BA100: 22. First Class

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This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

The Origins Of First Class

First Class, in name at least, dates back to 1924 and the establishment of Imperial Airways.

It was at first the only class of travel, with Imperial Airways introducing second class in 1927. Of course, even with the Silver Wing service from London to Paris, also launched in 1927, First Class was far removed from what passengers expect today.

In 1966, British European Airways launched a “Sovereign” First Class on selected short haul routes.

First Class was removed from short-haul aircraft in the early 1980s and it was only from the late 1970s did it start to evolve into the cabins we have today on long-haul aircraft.

BOAC First Class

Here is an undated picture of First Class on a BOAC aircraft flying between Japan and London.

In the absence of in flight entertainment the emphasis was very much on food, with an impressive at seat catering service.

Crown First Class

In the early 1980s, BA introduced Sleeper Seats to what was then known as Crown First Class with a 62″ pitch that reclined to a near horizontal position.

1989 First Class Revamp

In 1989, BA invested $40 million in First Class, with an emphasis on improved service and catering.

Individual video players and dining on demand were introduced for the first time. Passengers were also promised redesigned cabin interiors, improved sleeper seats and an enhanced wine selection.

First Class Becomes FIRST

The most significant change came in 1995 when BA introduced a new and radically different seat.

Designed by yacht interior specialists, this seat was a herringbone design. It was the first fully horizontal flat bed on any commercial airline.

The most significant aspect of this cabin was that BA went from merely offering a seat to a flexible space that could easily be adapted to meet passenger needs such as working, sleeping or dining with a partner. This seat also offered much greater privacy as 10 of the 14 seats faced towards the window. First Class was also rebranded as simply FIRST. This was a time when BA could genuinely claim to be a market leader in First Class.

In January 2001, the First Class cabin interior was redesigned by Kelly Hoppen MBE to give the cabin a more homely feel. This cabin also featured in the James Bond film Die Another Day.

BA also started to use the First Class cabin to showcase brands such as Wedgwood, Anya Hindmarch and Kiehl’s. More recently, BA has worked with brands such as Dartington, Liberty, Meridian Audio, Studio William and Temperley London.

It was also at this point BA started to remove First Class from many routes, with the cabin removed from Boeing 767 aircraft. Many Boeing 777-200 aircraft do not offer First Class.

The cabin has since been revamped with a new seats introduced on Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft. These have introduced evolutionary changes such as improved privacy, better storage, in-flight entertainments and at seat controls. BA has eschewed fully enclosed cabins introduced by airlines such as Singapore Airlines.

Whilst First Class is, since the withdrawal of Concorde, the flagship BA brand, it is not been immune from cut backs due to pressure on budgets. Like other BA cabins, it has gone through cycles of cut backs and reinvestment.

The Future of First Class

Whilst many airlines have withdrawn First Class altogether, BA looks set to retain the cabin, albeit on fewer routes and with fewer seats.

New Airbus A350-1000 aircraft do not feature First Class. As these are replacing Boeing 747 aircraft this inevitably means that First Class will come off some routes. Boeing 777-200 aircraft are also being reconfigured to reduce the number of First seats from 14 to 8. Future deliveries of Boeing 787-10 and 777-9 aircraft feature First Class.

The cabin does serve a purpose in offering an “aspirational reward” to members of the Executive Club and incentives for corporate customers such as complimentary upgrades to First Class on certain types of tickets.

The evolution of the cabin has also shown that, for the most part, what comes to First Class, will soon come to business class.

Services such as pre-flight dining, sleeper services, sleeper seats and fully flat beds were subsequently introduced in Club World. The one exception for BA is dining-on-demand for which the Club World cabin is simply too big on most aircraft.

You can continue reading our 100 part series on the history of British Airways and its predecessor airlines Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA in numerical order, by theme or by decade.

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