A new ‘Club Suite’ business class will arrive on the first of British Airways’ new Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft in July before being phased in across other aircraft.
The 56 flat-bed seats will be offered in a 1-2-1 configuration with a door for greater privacy.
Forty per cent more storage space is being claimed by BA, including a vanity unit and mirror. The suites will have Wi-Fi, 18.5-inch in-flight entertainment screens, high definition gate-to-gate programming and PC/USB power ports.
The three-class A350 will feature the latest World Traveller Plus cabin with 56 seats including new pillows, quilts, amenity kits, enhanced service and improved dining.
The 219-seat economy cabin will feature high-speed Wi-Fi, allowing travellers to browse the internet on their personal electronic devices.
The first A350 aircraft will start short-haul flying between London and Madrid to allow staffd to perfect their customer service delivery and familiarise cabin crew with the aircraft layout.
The aircraft will begin long-haul flying from October 1. During this period another three A350s will join the fleet and two Boeing 777s will also be retrofitted with the new cabin.
The Club Suite will start being introduced to other long-haul aircraft across the network from 2020.
BA chairman and chief executive Alex Cruz said: “The arrival of our first A350 featuring our new Club Suite is one of the most exciting developments in our £6.5 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.
“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.”
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