British Airways has updated their Business Class (also known as Club World) product. I have flown their old product a number of times and always found it to be underwhelming. Fortunately they have a new product that is on par with other Business Class seats on other airlines.
A friend and I were going to be traveling to Europe. Using Google Flights, I was able to play around with dates and itineraries to find a Business Class paid ticket that was reasonably priced.
The ticket was round trip Seattle to Frankfurt with an 8 hour layover in London. We were able to double up discounts — 10% off with my friend’s British Airways Chase card and $200 off with an AARP membership. The total cost of the flight came out to $2,377.
Crediting the flights to Alaska Mileage Plan as an MVP, I was able to earn 27,500 redeemable miles of which 16,900 were elite qualifying miles for the round trip ticket. I value Alaska miles at about 1.5 cents, so the earned miles are worth $412.50 to me.
Airport Experience – SEA
British Airways has two departures a day out of Seattle: departing at 1:30pm and 7:40pm. We were on the earlier 1:30pm departure which gets into London at 6:50am. There is a dedicated check in line for Club World passengers and those with oneworld status.
If you don’t have CLEAR or TSA Pre✓, you do get access to a priority security line. Once through security, Business Class passengers have the option of visiting any of the Alaska Lounges or the British Airways Terraces lounge at the S Gates where the flight departs.
The lounge is quite dated but there are a few food items as well as alcohol available. I have heard that the lounge was to receive a renovation last year but that plan was either delayed or cancelled. When I visited back in 2016 I noted that it was dated then. Hopefully British will upgrade the lounge in the near future.
Flight
With my Ruby oneworld status I was able to select seat 14K a week prior to the flight.
There are two Club World sections on the plane — rows 5-11 and rows 12-16. The seats are laid out in 1-2-1 reverse herringbone.
All of the seats have doors that can be closed once in the air. The middle seats also have a divider that can be opened if you are traveling with someone.
Unless you are traveling with someone and want to be able to talk with them, the window seats are the better seats as you have windows.
Overall the seat feels very similar to many other reverse herringbone products, including Cathay Pacific. This is not a bad thing. They are private seats that lie flat.
There is a good amount of storage including a small cubby by your knee, two at arm level, and a small locker higher up. A screen just below the storage controlled the seat and reading light.
The forward storage has power outlets including standard USB and the remote for the inflight entertainment.
The screen is a nice size and there were a large number of movies and tv shows available. Unfortunately the inflight entertainment isn’t equipped with Bluetooth so you must use the provided headphones.
Provided at the seat was bedding (a pillow, blanket, and seat cover), headphones (basic with not much noise cancelation), bottle of water, and amenity kit.
The amenity kit was branded with The White Company. The zipper bag held the standard products: lotion, lip balm, a relaxation scent (?), eye mask, socks, dental kit and ear plugs.
On the aisle side of the seat there is an arm rest that can be moved up and down.
There is one overhead light per seat that can only be controlled by a button on the entertainment remote. Unfortunately there is no air nozzle so you are stuck with whatever temperature the cabin is set to (which I felt was slightly too warm).
I did set my seat up as a bed during the flight and managed to figure out how to close the door (there are two buttons you have to press from the outside — I think it is meant to be activated by the flight attendant but that never happened). In the photo below you can see the seat behind me has their door closed. The latch to close it can be seen on top of the “wall”.
Soon after getting settled in my seat before take off, the flight attendant brought around the menu and sparkling wine or orange juice.
Once airborne, the flight attendant took lunch orders.
I had the burrata, chicken, and cheesecake. The burrata was the highlight.
For breakfast I had the wrap.
I didn’t often see the flight attendants; except for food service they seemed to remain in the galley. There was a small snack area in the galley where you could help yourself during the flight.
Overall the British Airways Club World product is much improved. I also found the food to be an improvement over previous flights. The service was lackluster but that wasn’t surprising to me.
I would still prefer to book Aer Lingus or Finnair when traveling in a oneworld Business Class; if for no other reason than to avoid London Heathrow.
Still, British Airways finally has a competitive product that I would not hesitate to book again in the future.