Around five years ago, British Airways introduced its Club Suites business class. This represents a massive improvement for the carrier’s long haul business class product.
Continue reading: British Airways Boeing 777 Club Suites Retrofit Complete… Sort Of
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic's 787s...
Even if I like VS more in all other aspects, the hard product is such a disappointment.
@ Andrew -- Maybe don't fly Delta either, though, if you actually want to get anywhere. :p
There are more Business Class seats on a BA 777-300ER than any Emirates A380 (74). Certainly a super premium configuration for the routes they serve. Are we of the view that BA will replace Gatwick 777s with A350-1000s, which are probably cheaper to operate? In that case I suppose we can wait until the older 777s are phased out, surely?
This is good news, certainly, but the transatlantic BA situation is still a mess overall.
To summarize the West Coast to London situation, as it stands today...
-Flying premium economy? Easy. Book Virgin on any aircraft and you'll have a good time.
-Flying business class? If LAX is convenient, just avoid the A380 and you're almost guaranteed a good seat whether flying VS or BA. Yet if LAX is not convenient, you're still essentially rolling a dice with the intermixing of 787 variants and 777 fleet.
Personally, I don't think saving some points is worth the headache of dealing with BA over VS. I'd rather have a longer total trip duration with a guaranteed VS A350 out of LAX than take a chance with BA shenanigans out of SEA/SFO/SAN/PDX.
To end on a slightly positive note, I am holding out a tiny bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, BA has finally made the switch to all 787-10 for SEA (July has been VERY good so far).
VS 787 for Westbound flights when you're not sleeping is pretty decent, but I agree overall it's not competitive at this point.
I would still pick the 787 coffin over the old BA business class (given VS's superior soft product, etc.) but I recognize I'm in the minority here.
Decent isn't cutting it. VS is in the red, they have the opportunity to take their seat and turn it into a strength.
At worst, VS's 787 Upper Class is to be actively avoided, at best it's tolerated.
On the flip side, their A330neo product is a differentiator and arguably one of the best seats TATL. Customers go out of their way to select airlines with better hard products.
I spoke to a couple of FAs on the last 300 flight I took between LAX and LHR & when I asked them what it was like working in such a large J cabin they said; “Tiring! We haven’t stopped for the last 10 hours!”
Great summary, I would add LAS on VS for the bar and PE or BA for the A350 then back from LAX ON VS. A350
BA has a problem in that there is no published solution for the large number of unfurbished aircraft at Gatwick which are old and tired. I’d fly any airline to avoid flying on these aircraft
New business suite is actually good. However service and food is another story. Avoid if you can.
The club suites are a gigantic improvement over the absolute worst business class that BA had before, now if they would only upgrade their poor dining options and even worse wine selection.
He's referring to the Gatwick jets, Peter, which don't have Club Suites installed. They are the old ones and it's awful.
If you're flying to the Carribean in early Fall you can go with VS instead, but if it's mid-October onwards there can sometimes be literally no other direct flight options.
IDK, I'm going to miss Club World in a weird way. It's like Bakerloo Line trains or Wetherspoon's pubs. Tatty but familiar. Flights with my family over Christmas always felt like communal affairs in that old cabin. Everyone going back to see family; everyone in a convivial mood. This is certainly an overdue upgrade for the business traveler, though.
@yoloswag420 Customers generally don't go out of their way to select airlines with better hard products. Apart from a tiny minority of bloggers who live and breathe this stuff, most customers care about a mix of schedule, price, and maybe frequent flyer affiliation but have no idea what aircraft type they're flying, if the seat is a reverse herringbone or has a door, etc.
Thanks, Creditcrunch. I was not aware that BA was operating the A350 on Vegas flights but that’s great news and something I will keep an eye on.
Any suggestion on which seats to choose (or not choose) if we're in the new BA biz?
Is this an evidence based opinion or 1970s view of British food? I think it’s been excellent since the move to Do&Co and much better than Qatar for example. Wine isn’t in the same league as theirs though. Appreciate food can be subjective though and there is usually more sugar/salt on the west side of the Atlantic
Makes sense to fly the old 777s to ATL where you only have to compete with DL's 767 coffins.
That is absolutely not true. For economy and premium economy that might be true, but for business class, the fares are vastly higher and people 100% do select based off of the product due to the premium they are paying. Research has shown even economy pax pay attention to the aircraft and cabin design. People may not know the intricacies of seat manufacturers, etc. But they can definitely tell when a 2-2-2 on LH or a 1-1-1 herringbone is worse than Club Suites.
If I was a LON based traveler, I would most definitely compare the hard products and go out of my way to avoid Virgin 787s.
The Gatwick 777's will never be reconfigured.
They fly to leisure routes, often where there is no other direct flight (Cayman Islands, anyone?), so there is no need to update them to a competitive product.
Looking at FR24, these planes have also been regularly flying to Washington, Chicago and Boston. It's odd to have the worst product on three high-yield business routes in summer.
You'd think they'd relegate these to the least important routes, like South Asia.
Ben would you talk about a further devaluation of BA avios regarding BA Club Europe, all long haul flights and LATAM?
Would it have killed them to fit the new first suite with the doors onto the 200 series as well at the same time? Flew to Chicago in first last week and it was old and tired and worn out yet club work had brand new shiny club suites, what a way to annoy your first class customers!
They also compete against the Virgin A350-1000 albeit the return flight time is in my opinion the too early for US East Coast.
I was flying on a 777-2 last year in Ying-Yang Club without First and the Inflight Manager, in their words, was horrified there was no First on the plane as it was supposed to be a premium route, particularly for cargo.
You are generally correct but there are flights such as to Mauritius where the national carrier offers a better product. Much more like Club Suites together with a better lounge in Mauritius. BA's lack of Gatwick Club Suite planes make indirect flights more appealing and must be costing BA business. Hopefully the business case is gradually swinging towards Club Suites from Gatwick.