British Airways upgrades business class cabins

Travelers flying in British Airway’s Club World cabin can soon look forward to more comfortable seats, as the UK-based airline begins reconfiguring their cabins on long-haul routes. The first flyers to benefit from the new seats are those in Australia, where the improved seats were introduced on August 30, 2007. Approximately half of BA’s Boeing 747 aircraft have already been redesigned to include the new seats and other planes (such as the Boeing 777) will shortly follow suit. All Boeing 747 airplanes servicing the Sydney-Heathrow route (which also passes through Bangkok) will be equipped with these new seats by December. Passengers traveling from Heathrow to Singapore can expect to enjoy these improved seats in early 2008. According to Roger Burr, BA’s sales manager in Australia, the 21st century business traveler is looking for flexibility, privacy and comfort in their in-flight experience and BA’s new seats offer all of these qualities.

The main benefit of the redesigned seats is that they are about 25% wider than those currently offered in Club World. In addition, passengers may now enjoy more privacy and increased storage space as well. The in-flight entertainment system has also been improved, according to the airline’s own reports, with the installation of new, 10 inch monitors. A special laptop locker is also likely to be greatly appreciated by businesspeople. BA has a long reputation of offering innovative seats in their business class. The British carrier was the first to offer flatbed seats, which were introduced in 2000. Most major international airlines have since followed suit.

www.britishairways.com