British Airways has unveiled its new first class seat for the Airbus A380, to debut in ‘early’ 2026. The seat is based off of the Collins Aerospace RTX.
Credit: British Airways
BA keeps first class because the London Heathrow market is a premium one. It also lacks significant competition on many routes, and so they pack in large numbers of premium seats that are modest in their ambitions while offering a service that competes against U.S. airlines but lags that from Asian and Middle Eastern carriers that fly to London.
Credit: British Airways
Credit: British Airways
Here’s how they describe the new product:
The new seat is ultra-wide (36.5inches), with a bed length of 79inches, and features a multi-purpose ottoman and elegant stowable table, a 32-inch 4K TV screen, adjustable mood lighting including scenes such as ‘relax’, ‘dine’ and ‘cinema’. The seat can be adjusted with the touch of a button to find the perfect level of comfort and is located within a cocooned 60-inch curved wall for ultimate privacy, whilst still providing a spacious environment.
For customers travelling together in the centre of the cabin, the divider slides open to create a shared lounge space, and the stowable tables mean customers can enjoy ‘buddy dining’ in the seat with their travel companion.
The elegant curves throughout the cabin take inspiration from British Airways’ Concorde wings, giving a natural flow to the space and creating a welcoming environment. Customers can now simply wheel their luggage into their personal luggage space, making it even easier to settle in before their flight.
Elsewhere, the suite features an ambient light with an eye-catching design that subtly references the airline’s speedmarque and further nods to Concorde. The suite features window blinds, activated by buttons on the internal control panel for all three windows per seat. The soft panelling inside the seat also helps with acoustics and absorbing sound, which adds to the sense of being in a cocooned, private space. Customers can also use the seat’s brand-new ‘do not disturb’ functionality on its wireless control tablet, which notifies crew if they wish to maximise their rest on board.
From the photos, seat letters suggest four-abreast seating. I would guess 3 rows of 4, for 12 seats, although British Airways hasn’t shared the details. The doors are higher than standard business class doors, and the seats are tasteful, but this still strikes me as an elevated business class, and certainly an evolution on BA’s current product rather than something to rival Emirates, Singapore or (due to soft product limitations) Air France.
Given the product’s modest ambitions, British Airways defines their category of comparison carefully stating they’re “the only European carrier to offer First class from London to the US.” In other words, if you’re flying in and out of London on a European airline and doing so non-stop, does it really matter?
Concorde design, my foot.
Concorde’s seats were much narrower. The plane that most resembles the Concorde is the Embraer 190. The CRJ700 is somewhat similar to the Concorde’s cabin.
The best way to fly JFK-LHR is to take the daytime flight.
Yes, London is a premium market but I suspect there are certain people who fly first-class on other people’s money (including a company or client). Emirates is probably viewed as too extravagant for billing purposes whereas British Airways doesn’t raise as much of an eyebrow. Of course, those who use their own money probably fly other airlines. The Duke of Sussex favors American Airlines.