British Airways this month plans to debut its new first-class seat on flights between New York and London, as the carrier embarks on its first full revamp of its front-most cabin in 12 years.
BA is investing £100 million to place the new first-class seats on 73 airplanes in the course of about two years. The carrier will feature the new cabin on all long-haul aircraft that currently offer first class, six new Boeing 777-300s coming this summer and, once delivered, Airbus 380 and Boeing 787 aircraft, though BA engineers will modify the design to fit those aircraft.
BA opted against the first-class suite concept pioneered by Emirates and Singapore Airlines, choosing instead to follow the herringbone pattern familiar to current first-class customers. "What our customers have told us loud and clear is they like what they get, but they want us to move it on," said British Airways head of customer experience Mark Hassell. "Some of our competitors have got cabins where you shut the doors and others have first-class seats that are very, very open. Privacy has always been important to our customers, but what they don't want is to be shut away. They don't want to feel isolated."
BA product development manager Richard D'Cruze said the new design represents an "evolution, not revolution" of its current offering&x2014;with a number of enhancements, including 50 percent more lie-flat bed space, 16 percent more shoulder space and an updated Thales inflight entertainment system with a 15.4-inch screen controlled by touch-screen command or a remote. Each seat also has a built-in wardrobe that can hold a suit jacket and shoes and other enhancements beyond the seat, including cabin-wide LED mood lighting.
British Airways' commitment to first class came into question last year upon discovery that none of its four long-haul Boeing 777-200 deliveries were outfitted with first class
(EuroBTN, May 29, 2009). "There are some markets&x2014;as indeed is the case today&x2014;where first class is not appropriate," Hassell said, noting that BA's commitment to first class upgrades had been tested and ultimately confirmed.
"We started the new first-class project around November of 2007, so it's been going on for a while," Hassell said. "Those were different times. Like everything else, this has had to be pressure-tested. We had a number of times when we reviewed this, and each time we were tested by the business to demonstrate the ‘why now?' question. Our belief is first class is important to the company, and there's not just an emotional link to it, but it is what people expect from British Airways. There's also recognition that 12 years has done us really well, but if we're in the game, then we do need to move it on and invest in the future."
Hassell said another element that moved forward the carrier's decision to advance its first-class plans was the installation of its newest Club World seat, which the carrier began in 2006 and completed in the past month. "When you have such a compelling Club World offering, you need a similarly compelling first product," Hassell said. "If we're in both cabins&x2014;which we are&x2014;we needed to raise our game in first class."
Though Hassell counts among competitors the usual crop of commercial carriers with which BA battles in long-haul premium markets, he also pointed to the potential of customers who are trading down from business aviation aircraft.
"A lot of our competitive set I think you need to consider coming from the executive jet market," Hassell said. "There is an argument that says, given the environment we've been going through, that people don't necessarily want to be seen on executive jets. Therefore, that is a market that is perhaps coming back to the airline industry that we're very keen to ensure that we get."