British Airways has retrofitted the first of 12 Boeing 787-8 aircraft with its Club Suite business class product.
Aircraft registration G-ZBJA now features 31 Club Suites in a 1-2-1 layout (the odd number comes from the fact that row 5 has just one seat due to the position of the galley and toilets), as well as 37 World Traveller Plus (premium economy) seats and 136 World Traveller (economy) seats.
The total capacity of the aircraft has decreased from 214 to 204 seats – business class has gone from 35 of the old Club World seats to 31 Club Suites, while premium economy has increased from 25 to 37 seats, and economy has decreased from 154 to 136 seats.
A behind-the-scenes YouTube video of the 787-8 retrofit can be seen below.
British Airways launched the Club Suite in March 2019, and has gradually been rolling out the product across its long-haul fleet.
The carrier’s Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft came line-fitted with the Club Suite, and the majority of BA’s 777-300ERs have been retrofitted, along with 28 of the airline’s 777-200ERs.
This leaves the 787-8s (work on which has now commenced), the 787-9s, and BA’s fleet of 12 A380 superjumbos.
Features of the Club Suite include a sliding privacy door, a 79-inch fully flat bed, 40 per cent more storage than the seat it replaces, an IFE screen measuring between 17 and 18.5 inches depending on the aircraft, and PC / USB power ports.
For our review of the product on an A350-1000 flight between Heathrow and Dubai, see:
Flight review: British Airways A350-1000 Club Suite business class
