British Airways joins the Airbus A350 operators club, with the airline taking delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 a day late, and currently being revieled to the press in London today.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 taking off – Image, Airbus
G-XWBA will be the first of 18 A350-1000 to join the British Airways long haul fleet
The first routes this aircraft will serve will be Dubai, followed by Toronto.
The aircraft will be configured in a three-class configuration – with the new Club Suites making up the Business Class cabin (based on the Collins AeroSpace Super Diamond, World Traveller Plus making up the Premium Economy Cabin and World Traveller seats
The business class cabin will be laid out in a 1-2-1 formation – with British Airways finally abandoning the ying/yang seat layout that allowed them to squeeze in an up to eight-across business class cabin. The SuperDiamond is a very solid seat – with a lot of customisation for British Airways including… a door.
Club Suite 1-2-1 layout – Image, British Airways
Club Suite – Image, British Airways
As John Walton of Runway Girl would put it “If you liked it, you should had put a door on it…”. Panasonic Avionics 18.5″ IFE screens will be installed at seat, as well as USB Power and Laptop power outlets.
Moving into World Traveller plus, we have 56 Seats in a 2-4-2 formation. These are based off the current seats used in the World Traveller Plus upgrade that is being rolled out on the 777 fleet.
World Traveller Plus Seat – Image, British Airways. (And bonus points for getting the sharklet in)
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World Traveller Plus seats – Image, British Airways
Finally, World Traveller will be a product to target for the long haul flyer – as these will be delivered in the currently standard 3-3-3 configuration . As such, it will retain the airbus 18″ seat width comfort” – or more space to spread out in the back of the plane (compared to the 10 across Boeings the airline is rolling out).
The plane will offer gate-to-gate IFE, with the system powered by Panasonic Aerospace. There is Wi-Fi Connectivity on board too for those who need to be connected at 35,000ft.
Club Suite and and A350 rollout.
Delivery of the new Club Suite programme will take a little time, and has been split into three phases
- Phase 1- Commencing August- will involve the A350 shuttling between London and Madrid on some flights – giving a chance for the airline work on service delivery and cabin familiarisation
- Phase 2 – Commencing September will commence with the A350 serving Dubai, followed by services to Toronto, Tel Aviv and Bangalore. Another three A350-1000s will join the fleet. In addtion, Club Suite will start rolling out on two Boeing 777 aircraft.
- Phase 3- Start of 2020 – Roll-out of Club Suite on British Airways long haul network
In quotes
Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience said:
“We are delighted to welcome the first of our A350s to the fleet. This aircraft marks a significant and exciting milestone in our £6.5 billion investment programme and is even more special as it comes with our new Club Suite. The A350 is a fantastic aircraft and an excellent showpiece for British engineering. Our customers are going to love the space, light and comfort on board.”
A Comfort Step-change
For the passenger, the Airbus A350 was a step change in comfort (except for those who went 10 across), as it preserved the comfort of the A330, whilst adding more width, as well adding a brand new customer experience – which has been needed for Club World. Whilst there may be a lower business class density (indeed, some airlines are running four-class cabins with their A350-1000 aircraft), it seems this is the happy medium that British Airways has struck.
The proof in the pudding however – is eating it. This will be one to watch over the next month as British Airways introduces its new products to the skies.
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