British Airways has announced the introduction of new business class seat – ‘Club Suite’, adding that it will arrive on the first of its A350 aircraft in July.
The airline’s new ‘Club Suite’ offers direct-aisle access, a suite door for greater privacy and luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Designed to serve the convenience of customers, Club Suite offers 40 percent more storage, including a vanity unit and mirror, WiFi, 18.5-inch inflight entertainment screens, high definition gate-to-gate programming, and PC/USB power.
The company says that the A350 aircraft itself is designed to offer a relaxing flight, with reduced noise levels, higher levels of humidity and refreshed air, high ceilings and ambient lighting, which is intended to compliment the time of day and outside light. There are also environmental benefits to flying on the state-of the-art A350 as 25 percent lower fuel burn significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
In addition to the new 56-seat Club World cabin, the three-cabin A350 will feature the latest World Traveller Plus cabin (56 seats) with new furnishings, new amenity kits and an enhanced service and an improved dining experience. The World Traveller (economy) cabin has 219 seats. Customers will also benefit from high-speed WiFi, allowing travellers to browse the internet on their personal electronic devices.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and CEO, said: ‘The arrival of our first A350 featuring our new Club Suite is one of the most exciting developments in our GBP6.5 billion investment programme.
‘Each new suite has direct aisle access and comes with a personal door – design features which were incorporated as a direct result of the feedback we’ve had from our customers. We’ve worked hard to ensure every aspect of the Club World experience from the lounges we’ve refreshed, to the new gourmet menus from Do&Co on flights from Heathrow, and the luxurious bedding we’ve introduced from The White Company exudes the very British style and quality customers expect from us.
‘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. We hope that as more customers have the chance to experience it, they’ll enjoy travelling in it as much as we’ve enjoyed designing it.’
The airline will roll out the new suites in a phased manner aimed at minimising disruption to customers. The first phase will see short-haul flights between London and Madrid, while in phase two – from October 1, 2019 – the aircraft will begin long-haul flying. During this period another three A350 aircraft will join the British Airways fleet and two Boeing 777 aircraft will also be retrofitted with the new cabin. By the start of 2020, the airline will start phase three, rolling out its Club Suite on further long-haul aircraft across the network.
