Is the new British Airways Club World business class seat the old Emirates seat?

2019 is now approaching, and with it the arrival of the first British Airways A350 which will feature the new Club World seat.

Whilst BA has filed a number of patents showing various designs, you shouldn’t read much into this.  Patents are filed all the time whenever someone has a workable idea and it doesn’t mean they will ever be used.  The only thing we know for certain is that all seats will have direct aisle access.

Cabin crew website paddleyourownkanoo is claiming, from apparently two separate sources, that British Airways has now abandoned the idea of developing a new seat in-house.

More surprisingly, it claims that both sources have confirmed that BA has settled on the Emirates A380 seat – a seat which first flew in 2005.

The obvious flaw in this story is that Emirates only uses the seat on its A380 aircraft.  It has never been retrofitted onto its Boeing 777 fleet, which implies that it doesn’t fit.  Even now, the new Emirates Boeing 777 business class seat bears no relation to the A380 version.

Let’s assume that BA has found a way, though.  It is not a crazy idea.  I have flown the Emirates version many times.  It is a surprisingly dense configuration which would appeal to BA, without actually feeling so dense because the seat walls are quite high.  You get a lot of personal space.  You get huge IFE screens.  You get a small private mini-bar at your seat.  You retain a middle pair, in some rows, for couples who want to be side by side.

The biggest oddity is the seat length.  To allow all passengers direct aisle access, the seats which are adjacent to the aisles are shorter than those directly by the window or in the middle pair.  This is to create a gap for the adjacent passenger to walk through.  Whenever we fly it, my kids go in the middle pair so they can be side by side (and get the longer seat) whilst all 6’2′ of me gets the shorter seat adjacent to the aisle.

The full article is here if you want to check it out but don’t take it too seriously.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2023)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.