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The new British Airways Club World washbag is here

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British Airways launched a new Club World washbag in late November, although I haven’t yet seen one in the flesh. 

I have managed to find a picture courtesy of reader Carlo however:

20140107-095430.jpg

As you can see, the old zip bag has been replaced with a shoebag-like thing!  Albeit that it is too small to actually contain your shoes, so you won’t actually be able to recycle it that way ….

BA has gone back to the separate male and female washbags of a few years ago.  The male version now contains a (cheap) plastic razor, a very small tube of toothpaste, a pen and some Elemis toiletries.  I’m not sure, apart from the razor, what is different in the female version.

I was told that the male / female split is based on BA’s overall average and NOT the number of men and women actually booked on each flight, with ZERO spares available if the flight is full!

Interestingly – and something which has caused some annoyance – the eye shades and ear plugs have been removed.  These are, however, still available on request.  I find it hard to believe that more men want to have a shave onboard rather than want a pair of eye shades, but there you are.

The addition of the pen is useful, as they are often needed for immigration and customs forms.  Even if you brought one with you, it is usually in your jacket pocket which is now in a wardrobe somewhere onboard.

To be honest, I have got rather ambivalent over washbags in recent years.  Many airlines either bring around a tray of items from which you can select what you want, or have a large number of items available in the toilets for you to take.  I am more than happy to take useful items (and I always use the Elemis toiletries at some point) but I still find myself throwing away a lot of the contents each time I receive one.  I have never used earplugs in my life, for instance!

Next job BA …. Can you get started on fixing the crazy sizing of the First Class pyjamas …?!


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Comments (27)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Raffles says:

    Picture replaced by an accurate one, thanks Carlo

  • CV says:

    Do they give this out on all Club flights (not a great loss if they don’t)? Reason I ask is that a few years ago Emirates stopped giving out washbags on daytime flights and restricted their issue to night time flights over a certain duration, however theirs is a proper washbag.

    • Rob says:

      Yes, I have always got them on daytime CW flights.

      The stuff mounts up. The kids get one too so we end up with 8 bags per return trip. Keeps me in moisturiser if nothing else …..

      We didn’t get anything on our Emirates flight from Dubai in November, a day flight. No great loss.

      • Jamie says:

        Our kids didn’t get any. It was my first time in BA business, and assumed they might have something special for the kids (like BMI used to have even in economy). The kids didn’t get anything and I didn’t get around to asking. All being equal I would’ve liked the extra toiletries, since they are actually good enough to use, but it wasn’t a big enough deal to specifically ask for them on a full prechristmas overnight flight.

  • red says:

    The new washbag is probably the cheapest looking I’ve ever seen (well, on a reputable airline). Can’t believe they have removed the ear plugs. Yes, they’re available on request, but it always take the crew half an hour before they bring, so I have to wait rather than sleep.

    Would rather have the razor available on request as I’ve never seen anyone shaving on an airplane.

    • Andrew says:

      It does at least look better than the paper envelope that Finnair give out!

  • Señor Whippy says:

    I flew Club from SAN a few days ago and was disappointed on receiving a wash bag which looked like it should contain a kiddie’s chocolate bar Christmas selection pack. Not having ear defenders or an eye mask shows the poor quality of this new wash bag issue. There should be some aftershave or perfume included and antiseptic handgel would be a bonus. I would imagine less than 10% of men actually use the free razor on-board: if you were planning to use one, you would take your own, surely?

    • Will says:

      How would you get it through security

      • Alan says:

        I’ve previously brought (decent) disposable razors through security previously. More to the point what’s the use of them giving you the cheapo one in the bag without some shaving gel? Hyatt gave me a nice can of shaving foam that fits within the carry-on liquids bag so I’ve been carrying that recently!

  • Brussel Sprout says:

    I was similarly sceptical but found it great from taking an Ipad and other sundries down to the beach…

  • Fred says:

    I got this yesterday and also thought it could be useful to carry small electronics.

  • Phil says:

    Just returned from seattle club world, was on a skiing trip and after a few days growth decided to use the razor,
    I’d have been better off trying to shave with a spoon !!!!!!
    As first experiance of business class can say that neither my wife nor i were impressed with the content of the bags.

  • cmcbugg says:

    It’s good for the beach at least.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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