Review: British Airways business class Club Suites from New York to London

Much of the British Airways fleet features the new Club Suites in business class. Club World passengers have a modern seat with aisle access, including a much ballyhooed door.

This trip took me from New York Terminal 8 to London Heathrow Terminal 5 for a nighttime transatlantic crossing. At the airport I spent a while in the new BA and AA Soho lounge before flight, until it was time to head to the gate.

BA176 – New York JFK to London Heathrow (JFK-LHR)
11 February 2023
Boeing 777-200ER – G-VIIK
Seat: Club World 9A
Departure: 19:25 Arrival: 07:20+1

Soon enough it was time for boarding and I was among the first on the plane. I was greeted at the door and turned right to find my seat in the first row of the main business class cabin.

Club Suites Everywhere

Blue mood lighting coloured the cabin, and I stowed my cabin bag overhead and took stock of my surroundings. This Boeing 777-200ER had been relatively recently fitted with the new Club Suites and it looked good.

Apart from a scratch on the finish it all looked great. Bedding from The White Company is provided, and I put that overhead as well, as I wouldn’t need it until we were in the air.

Boarding Continues

The very friendly British Airways Cabin Crew came through with welcome drinks and I took a Champagne. Shortly after came the delivery of a bottle of water, plus the amenity kit. At this point, I had a peek at the large blue and white menu.

While boarding continued, I slipped off to the bathroom so I wouldn’t be holding on during take-off. A second welcome Champagne arrived for me, a nice surprise. Afterwards it was back to my seat, boarding finished, we closed up and the video safety demonstration took place.

Time To Go

It wasn’t too long before we were trundling around New York JFK to get to the runway. Our pilots announced it would be a short flight time, aided by tailwinds, which are pretty common at this time of year, being late Winter.

Without further ado, we headed off into the night sky for our transatlantic flight to England. Soon enough after take-off, it was time for the dinner service.

A Business Class Dinner

I don’t recall when the orders were taken, but the choices were plenty. The starters were Marinated king prawns, Roasted pumpkin and blue cheese salad or Roasted tomato soup. Appealing to me was the latter and that’s what I ordered.

First though were the ubiquitous nuts and I took a Besserat de Bellefon Grande Tradition Rosé Brut, which retails for about £30-£50. One day they might serve something other than nuts, as they are never great paired with bubbles.

The Main Course

After an absolutely delicious soup, it was time for the main course. I elected for the Cajun spiced grilled chicken breast with cheddar potato au gratin, jalapeño, charred sweetcorn, kale and red pepper. The other choices were Cod masala with mustard rice, seven spiced broccolini and fried onions or Homemade tagliolini al tartufo with a truffle panna sauce.

From my perspective, I made the perfect choice, with the chicken being succulent and deliciously accompanied. One thing British Airways have always done well is the food. Now that being served by courses is back, it also once again feels like a business class experience.

Dessert and Club Kitchen

Would I like dessert? You bet! You could have cheese (Appenzeller, Port Salut, Cavernan Blue, served with Farmhouse Chutney), a Mango toffee delight with meringue and raspberry, fruit, or my choice, a Raspberry and peach cinnabon bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce. Let’s just say I made the right selection, as it was fabulous!

The Club Kitchen is essentially the place to get snacks during flight. Once this was a source of wonder at the array of goodies, nowadays it’s just some crisps and chocolates, along with some drinks. It does the job, but it doesn’t really say premium to me.

Overnight

After the meal I finished watching the movie and settled in for a little nap. The big fat pillow is very welcome and I managed to snooze for a while. As it was a short flight, there weren’t too many hours to be sleeping.

You might wonder which French Champagne I was drinking. Well, it turns out BA cover all the bases, it just says “Brut NV, Champagne, France” and could be any one of Canard-Duchêne, Heidsieck, Monopole or Castelnau. Not sure why they’ve covered all bases, as usually it would specify what you’re getting.

Breakfast Above The Clouds

The Cabin Crew, who were a bundle of joy where I was sat, soon turned up the lights and began the Club World business class breakfast service. Everyone received orange juice, Coconut chia pudding (with granola, strawberry and blueberries), and a selection of pastries. You could then choose either Scrambled eggs and bacon on an English muffin or Menermen, feta cheese and spinach wrap.

Yum, yum, yum all round! No rubbery ugly metallic frittata to be seen, which was a joy. Ever since I first discovered chia pudding in the Qantas Auckland first class lounge, I’ve been a big fan. It was a wonderful breakfast and I highly recommend it. Once done, we descended and landed into London on time.

Overall Thoughts

I was very happy with my British Airways Club Suites flight. Both the on board catering and service from the cabin crew really made the flight for me, so it was nice to see BA back to being a high quality oneworld alliance airline.

The Club Suites are a great product, even though mine had that one scratch on the door to the mirror and storage area. The door also didn’t seem to work, but really, I don’t rate a door as adding all that much to my life, unlike some people who think the door will solve world hunger. Quite frankly, you can’t go wrong flying BA at the moment and I left the flight a very happy camper.

Have you flown British Airways in Club Suites recently? What do you think of the product? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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