Which British Airways planes have the new Club Suite?

Flying business class on a long-haul BA flight means you’ll be sat in either the Club World seat or the Club Suite. Find out what the difference is, and how to spot if you’re on the old or the new style business class seat.

When did the Club Suite launch?

In 2019 British Airways launched a brand new business class seat, the Club Suite. It was a significant step up from the previous generation of seat as every seat had aisle access (so no climbing over fellow passengers) and a privacy door. Upgrades to the screen size, and more storage and surfaces, made it a seat fit for today, and the future. It wasn’t quite up there with Emirates, nor is it as good as the Qatar Q-suite, but it’s close. And overall a very good business class seat.

In August 2019 BA took delivery of it’s first A350-1000 aircraft and this was the launch type for the new seats. It was brought onto the Toronto, Tel Aviv, Bangalore and Dubai routes. I was on one of the first flights for this aircraft, travelling from Heathrow to Dubai, and it was an exciting experience. Having sat in the original Club World seat the Club Suite was better in every possible way. It felt more spacious, easier to sleep in and the increased storage space and tables/surfaces made flying more enjoyable.

BA’s plans to rollout the Club Suite were put on hold during COVID. Their ambition was to have all of their long-haul fleet fitted with the new seat by the end of 2025, but the challenges of a global pandemic, the grounding of their fleet and the uncertainty about the future meant that upgrades ground to a halt.

The aviation sector is now in a much healthier position and the work to upgrade planes to the new Club Suite was restarted and is progressing well. The new plan is to have all long-haul aircraft with this new seat by the end of 2026, which if achieved is a good turnaround considering how badly COVID impacted the rollout.

The biggest challenge to the rollout is the A380, an aircraft which still features the old Club World in great numbers. There are 97 Club World seats on an A380.

I was about three years into my relationship with Avios when BA launched the new Club Suite. At the stage all I had experiened in terms of business class was the older Club World seat. Getting on board one of the earliest flights, and sitting in 1A, was hugely exciting. Now the idea of being in the old seat makes me shudder.

The Club Suite was a long time coming. The Club World seat launched in 2000, at the time it was the first lie-flat Business Class seat. The seat design was tweaked in 2006. In the thirteen year gap between CW and CS other airlines caught up, especially Middle Eastern airlines like Qatar, Etihad and Emirates. What didn’t really change was the transatlantic market, the most lucrative route being the NYC airports to Heathrow. That lack of innovation on those routes meant that BA wasn’t under as much pressure to innovate.

What was unique about the oldest Club World seat was that it was formulated in-house at BA. In fact that was the original route they took with the new Club Suite. They ended up doing what most airlines do: customising an off-the shelf seat design, namely the “Super Diamond” suite.

What was wrong with the old Club World seat?

The biggest issue with the older long-haul business class seats was the lack of aisle access for almost all window seats and some middle-seats. That meant stepping over another passenger, and potentially waking them up. It was an awkward experience. Food and drink for some passengers had to be passed over others. It didn’t feel luxurious.

The seats also felt tight, and the process of turning them into a bed was also awkward. There was a lack of storage. The TV screen was small, and the touchscreen was more of a stab-hard-with-your-finger screen.

Having said all of that I have fond memories of the upper deck of the 747. There were just 20 seats up there, with two toilets. It felt private, even more so than the club suite, and that plane is sadly missed.

What do you get in the BA Club Suite?

A lay-flat seat operated digitally, via the controls close to the seat or the remote control. The bed extends to 6ft 6in (198cm).
An 18.5-inch touchscreen, not the biggest screen in the sky but certainly big enough.
A universal power socket, suitable for UK, US and European-style plugs
A vanity cupboard (including a mirror) that will have your amenity kit in it when you board.
A shallow storage area suitable for a mobile phone or a book, at chest height
A deeper storage area suitable for a laptop, or snacks, at chest height.
Both of those storage areas shut to create a flat surface
A deep, smaller storage area at knee height, suitable for your shoes, or a bottle of water
A tray table that comes forwards from underneath the TV and folds out, allowing you to create a small table suitable for drinks or snacks, or even a laptop, and then a much larger table for dining
A small LED light for reading
A door to the suite that closes, although you often have to request the cabin crew to unlock the closing mechanism

How good is the Club Suite for sleeping?

When extended into bed mode, and the mattress topper is added to the seat, it’s possible to have a really good nights sleep in a Club Suite. I’m 5ft 10in and it feels spacious vertically. I’m also a side sleeper, and although I do need to move around to find a comfortable position, I’ve had some surprisingly good naps in this seat.

When it comes to sleeping, the biggest issue for me is not the seat, it’s the length of the flight. Flying back from Singapore, or the US West Coast, there’s plenty of time to dine, relax and then sleep. Coming back from the US East Coast, or the Middle East, your chances of getting a good seven hours are limited not by the seat, but by the flight time.

BA no longer offer complimentary pyjamas on their long haul Business Class (First class retains this perk) so if you’re looking to make the most of the Club Suite for sleeping then pack some to change into, and remember that the toilets in business class and first on BA are the same tiny cubicles that you get in economy.

Which BA planes now have the Club Suite on them

At the time of writing (June-2024) this is a list of the plane types that have the Club Suite, ranked in the order of likelihood that you’ll get the new suite.

A350-1000 – All eighteen planes have the new Club Suite
787-10 – All seven planes have the new Club Suite
777-200 (From Heathrow) – Twenty-eight planes have the upgrade Club Suite
777-300 – Thirteen planes have the Club Suite

And these plane types will ONLY have the old Club World seat

A380 (Expected to all have the new Club Suite added in 2026, based on IAG announcement in 2023)
787-8 (Expected by 2026 at the latest)
787-9 (Expected by 2026 at the latest)
777-200 (Gatwick) – (Unknown when it will be fitted)