1 configuration, and a bit more spacious than typical business class reverse herringbone seats.
However, British Airways’ business class was significantly worse, and on 777s in a 2-4-2 configuration. There wasn’t direct aisle access from every seat, which is otherwise becoming an industry standard.
By comparison first class was better than business class.
That all kind of changed in 2019, when British Airways rolled out its new Club Suites business class product. With this, British Airways’ business class now consists of reverse herringbone seats with doors.
This was a massive improvement for British Airways, but still a bit strange:
- British Airways introduced a new business class, but not a new first class
- British Airways wasn’t eliminating first class, but rather was reducing the size of the first class cabin on some 777s (all reconfigured 777s have eight first class seats, even if the seats are the same as before)
- This created a situation where business class seats had doors, while first class seats didn’t, which sure seems backwards
So British Airways has been working on slowly changing that trend, at least on some planes.
British Airways’ “new” first class with doors
As of late 2020, British Airways began introducing an updated first class product. Unfortunately the seat isn’t being redesigned from scratch. Rather British Airways is updating its existing seat, with the most significant change being the addition of doors.
It’s essentially the same product you’ll find on the Boeing 787, except it has a door, and it also has a seatbelt with a shoulder strap (which I wouldn’t necessarily consider to be an improvement, but…).
Below you can see a picture of what British Airways’ “new” first class looks like.
Admittedly this is a minor difference, but still, it’s something. Some people really like doors. Some people think doors are stupid (and oddly think people who like doors are stupid…). But perhaps more importantly, this reflects the 787 version of the seat, which has a larger television screen, and some other benefit.
Note that British Airways also has 18 Boeing 777-9s on order, which should be delivered eventually (the aircraft has been delayed until 2025 at the earliest). These planes are expected to feature all new first class suites, so it’s anyone’s guess what they will look like. Hopefully it’s a fully redesigned product, rather than just modified seats.
Which planes have British Airways’ new first class suites?
British Airways exclusively offers doors at first class seats on select Boeing 777-300ERs. Specifically, the Boeing 777-300ERs with the Club Suites in business class also feature the refreshed first class. As it stands, nine out of 16 Boeing 777-300ERs feature these new seats.
Looking at seatmaps, you can expect that Boeing 777-300ERs with eight seats in first class, and business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, will feature these new first class seats.
A few things to note:
- All other planes, including newly delivered Boeing 787-10s, as well as 777-200ERs reconfigured with the new Club Suites, don’t feature these seats; that’s right, these planes have doors in business class, but not in first class
- British Airways does a lot of aircraft swaps for 777-300ERs; for example, looking at the London to New York market, currently BA113 and BA179 are consistently scheduled to be operated by this aircraft, yet as you’ll see at those links, the flights are frequently swapped for 777-200ERs (which feature Club Suites, but don’t have doors in first class)
Bottom line
While not nearly as exciting as the carrier’s improvements in business class, British Airways has introduced a modified first class on some of its Boeing 777s. This new product has a door for added privacy, which makes sense when you consider that business class seats also have a door.
Unfortunately this product is only available on few planes — only 777-300ERs with Club Suites have these seats, while other 777s don’t, and there are no plans (as of now) to reconfigure other planes with these seats. Furthermore, keep in mind that last minute aircraft swaps are common, even on prime routes like London to New York.
I’m hoping to fly this new product soon, but who knows, it seems like odds are pretty high of there being an aircraft swap…
What do you make of British Airways’ modified first class seat?
they never invented lie flat seats either airlines like singapore have done long before as well as having fully enclosed first suites with armchair and bed and i’m now paying to fly home first rather than business as i have medical conditions and now looking like i’ve been conned for extra price no difference
So tired of all of this excitement over doors. What difference does that make? Just one more thing to break. And the picture of the lady wearing paper over her face? How stupid.
“Some people think doors are stupid (and oddly think people who like doors are stupid…)”.
I don’t think doors as such are stupid though I do find this obsession some people have with doors on a J seat to be pretty stupid.
Forget the doors. What does everyone feel about no real windows. That's coming real soon if no one protest. You won't know if your really over land or sea. You could be anywhere anytime any speed. Never enjoying the reality of what's actually out there again.
It will be spun as needed as usual. Get ready. Maybe nobody cares because we all might be handed Virtual reality head wear anyway.
Let's hope they don't do the same to hot air balloons.
Still love BA's old club world seats, especially 4k on the 777 -200. It's as good for privacy as modern 1st on other airlines with total lieflat spacious privacy once the screen goes up.
Where do you get your info in article that there are 9 300ers w/doors in first?
I was really hoping that all of those 777 upgraded to club suite would also get the new first suite at same time.
I fear that only the 3 new 777-300er delivered in 2021 got the new first seats. I’ve been madly trying to get info on this for a booked 777 flight sea-lhr (8 seat first...
Where do you get your info in article that there are 9 300ers w/doors in first?
I was really hoping that all of those 777 upgraded to club suite would also get the new first suite at same time.
I fear that only the 3 new 777-300er delivered in 2021 got the new first seats. I’ve been madly trying to get info on this for a booked 777 flight sea-lhr (8 seat first cabin) and there is almost no reliable info online. What I have been able to find are some recent YouTube reviews of 777-300 new clubsuite, that also briefly show first - an 8 seat cabin with the ancient foldout ife screen first seats. Which clearly shows BA is just removing 6 seats and leaving 8 old first seats when redoing the biz clubsuite cabin. Hugely disappointing. But typical.
@ Firsttotheleft -- Interesting, do you have a link to one of those videos, as I haven't seen that?
Argh I just cleared my YouTube history last night! I’ll find it again and post. Think it was for a “ba 777 first” google
Ok on this it’s a quick shot but you can see bulkhead in front of 1k and behind 2k. Old seats. Still looking for the other video. But it’s not good news. Hope I’m wrong.
https://youtu.be/XfqlbJqnyfs
@ Firsttotheleft -- That review is of a 777-200ER, not a 777-300ER (British Airways exclusively flies 777-200ERs to Newark). As I said in the post, none of the 777-200ERs have the new first class. So if you do find a review of a 777-300ER that has Club Suites and the old first class, please do let me know...
Ok well maybe that’s good news then. I’ve found no info whether the 200 or 300 were getting new first seats while club suites upgraded.
Only confirmed was the the 3 new 2021 777-300 delivered factory first with doors.
My interest is purely selfish as I think SEA 777 is a 300. I hope. With doors in first. We’ll see.
Usually they do seem to consistently use one of the new (2021) 777-300ER on the LAST BA departure on LHR - LAX. However, during Winter months they were always swapping out 777 for A350 on the FIRST departure on LHR - LAX.
BA’s old club world was industry leading in its day and actually they had the first fully fair F as well. Of course they got left behind (for whatever reason) but they were cutting edge at the time. The Club Suites have gone down very well with customers but First is still much better - even if you get the older seats. You get much more space, smaller cabin, more crew, better food and much...
BA’s old club world was industry leading in its day and actually they had the first fully fair F as well. Of course they got left behind (for whatever reason) but they were cutting edge at the time. The Club Suites have gone down very well with customers but First is still much better - even if you get the older seats. You get much more space, smaller cabin, more crew, better food and much more interesting wines (though obviously not in the league of many other carriers), CCR from LHR, youfirst line etc. etc. I have no real opinions on doors - they are fine but other carriers find other ways to create privacy. To say that it’s odd that J has them and F doesn’t is a bit of a red herring I think. Even with the reduction in F cabins it looks unlikely that BA will compete with the top carriers in First. But then again it’s a very comfortable way to fly and from London to the US it’s very convenient, not to mention that Avios availability has been good.
The last time I remember BA as "industry leading" was in the 1990s with the cradle seat" I would prefer a non confining footwell over a semi door 100% of the time.
No mention of the Airbus 380 interior? BA flies the 380 to cities such as Miami and Chicago.
…and DC.
The a 380 will never be upgraded. Sad. But they do have large bathrooms and a quiet ride!
The door is nice, but in my experience the bigger difference between the older and newer BA F seats is the amount of at-seat storage. The newer seats (either the suites with doors or just slightly older) have a good amount of storage space, whereas there are still some older planes going around with nowhere to store a phone/tablet/personal item at the seat. To me that's a bigger deal.
Hope you don't get stuck with an equipment swap!
I flew on BA and had the first class seat with the doors. I found the seat area got unbearably hot while I tried to sleep with the doors closed - there was a complete lack of airflow. Immediate relief when I opened the doors.
I'll let you know in a week.
PS - The 300ER has two configurations: G (with 14 first class seats) and H (with 8 first class seats). The G has the older seat type. The H has the newer seat type. So, if you know how many first class seats there are . . .
There are online videos of 777-300 with 8 seat first cabins (and new clubsuite in biz) with old 2010 first hard product.
They are just removing 6 seats and leaving 8 of the old. Bummer.
It’s been a week… doors or no doors in 8 seat first class? And was it a newer or refurb 300?
These seemed great! BUT on my last flight which featured these new "doors"....the bed would NOT recline.....neither would the one remaining vacant First Class seat. Neither would the doors CLOSE.....oh! and did I mention that the entertainment system needed to be reset a total 1f 14 times? Truly a most disappointing flight that cost over $8000....
Kind of related, but is this a sign UA will be able to update their Polaris seats by adding a door to the existing product, or can only certain seats be modified this way?
LOOK AT THE PICTURE OF THE LADY WEARING A MASK! MASKS ARE FAKE NEWS!!!!!1!!1!!11! LOOK AT BA VIRTUE SIGNALLING BY SHOWING A MASK!!!!!!! COVID IS THE SAME AS A COMMON COLD!!!!!!1!1! NO VAX NO VAX VACCINES ARE POISON TO CONTROL YOU!!!!1!!!!!
Just kidding.
I simply wanted to see what it felt like to be a troll here in the comments section. I can report that I feel even dumber than before I wrote the above.
You're edgy af.
You’re totally correct!
After I took the vaccine, it was introduced in my arm a Chinese chip and, since then, I getting success to make phone calls using my arms, without using my iPhone!
And, of course, after I became a zombie, starting to identify others that became stupid as me.
Couldn’t have been an authentic trolling experience. You made no spelling or grammatical mistakes…
"Historically British Airways’ first and business class seats haven’t exactly been industry-leading."
I mean, apart from inventing lie-flat seats in business class, sure.
They also started the trend for offering flat beds in first in the 1990s (although weren’t the first airline to try flat beds in first full stop).
“In recent times” would definitely have been a lot more accurate.
Those were my exact same thoughts! It would be good to look at a timeline of when airlines introduced flat beds! It really wasn’t that long ago when US carriers joined the trend very late!
Even with doors, BA's 1st class will still be nowhere as good as many other airlines particularly Emirates. Also, placing 1st classon the lower decks of A380s makes one wonder just how stupid the directors of BA must be. The wonderfully spacious lavatories are for Club Class passengers with small lavs for 1st Class. The last time I flew on BA 1st class, there were no longer 2 lavatories. Is BA unaware of competition?
I believe that the 777-300er was chosen as the first due to its wider cabin. I am sure that this product will be fitted to other aircraft such as the A350-1000 and others models. More than likely there are several more reasons as well.
BA's A350-1000s don't have First Class. I think the 777-300ER was chosen first because it operates BA's more premium routes, and since it has a smaller fleet of -300s than the -200s, it's faster to update the fleet and to manage expectations. Otherwise, the 777-200ER has the same cabin width as the 77W.
My impression is that most passengers in F are upgrades from Club World, so this is likely good enough for them. Still, very little differentiation from J. Adding a mini-fridge at each seat and more color and design to the cabin would be nice.
Why are you so obsessed with a door in a premium cabin?
Why are you so obsessed with Ben's appreciation of doors?
You sound unhinged.
Try picking up a book.
“You sound unhinged” - like a seat missing a door!
So will there be more doors or more wheels on the planes?
Still seems like a pretty good product. Not amazing or cutting edge but not bad at all. Kind of reflects how BA make significantly more money from business than first class now. The way they're retrofitting only 777-300er's is a very strange choice
Doors!!! I love doors. My office has a door. My house has lots of doors. Even my car has doors. At long last, my seat will have a door when I fly British Airways. I’m super stoked. Great work British Airways!
I could only imagine how your life will be if your doors are 4ft high.
Your office door would cover your intern under your table but not on the table.
Your house door could block you dog from seeing your intern in your bedroom but not your wife.
Your car door could block your dog from falling out but not your intern.
I did not have relations with that woman, all my...
I could only imagine how your life will be if your doors are 4ft high.
Your office door would cover your intern under your table but not on the table.
Your house door could block you dog from seeing your intern in your bedroom but not your wife.
Your car door could block your dog from falling out but not your intern.
I did not have relations with that woman, all my doors are closed.
You're not Barry Whitsun, you're Billy Klintun.
You're not super stroked, you're impeached.
Screw the door, I’d give anything for a better quality and size TV in BA first. It’s nuts that phone is better resolution.
Airlines in 2008: Let's make the seat 180-degree flat
Airlines in 2022/2023: Let's add a paper/nylon wall as door
Doors in the title.
I'm going to prove this stupid bulls**t that people say they care but really don't care.
When I'm bored enough, I might do a social experiment.
Design is simple. If you want to close your door, you pay extra $$$.
Let's see how much people really value the door.
NEWSFLASH:
London Police have arrested an oddball Inuit pax coming off a BA flight after pax reported him creepily stalking about the cabin with a battered tin cup in one hand, and babbling incoherently - "Close door? Pay me!". Police await a full psychiatric evaluation. An unnamed Police source told this reporter (off record) - "Biden type nutcase"
Little tip I discovered recently on Google Flights. Before when searching for J or F, it would show the kind of seat (standard recliner or lie flat seat), now it also shows if it's an individual suite. Before I had to search on Expert Flyer for the seat map, Google Flights is much faster. I've used this method to weed out the old BA J seats easily.
This has been a feature for a few years now. This has been useful for seeing which flights has QR Qsuites, BA Club Suites, DL One Suites, etc.
In theory, I agree. The problem is that all airlines with various sub-fleets (e.g. QR, BA) swap aircraft on a daily basis. So you really don’t know which seat is fitted until you board.