AvGeek historians will remember that British Airways was the pioneer of fully lie-flat business class seats. In the early 2000s, we launched our groundbreaking fully-flat Club World seats across our long-haul fleet. Club World has been around for over 20 years. But in recent years, other airlines have moved ahead by introducing more competitive business class products.
I had a great time at the Club World “Classic” in 2017, but I was even more excited to try its successor, Club Suites. Over the past few years, BA has rolled out new suite-style seats on most of its long-haul aircraft in an effort to keep up with cutting-edge technology. On paper, it checks many of the boxes you want in a new seat, including universal direct aisle access, privacy doors, and new technology.
I flew Club Suite on a 777-200ER from London Heathrow to New York JFK. I can confirm that it delivers in most ways that matter.
Take a look at key details, including LHR’s ground experience, seat design, and in-flight service, through photos and videos. And don’t forget the usual window seat views.
British Airways’ Heathrow hub ground
Heathrow Airport is one of the happiest places I am at AvGeek. With airlines and numerous wide-body aircraft represented worldwide, this is a prime location for airplane detection. BA’s Terminal 5 only opened in 2008, but I think it’s maintained well for its age.
One end of the terminal check-in area is dedicated to premium cabin passengers.
I took the underground People Mover quickly to the 5B concourse and stopped by the gallery lounge there.
Frequent flyers agree that the 5B Gallery Lounge is generally quieter than the other two Gallery Lounges in 5A.
The food and drinks on offer were acceptable for an international lounge, but nothing to write home about.
There were some fun F&B partnerships, including a caffeine station provided by Union Coffee.
The Whispering Angel wine counter has not received much attention.
The Pimm’s Cup Counter has a pretty thick British feel, but I liked both the concept and the cocktails.
And the best part is that this lounge has the potential to spot your flight! Although it’s not right next to the window, you get a great view of the ramp. Unfortunately, from the lounge location, the terminal roof blocks the view of the sky.
Discover our suites
After having a snack, I headed to the gate and boarded the plane exactly on time.
This flight was operated by 777-200ER. BA operates this type of split fleet. Notably, the Heathrow-based subfleet is equipped with the Club Suite offering, while the Gatwick-based subfleet has retained its previous Club World seats. Below is the seat map for the aircraft I flew, provided by AeroLOPA. London is a premium market, so a surprising two-thirds of this flight is made up of premium cabins (including premium economy cabins for business).
I loved the club suite cabin decor. A variety of grays, dark blues, and metallic accents give it a luxurious, futuristic feel.
Compared to older Club World cabins, where certain seats were much better or worse than others, the Club Suite has a more consistent inverted herringbone layout. I chose a window seat on the left, above the wing of the main cabin.
The center seat of the cabin has a movable partition. So it’s a good choice if you’re traveling with other people, but it’s also not bad if you’re traveling alone.
The space next to the seat had a large table top and storage lockers.
The locker contained a water bottle and an amenity kit.
The entertainment screen looks like this:
Why make the seats suites? Of course it’s a door. As with other suite-style cabins, the door must be left open for takeoff and landing.
The flight attendants returned with pre-departure drinks, including champagne.
As always, the transfer from T5 to the runway was an incredible sight.
The video below shows some shots of the busy Heathrow ramp, taxiway traffic, take-off runways past all LHR terminals, and the beautiful climb heading west.
Suite service
When we did our cruise climb the crew got to work.
Take a look at the wines, cocktails and other beverages available on this flight.
I started working with Jinjing and tracked flights as they crisscrossed Ireland.
The meal plan for the flight was a main meal after takeoff, a snack before landing, and (in classic British style) tea time in between.
The meal started with a delicious tuna tonnato. Bonus points if you place items on the table instead of using a tray.
The Cornish chicken breast entree was simple, but I liked it.
The sticky toffee pudding felt like the most quintessential British dessert.
Overall it was a great meal. And the flight attendants were as friendly and proactive as possible.
In-flight entertainment
Club Suites boast large in-flight entertainment screens. BA’s entertainment system does the job, but shows its age in some areas. For example, the flight tracker wasn’t as clear as other airlines’ maps and didn’t include as many features.
There are plenty of movies and TV you can watch on the main screen or streaming directly to your device.
And each passenger is provided with noise-canceling headphones.
completely flat eye closure
Each Club Suite seat allows you to sit completely flat. The legroom is large and good.
The White Company provides BA’s business class bedding, which includes a mattress pad in addition to the usual pillows and blankets.
Although this was a daytime flight, the combination of bed and bedding allowed me to take a few hours of quality naps.
Take a quick look at the restrooms and amenities. Nothing to write home about.
snacks during flight
I wanted to do this flight as ‘BA’ as possible. So, along with English chips, I had to try the Speedbird OG beer that came back on the menu a few years ago. The name is, of course, a reference to the callsign of British Airways.
The pre-landing snack was very small and basic. It was a bulgar salad, a simple sandwich, and a muffin.
The sun was already setting by the time we started descending.
Even at night, the views down to New York City are unrivaled.
The eight hours aboard the Club Suite flew by!
verdict
There is no doubt that the Club Suite was a much-needed upgrade. The existing Club World seats had long and weak teeth compared to competitors. It’s old enough to be worth avoiding. The new Club Suite seats bring British Airways back to business class elite seating.
Biggest Strengths:
- The new seats are much wider than the old ones. Provides ample storage space and unobstructed universal aisle access. And the inverted herringbone layout means better consistency throughout the seat.
- Doors are a huge plus for privacy.
- Interior finishes and lighting are slick. This is a really nice cabin.
- BA offers a robust library of in-flight entertainment content.
- Service can vary greatly from flight to flight, so it is difficult to generalize. But for what it’s worth, the service on this flight was fantastic.
- BA is one of those airlines that guarantees a certain number of award seats on every flight.
There are a few drawbacks that come to mind.
- The meal before landing was small compared to the relatively long flight time.
- The IFE system interface was outdated, the screen froze a few times and the inflight map wasn’t very good.
- Britons are charged a hefty co-pay for award tickets. You would also have to pay a lot of money to reserve certain seats in advance. I know that airlines are increasingly trying to squeeze ancillary revenue even from premium cabin travelers, but I still didn’t like the system. However, some were still available, so I was able to snag a window seat for free upon check-in.
The ground experience was a mixed bag. I love Heathrow Airport, especially Terminal 5. The premium cabin check-in area was really nice. The lounge was okay, had some fun food/drink partnerships, but other than that it had pretty middling features.
If you’ve been to Club Suites or have thoughts on this story, please share them in the comments section below!
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