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It’s almost 20 years since British Airways introduced its premium economy cabin, World Traveller Plus.
It has become increasingly popular in recent years, partly due to greater awareness, proactive upselling to economy passengers, and companies revising their corporate travel policies.
Whilst the cabin design has changed radically since its original inception (though you will still find the original seat on Boeing 747 and many Boeing 777-200 aircraft), the service itself has always been a slight variant of World Traveller economy.
Initially, partly due to cabin crew industrial relations, there was barely any difference. Over time, extra items such as pre-departure drinks, hot towels and a main course from the Club World menu have been added.
BA is this year launching an entirely new catering service with a dedicated menu for World Traveller Plus from February 2019.
In terms of the first meal service, the main changes appear to be largely presentational. There are new larger printed menus, a dedicated starter and dessert, all served on china.
The biggest, and most needed improvement, is to the second meal service. BA is now guaranteeing a hot option on all flights. This will be a snack on shorter flights and a meal on longer range flights. This will be welcome, particularly on shorter night flights, where the existing offering can be quite limited.
Further changes to in-flight amenities are expected later this year.
Here are official images from BA, with a “before” image for comparison.
In terms of other changes to World Traveller Plus, BA is progressively adding a new seat to Gatwick based Boeing 777s and should begin refurbishing Heathrow based Boeing 777-200s from later this year.
As with any change at BA, post-flight survey scores will be monitored very closely to track customer reaction, so do make your views known.
Please see here for our guide to World Traveller Plus and here for what else to expect from BA in 2019.
