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Which 14 British Airways Boeing 777 routes will get Club Suite business class this Winter?

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Most of the attention over Club Suite, the new British Airways business class product, has focused on the new A350 fleet.  These aircraft are coming out of the factory with Club Suite installed.

Our ‘first look’ review of the new Club Suite seat is here if you missed it.

At the same, however, British Airways is launching a refurbishment of the Boeing 777-200ER fleet.  These aircraft will see Club Suite installed, alongside a shrunken First Class cabin (the existing 14 seats will be reduced to 8).

British Airways A350 Club Suite Inaugural flight

Via Airlineroute, we now have the 14 routes which see Club Suite at some point over the Winter season which runs from late October to late March.

Unfortunately it is not possible to tell from ba.com whether your aircraft has Club Suite.  You need to check the seating plan after you book, looking for 1-2-1 in Business Class and eight seats in First Class.  Don’t get too excited even if it is showing, since it is still early days – the first refurbished aircraft won’t even arrive for a few months and the timetable could easily slip.

British Airways Club Suite Boeing 777 routes

Which Boeing 777 routes will get Club Suite?

Abuja – 2 x weekly from 30th January, 3 x weekly from 18th February, 5-6 x weekly from 24th February

Bahrain / Dammam – 8th January and 10th January only

Boston – from 2nd February, some days on BA215/214 and BA239/238

Chicago – from 28th January, some days on BA297/296

Dubai – 13th February only (but Dubai gets an A350 from 2nd September with Club Suite)

Jeddah – 2 x weekly from 20th February

Kuwait City – 2-3 x weekly from 1st February, 5 x weekly from 3rd March

Nairobi – from 14th January

Newark – 21st January only

New York JFK – see below

Philadelphia – 1 x weekly from 11th March on BA69/68

Riyadh – from 29th January on some days

Seattle – 1 x weekly (BA53/52) from 2nd January, various weekly on BA49/48 from 20th February

Tel Aviv – from 30th January on various dates on BA165/164 (Tel Aviv is also getting an A350)

British Airways Club Suite Boeing 777 routes

The New York JFK routings are more complex:

BA177/174 – Club Suite from 27th October on selected days

BA115/176 – Club Suite from 2nd November on one day per week (none in February)

BA175/116 – Club Suite from 9th December on selected dates

BA173/112 – Club Suite from 2nd January to 20th February on two weekly services

BA179/182 – Club Suite from 23rd February on one weekly service

British Airways Club Suite Boeing 777 routes

All of this is, I admit, as clear as mud

It is difficult to draw too much from this list, I admit.  It is far easier with the A350 aircraft, which show clearly in the timetable.  You also need to have a degree of scepticism over how accurate this list will turn out to be, albeit that BA has now officially rostered the refurbished aircraft.

British Airways Club Suite Boeing 777 routes

And what is happening with First Class?

We don’t know.  Very little is known about what BA will be installing in First Class on these aircraft, except that the seatmap shows a 1-2-1 configuration.

Logically I would expect a copy of the seat used on Boeing 787-9 fleet, which also has an 8-seat cabin.  Does that still cut the mustard, however, given how much better Club Suite is than Club World?  Let’s see.

And don’t forget Economy Class is heading in the wrong direction ……

If you usually travel down the back, the news is less good.  When these aircraft some back from refurbishment, they will be 3-4-3 in World Traveller rather than 3-3-3.

The full layout is 8 x First, 49 x Club Suite, 40 x World Traveller Plus and 138 x World Traveller.

For more Club Suite news …..

Keep an eye on the HfP social media channels on Friday afternoon as we attend the arrival event for the first A350 as it flies in from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, and hopefully get a chance to see inside.

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British Airways and Avios

Comments (145)

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

  • Claire says:
    22 Jul22 July 05:35

    O/T but any idea what time we will have the strike dates for ba (assuming this goes ahead). I have club world booked using 2 for 1 and a lloyds upgrade voucher for the 14th returning 31st so waiting to see if i will be affected.

    • Andrew says:
      22 Jul22 July 06:01

      The results of the Balpa ballot are due today. Assuming the vote is in favour of industrial action, Balpa need to give 2 weeks’ notice of action, so the earliest is 05 August.

      Depending on how “hard” Balpa want to play, “action” could range from “all out for however long” at the major end to, for example, a token hour of industrial action on one particular aircraft type. Remembering the ballot result is not a foregone conclusion, Balpa are not obliged to call industrial action immediately but will want to maintain the validity of their ballot by taking *some* form of action within the timescales laid out in legislation, unless BA and Balpa come to an agreement to extend the mandate.

      Then again, BA and Balpa may negotiate a solution or BA may challenge the validity of the ballot in court.

      Sorry for the long-winded reply – with so many permutations, I’m probably not being helpful.

      • Nick says:
        22 Jul22 July 06:40

        With the strike ballot result due today, 22nd July, and if in favour, BALPA can maintain the threat of strike action to latest 22 January 2020.

        • Rob says:
          22 Jul22 July 08:07

          Worth noting that BALPA told members (I have seen the email) to vote AGAINST a strike UNLESS they were 100% committed to walking out. 80%+ for Yes will look very damning on this basis.

    • berneslai says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:32

      Ballot closes at 12pm so don’t expect to hear anything until early afternoon. “In-the-know” messages on Twitter, as much as they can be believed, seem to suggest that the strike will go ahead.

      I wouldn’t expect to hear anything more than a “pilots voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action” headline today. BA will challenge validity of the strike and, if that fails, industrial action and dates will be announced.

      • ChrisC says:
        22 Jul22 July 11:22

        BA has a high court hearing scheduled for tomorrow – apparently they believe the balloting process has been flawed.

        That means the earliest BALPA will announce strike dates will be tomorrow – assuming the result os for a strike and depending on the results of the hearing – which means the earliest a strike could (not will) take place is 6th August. Every day that there is no announcement pushes the earliest date by a date. So if they announce dates on Wednesday the earliest strike date would be the 7th august etc

        But BALPA can announce strike dates any time they like. They can wait until next week if they want. The legal requirement is to give 14 days notice.

      • ChrisC says:
        22 Jul22 July 11:26

        The challenge tomorrow is based on BAs belief the ballot process has been flawed not to challenge having a strike per se.

        BALPA won’t announce strike dates until after the High Court has ruled as it won’t want to be seen to be presumptuous of the courts ruling in their favour

        • berneslai says:
          22 Jul22 July 11:57

          Thanks. Sorry, meant “ballot” and not “strike”. Court challenge tomorrow so unlikely to be any dates released today.

        • pauldb says:
          22 Jul22 July 12:06

          They might wait so as to avoid the risk of looking silly, but to announce dates would not be presumptious: it just says we believe our ballot was correct.

        • Andrew says:
          22 Jul22 July 12:20

          Plus other unions announce industrial action fairly immediately as the court challenges often go right down to the wire of the action taking place (remember Unite/BA and their 12 day Christmas strike which got deemed invalid very late in the day…)

  • Robert says:
    22 Jul22 July 05:50

    Had the seatmap on a booking to TLV (165 on January 30th) change a few days ago 🙂

  • Froggee says:
    22 Jul22 July 05:52

    I suspect I’m one of the few people not wanting this on some routes as the current configuration is very child friendly. Once it shifts to suites we’ll be Finnair, KLM or Air France!

    • Chris L says:
      22 Jul22 July 06:15

      I think by the time the new product is widely available your priorities will have changed!

    • Dev says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:32

      I feel the pain…..got a 21 Month old toddler and I’m hoping for a slow rollout of club suites.

    • AJA says:
      22 Jul22 July 11:40

      Finnair A350 biz class also has 1-2-1 configuration. How is that more child friendly than BA club suite other than not having the sliding door?

      Or are you thinking of flying their older A330 5 across layout?

      • AJA says:
        22 Jul22 July 11:55

        Should have scrolled down before posting my comment as I see others asked the same question.

      • Rob says:
        22 Jul22 July 12:13

        The divider between the seat pairs is very, very tiny on Club Suite – perhaps 15 cm wide. The current divider is, what, 90 cm wide?

    • Robert says:
      22 Jul22 July 15:28

      Agree Club Suits are going to be far less family friendly. The upside is I would probably be more tempted to book WT or WTP with the family due that saving me many many Avios…

  • Adam says:
    22 Jul22 July 06:17

    O/T as no bits today.

    Amex shop small is back on my gold card… usual terms apply and runs through to 2/9/2019.

  • Whizz68 says:
    22 Jul22 July 06:43

    OT: Selfridges Spend £100 or more, get £30 back is on my Platinum Amex card, might be useful for others to check their account.

  • Graham Walsh says:
    22 Jul22 July 06:47

    So coming back from Mia next year some 1st Class availability has opened up. Is it worth upgrading from CW? Only reason I can think of is I’ve never flown BA 1st Class.

    • Polly says:
      22 Jul22 July 06:58

      It’s a one off treat. If it’s just you and not the boys, then use those 20k avios to do it once. Better from NYC of course due to lounge.

    • Stu N says:
      22 Jul22 July 06:58

      If you have sufficient Avios then I am struggling to see why you wouldn’t. Jump on the availability quickly though, you’ll need to phone to upgrade.

    • NigelthePensioner says:
      22 Jul22 July 07:03

      Absolutely it is!

      • Rob says:
        22 Jul22 July 08:04

        Depends how many Avios you have and will get. 2 x CW trips are better than 1 x F and 1 x WTP.

    • Jill (Kinkell) says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:04

      Ive just done F from MIA on an overnight flight. Leaving around 10 pm- ish. We got in to the AA admiral Flagship lounge which was very nice and a quick nip into the Flagship Dining room for a glass of Krug! Travelling F is great, but on an overnight flight, CW would do fine.

      • Graham Walsh says:
        22 Jul22 July 09:00

        Thanks all for the thoughts.

        That is my thinking Jill, won’t get much extra benefit as overnight flight and no CCR room at MIA. However, if the outbound opens up, I’ll jump at it as it will be a day flight and no driving at the other end 🙂

        No boys this time Polly, just my girlfriend and I.

        You only live once….Maybe I’ll call, last time it took an hour to do on the phone 🙁

        • Colin MacKinnon says:
          22 Jul22 July 09:27

          If no status, like me, then F. The extra cost covers the seat selection fee for CW.

          Last time, I got the middle seat in the back row of CW with an incompetent crew.

          So it is F or Norwegian for me! That’s how bad it was!

        • Stu N says:
          22 Jul22 July 09:42

          A day flight is definitely a better one to upgrade but I’d still do the overnight flight if I could replace the Avios easily. If you’re on a companion voucher it would be ~20–25k Avios for both of you (not sure which band MIA falls into.)

        • Jill (Kinkell) says:
          22 Jul22 July 10:50

          CW overnight upper deck 747? Totally agree a daytime F flight is a great experience…..even on BA! We got upgraded to F on AA at the gate on MIA to LAX on a 777. Wow! Fab seats that rotated 90 degrees to face the Windows , little desk that pulled out to work on ( should you so wish , with working wifi) I was so excited!

          • Robert says:
            22 Jul22 July 11:56

            Actually AA first is nothing to write home about. BA far superior.

    • GregB says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:30

      We did this with our 2 for 1 from Denver last year as there was no CW on the flight we wanted. It also allowed us the joy of being in Row 1 on a 747.

      TBH I wouldn’t rush to do it again. I couldn’t fault the service at all but it was just way too OTT for my tastes. Business is perfectly fine for our needs.

      It did help, though, that the whole plane entertainment system failed so we ended up with an Avios refund of 20k each ….. which was nice.

      • Jill ( Kinkell) says:
        22 Jul22 July 14:45

        Too often something goes amiss on a BA flight with compo avios being doled out….dirty seats/ IFE not working/ seat broken. However, it all adds up to the pot!
        Disagree with Robert (above) The F class on the AA 777 ( their biggest plane) across the USA IS something to write about- spotless cabin, great staff, fab seat, lots of places to put specs, ipad and general ‘stuff’.
        On their shorter flights e.g. LAX-PHX their F class on an A321 is not the same as BA F and I would agree, this is not to be compared with BA.

    • Anna says:
      22 Jul22 July 20:17

      Our F seats to MIA next Easter are on the A380 (at the moment!) which I’m quite excited about. But don’t forget it’s T3 from LHR so no CCR, though I hear the Cathay lounge is better anyway! On a night flight I would just go in CW, not worth the extra avios just to sleep.

      • Michael C says:
        22 Jul22 July 20:26

        Cathay for food followed by cocktails upstairs next door in Qantas if open, Anna!

        Btw on arriving on the A380, sprint like an ungainly maniac (or is that just me?) to passport control – one of the worst/slowest experiences I’ve had in decades, and we were quite near the front…

  • The Streets says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:15

    O/T Eurostar lounges: both ways works by showing an Amex Platinum Card (metal is fine). As previously reported – one person per card. They were looking for a name but didn’t check against the actual ticket.

    Not much in the way of food just a few nibbles and poor selection of beers but I did get stuck into the toujours gin!

    • PaulC says:
      22 Jul22 July 15:18

      Did they swipe the card at all to check that the account was still open or do you just flash them the card and they let you in?

      • Anne says:
        22 Jul22 July 21:53

        No swiping, I asked about this a few weeks ago and my experience last weekend confirmed what was said on here – just a check on card expiry date and then a look at the back to ensure it’s a European card. They checked name vs ticket on the way out in London but not in Brussels on the way back.

        Lounge is nothing special IMHO but it is a massive improvement compared to the chaos the St Pancras Eurostar terminal can be.

  • SIMON 58 says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:19

    I am booked to fly on BA177 in November and my seat in F cabin just changed due a/c change to 777. When I checked the seat map for this flight, I see the flight has only 2 rows in First Class.

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