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British Airways has today, Monday 5 March 2018, unveiled images of its refurbished Boeing 777-200 aircraft which will operate on all long-haul routes at London Gatwick from the end of 2019.
BA took delivery of its first refurbished aircraft last week. It features an entirely new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabin. The first routes to operate the new cabin are Punta Cana, Cancun and Kingston. Please see here for full details of the expected routes for 2019.
When BA first announced the plan to densify its Boeing 777 fleet it said that 12 aircraft would be refurbished. BA has said today that 6 aircraft will be refurbished by the end of October 2018. The refurbishment will continue in 2019.
Quick Links
World Traveller – Economy
This biggest change is in World Traveller, and this is the reason why details of the new cabin are so eagerly awaited.
The new World Traveller cabin is now 10 seats across in a 3-4-3 configuration. BA has tried to soften the blow by emphasising improved in-flight entertainment with a larger 10″ screen, USB power and moveable arm rests. However, fundamentally this refurbishment is driven by a desire to increase seats and have a lower seat cost than Norwegian at London Gatwick.
BA also say that the new World Traveller seat will be installed on some Heathrow based Boeing 777 aircraft from autumn 2019.
World Traveller Plus – Premium Economy
The World Traveller Plus cabin has been increased from 24 to 52 seats.
What is noteworthy is that BA has introduced an entirely new seat. This means BA has now 3 different World Traveller Plus seats. The original World Traveller Plus seat (which the new seat replaces) on Boeing 747 and many 777 aircraft; the second World Traveller Plus seat introduced in 2010 (pictured below) that features on many Boeing 777 and all Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 aircraft.
Whilst World Traveller Plus retains its 2-4-2 configuration and the seat appears to have many features of the 2010 World Traveller Plus seat such as the shared cocktail table, adjustable head rest, a leg rest, and USB and three pin power sockets.
BA has not provided any details of the dimensions of the new seat – and the original plan was to increase the cabin size to 42 seats. The 2010 seat is noteworthy for offering a quite deep recline, which can be a bit too deep for some passengers.
The one point we would make is that, for World Traveller Plus, 52 seats is a large cabin and it does lose its “demi-cabin” feel as a consequence.
BA also say that the new World Traveller Plus seat will be installed on some Heathrow based Boeing 777 aircraft from autumn 2019.. BA has since updated its original press release, it is the new World Traveller seat will be installed on Heathrow aircraft.
Club World – Business Class
The Club World cabin has been reduced from 40 to 32 seats. The cabin features the same seat that BA introduced in 2006. However, the in-flight entertainment system has been upgraded.
Inflight Connectivity and Entertainment
The aircraft features an entirely new Panasonic in-flight entertainment system. This should offer a lot of content and be very fast and responsive.
There is no mention of WiFi. It seems that the installation of WiFi is being carried out separately and no refurbished aircraft currently feature WiFi.
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Well the aisle cannot be smaller so the seats must be incrediblely smaller in World Traveller(Cattle Class)
Looks like we are travelling in new configuration to Orlando on May 9th. Will let you know thoughts on WTPlus. Are there dedicated loos for WTP if not needing one at short notice will be worse than ever!!!!
This new aeroplane must be extremely cramped and not good for your health
bad idea to cram and reduce comfort legroom and reclining. Like trying to get to the loo inside a can of sardines. we flew to glasgow scotland on american airlines and vowed to go BA to london instead because AA was too cramped for a 10.5 hour flight..Now it sounds to me like my fav BA is sucking up to the canned sardine mental bandwagon as well. More seats for the pound good news for market investors bad news for the lower and middle class average working class Joes and Josies. WELL suck it up customers, the pocket book overrides the need for comfort. Come fly with us in our overcrammed can of sardines….your back will need a spinal fusion when you get to your destination, we hope you have top grade medical coverage. Um…..Nope! I really would hope the almighty buck or pound would not succeed the need for c9mfort and a bit of breathing room. My son is 6 ft with long legs…AA was a joke…Im short and My legs were cramped. Ok for a few hours but…when yourknees are hitting the back side of the seat in front of you all in the name of airline making a few million bucks in exchange for infringing on my comfort and health, it is Criminal! BA…dont do what AA did. Its not worth it. I will be very disappointed if you Stoop to that level of arrogance. Heck there was a time in my life where AA was superior..the Bomb (no pun.), but now I no longer hold my AA in such status…now B rated and Hated. Shame. I bragged and boasted how superior you were for long haul, and now you are shining the brass but reducing the comfort for my axx. I will have to break up with you if you compromise on comfort. aka downgrade comfort for free 1hr wifi and shiney new toilet seats and an extra bag of crisps…Nope sorry Honay..not ever. Dont do it. Just Dont! I want my legroom I want my seat room…I dont want to perform acrobatic maneuvers just to get out of my seat and down the isle everytime I have to pee! Moo moo moo!
BA, if as I read above your seats are being reduced in size and comfort, I will not be booking any more flights with you sadly! Comfort is paramount, especially on long haul flights. You try keeping people with long legs, bad backs, small children etc comfortable in these situations!
Accept slightly lower profits, give bigger seats, and get amazing customer feedback……or you will go out of business! You’re warned!