British Airways has often considered itself a premium airline. However, they have for a long time lagged against their competitors. The airline has recently announced an innovation. British Airways’ premium partnership is meant to start to bridge the gap between BA and their competitors. The airline has partnered with the White Company for their Club World improvements.

What to expect?

British Airways’ business class was state of the art when it was introduced in 2006. Their Club World cabins were the first to offer fully flat seats to passengers. Since then, many airlines have caught up and surpassed them. Their current layout is 2X4X2 in a yin-yang configuration. This means there is no direct aisle access for most seats. In addition, up until late last year, the airline’s management had been making cuts to their service in Club World. Since then, the airline has revamped their lounges in Gatwick and Boston, with New York JFK on the way. They have announced new improvements, and this is the next one.

Per their press release, the airline has partnered with the White Company to offer bedding on their Club World Seats. This is huge improvement, given how uncomfortable their seats are. The airline is adding pillows that double as lumbar support, as well as new blankets and regular pillows. Another enhancement is with their amenity kits. Previously, they were supplied with Elemis toiletries, and came in a drawstring bag. The new kits will be stocked with better amenities, as well as toiletries from Restore and Relax Spa Collection. All these improvements will debut on their London-New York JFK route.

What do I want to see next?

British Airways has started the long process of improving their Club World cabin. They are investing over $515 million in improvements. The next set of things I want to see is for their seats to offer all aisle access. Their catering is far from the level of its local competitor Virgin Atlantic, however is still better than American’s. Where the airline seriously needs to improve is in their first class cabin. BA First offers what many consider the best business class experience (except for Qatar Airways’ QSuites). They should redesign the seat, properly offering a more private environment. Their catering is good, but also needs improvements. Their ground experience is far behind Air France’s and Lufthansa’s, they aren’t even on the same league honestly. Yet, they took the first step in fixing the problem: acknowledging there is one.

Landing Thoughts:

I’m very glad to see BA going through on their commitment to improve their business class experience. Their A350’s should begin offering a new Club World seat, allegedly with all aisle access. The new partnership with The White Company is a step in the right direction. I hope to see many more improvements announced in the coming months. For now, I will look forward to try out the new enhancements.

What do you think? Have you flown BA Club World? Do you think these improvements will make the experience better? How else should they improve? Let us know!

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All images from British Airways.