What I Liked
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The seat flattens out to a bed
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Fantastic food. One of my best experiences on a flight
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Wide variety of drinks
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Good service
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White Company bedding was really nice
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Nice Amenity Kit
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I flew in British Airways Business Class from London to Los Angeles. It was an 11 hour flight. For the most part, it was decent.
British Airways have two types of long haul business class seats. This flight had the older style of seat. With eight seats across in the cabin! So called ‘yin-yang’ seats. The other seat is the newer Club Suite. Which is more spacious and has a privacy door.
My flight to LA was a mixed picture. Let’s start with the good! The seat flattens out to a bed. The food and drinks were terrific. I also liked the amenity kit from The White Company.
The bad comes from the seat. Which is definitely dated. It lacks privacy. The bed is narrow. Also, you can’t use the TV during take off or landing.
When I saw the seating plan for my flight, I was upset to begin with. Eight seats across – yikes! However, I then realised I’d have the chance to review the ‘yin-yang’ seat for my website. So I found my silver lining! Now I’ve done the review, I hope that I always get the newer club suite!
I made sure to take loads of photos. So you’ll know exactly what to expect when you fly. All of the photos can be clicked, to open out the full slideshow.
You can book tickets to British Airways Business Class from this page. It contains of the latest and best British Airways deals. So I would always check here first.
British Airways Business Class Tickets can be booked here. This page contains the best deals to each destination.
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The British Museum is possibly the greatest collection of artefacts in one place. It’s also free to enter. Exhibits include the Lewis Chessmen, Pantheon Marbles and the Rosetta Stone.
London’s theatre district is amazing. You can also get great deals. Book your tickets here. Many shows can be booked for under £15. Get Hamilton tickets for £23.
Book a Harry Potter Guided Tour of London for only £15. The tour is rated 5* from over 4,000 reviews. There's a lot of Harry Potter fans!
Virgin Balloons are the only hot air balloon operator that are nationwide. They operate from over 100 launch sites in the UK. I did this with my wife for her birthday, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. They provide bubbly upon landing.
The British Airways Business Class cabin was large. With seven rows of eight seats across. 56 seats in total. Thankfully, the cabin wasn’t full. There were a few empty seats.
With such large cabins, the service can feel impersonal. That was true for this flight. The cabin crew had so many people to serve. So personal service becomes very difficult.
There’s eight seats in each row of business class. With four seats in the middle. And two seats on either side. Frankly, that number of seats feels like an economy class layout! Of the eight seats in each row, only four have aisle access.
This configuration was fine for me. I was travelling with my family. We had four seats in the centre. I was next to the aisle. My wife and daughter were in the middle. The two middle seats were right next to each other. Not great if you’re next to a stranger! But nice for families.
I was sat in 10E. Next to the aisle. British Airways call their business class Club World. The Club Word seat has the following features
The seat reclines to fully flat bed. British Airways were the first airline to have a flat bed in business class. It was introduced in 1998.
The seat is narrow. Not surprising as there’s eight seats in each row. There’s a definite lack of privacy. I eyeballed each cabin crew member as they came by!
There’s a foot stool at the end of the seat. When you recline the seat to a bed. The footstool becomes the end of your bed.
There’s a tiny storage compartment next to your seat. It stored a bottle of water and the amenity kit.
The Club Word seat on this flight is vastly inferior to the newer seat. The newer seat is called the Club Suite. The Club Suites have four seats per row. Every seat has aisle access. There’s a door for privacy. This link has a review of a recent Club Suite flight. I had an excellent flight, with tasty food and premium alcohol.
Is there a way to guarantee that you’ll get the new Club Suite? Sadly not. When you book the flight, go to the seat plan. If you see four seats per row, then you have the new Club Suite. Lucky you! If you see eight seats, then you’ve got the older seat.
Also note that British Airways flights from Gatwick all have the older Club World seats. Gatwick serves leisure destinations, where there’s less competition. So British Airways are happy to fly you in their older seat.
After dinner, I turned on the TV. I tried to watch a film for 30 minutes. But I was just too tired. I decided that I wanted to sleep.
I’d been up since 4am. I had just three hours sleep the night before! I made the bed by pressing the button and reclining the seat. And by taking out the blanket and pillow.
The bed is long and narrow. I slept for 3 hours before my son woke me up. The bed was pretty nice and firm. The cabin was cool, which helps.
The business class bedding is by The White Company. It was soft, fluffy and comfortable.
The food on this flight was excellent. One of the best meal services that I’ve had in business class. The meal service began about 1.5 hours after take off. The starter options were as follows:
The main meal was a choice of
I’d pre ordered a veggie meal (don’t judge!). So I didn’t get a choice. My starter was a beetroot salad. Really good. There was cooked beetroot, feta cheese and lettuce. Served with a warm roll.
The main meal was the vegetarian pasta. Also very tasty. The pasta was filled will cheese. The sauce was rich.
For dessert, I had a chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. It was as good as it sounds. Like a mousse.
During the flight, British Airways laid out some snacks in the galley area. These are help yourself snacks. Nuts, Lindt chocolates, popcorn, drinks and more. They call this The Club Kitchen. I raided it a couple of times for my kids.
On a previous flight, the Club Kitchen had the most beautiful slices of almond cake. Individually wrapped in cling film. Like it was made at home. The cake was beautifully moist. Sadly, I’ve not seen the cake since then! I’m hopeful for a future flight!
The second meal was served 1.5 hours before landing. The starter was a choice of roast beef salad or a courgette salad.
Main course was a choice of
I had the courgette salad for starter. It was excellent. Serve cold. Fried courgettes with goats cheese and courgette cream. The cream was a delicious sauce.
For the main, I had the potato gnocchi. It was rich and indulgent. I liked it. It filled me up. Dessert was a berry panna cotta. Which was a light dish. I liked it too.
This is probably the best meal service I’ve had with British Airways.
I have uploaded the food menu below.
Before take off, I was offered a glass of champagne. Which I accepted. Naturally.
It wasn’t bad. I enjoyed it. I sometimes find cheaper champagne to be harsh. Not so on this occasion. British Airways serve Heidsieck Monopole in their Business Class. Waitrose sell it for £34 ($42).
After take off, I ordered a Single Malt Whisky. Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold. It was pretty good. It was served with mixed nuts. The drink was provided in a lovely whisky glass.
I don’t drink Whisky these days. The hangovers are too much. But I make an exception for flights.
After a couple of drinks. I began to feel dehydrated. So I stopped drinking alcohol at that point.
Later on, I had a chamomile tea. It was Twinings tea served with shortbread. It really hit the spot. I liked it.
Once I woke up from my sleep. I also had a peppermint tea and a green tea. I enjoyed them both.
The drinks menu is shown below.
The service was very good on this flight. I find British Airways service to be hit and miss. It used to be consistently excellent. With experienced and friendly crews.
However, British Airways have cut the salaries for the newer staff. And the quality has fallen. When I flew from London to Denver, the crew were very young. They didn’t like my kids at all.
On this occasion, the crew were good. An older lady was serving. She was very friendly and helpful.
British Airways provide an amenity kit by The White Company. It comes in a black leather bag. Very nice!
It had the following items:
The kit is lovely. However, for the first time I didn’t take it home. I have so many of these bags already!
There was a small TV screen. It pops out of the side. You’re not allowed to watch during take off and landing. There’s a risk that the TV screen will swing and smack you in the face.
The quality and the size of the screen isn’t great. The TV screen on the new Club Suite is much bigger and better.
The range of entertainment options was excellent. As it always is with British Airways. Lots of English and International options. Lots of kids TV too. My daughter didn’t speak to me all flight!
My experience with British Airways Business Class was a mixed bag. From the sublime to the ridiculous!
The food was fantastic. Some of the best food I’ve had as a veggie, on a flight. The service was good, the drinks were nice and I loved the amenity kit bag. However, the Club World seat is pretty disappointing. It’s extremely narrow, with eight seats in each row. And the seats lack privacy.
I wrote a complete guide to British Airways Club Europe. Their short haul business class. The seat isn’t great, but I love Club Europe. With champagne on tap, lounge access and extra baggage allowance. In the article, I explain how to book return tickets for £200.
I reviewed Virgin Atlantic Business Class. I flew from London to Mumbai. The seat reclined to a fully flat bed, the food was nice and the crew were friendly. On the flip side, the afternoon tea was awful!
I reviewed the British Airways Business Class lounge in Heathrow Terminal Five - North. One of three BA business class lounges in terminal five. The lounge is lovely and bright, with floor to ceiling windows. And great runway views. The lounge has a lovely design and it serves premium alcohol.