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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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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (145)

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

  • Ian M says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:21

    I really don’t think the BA First class from the 787-9 will cut it alongside the new Club Suite. Surely they have to launch a new seat?!

    The last few First flights have I’ve had on a 787-9 the seat hasn’t even gone fully flat in bed mode. There’s a common fault with them according to crew I’ve spoken to.

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:03

      I agree, but there is no buzz, no discussion, nothing. Remember that Qatar has a worse F seat on the A380 than Qsuite (not on the A380). Problem is that BA F cannot make up for an average seat with fine food and drink …

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Jul22 July 08:51

        Qatar’s F product isn’t really a big deal, looking at many years of internet chatter and reviews etc. They seem to be happy with business being the star of the show.

        • The Savage Squirrel says:
          22 Jul22 July 13:48

          This. As per Malaysian rebranding 1st to Business Suites, that’s where ithe market is . When you strip out frequent flyer redemptions and the status-obsessed who fly 1st to FEEL superior, (neither of whom will be attracted or dissuaded predominantly by hard product) how many customers are you really attracting with investment in an amazing new product here, and will you get a return on that investment? Qatar have worked this out…

  • BJ says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:22

    Is the 772 fleet not supposed to be next in line for retirement? Seems odd to refurb them if it is only going to be for a few years. What would most people choose if given choice of F or new CW suite?

    • TokyoFan says:
      22 Jul22 July 07:37

      They’re certainly ready for it – our LHR-EZE was on something from the dark ages in CW. BUT – still a great flight to be honest, as long as you had your opera glasses for the IFE.

      • Michael C says:
        22 Jul22 July 07:43

        My last Iberia MAD-EZE direct in around…2012? had NO IFE – just the old monitors every 23 rows, which showed exactly the same film over and over again (Bourne Legacy!).

    • john says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:44

      The oldest 772 (non-ER) (G-ZZZx) are being retired in 2020 with end of line 77W’s ordered as replacements, although they won’t be used on those routes, there will be some shifting around to best fit capacity as new planes come on board etc.

      The 777-200ER’s are going to be going a while longer it seems despite some being almost as old as the 777-200s. There is a flyertalk thread that has more info: “BA Fleet : New aircraft arrivals and retirements master tracker”

      • BJ says:
        22 Jul22 July 14:36

        Thanks John, in that case if I run out of avios and stop flying BA it might be a blessing in disguise.

  • Michael says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:39

    Rob – did I see you mention somewhere the A380 won’t be getting this seat?

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:01

      There are no plans AFAIK, although I don’t think it is written in stone. They will need a midlife refurb at some point of course.

      • Roberto says:
        22 Jul22 July 08:25

        Don’t we all Darh-ling !! ………..

      • AJA says:
        22 Jul22 July 11:51

        Rob, Did you get a reply to you comment on LinkedIn about not all fleet getting new club suite?

        • Rob says:
          22 Jul22 July 12:10

          No, but in my own discussions with BA they are very cagey about what happens post-777 (as indeed as Virgin about what happens with their fleet apart from the A350).

          • AJA says:
            22 Jul22 July 12:47

            Interesting. I think they will be missing a trick if they fail to upgrade all fleet to Club Suite unless it turns out to not be as popular as they’re hoping.

            The existing CW cabin seat privacy and climbing over strangers if not on an aisle seat are the downsides but when travelling with a companion I like the old design.

            I am curious how well the new design goes down. The only concern I have is the cubby hole for feet. I am a restless sleeper and turn a lot so am concerned I am going to bash my knees.

  • Funkypigeon says:
    22 Jul22 July 07:48

    Massively OT:

    My profession is teaching (maths), however I have a great interest in finance, current events, global markets, economy etc. En route to Chicago, when I was in the CCR at the beginning of July, I picked up a copy of MoneyWeek. Wish, I sort of enjoy although felt a little out my depth, although I was able to sort of pick up some of it. I also got a copy of Fortune magazine which I liked.

    I know a lot of people in this forum will be business travelers with an interest in keeping up to date with financial markets and current events and I was wondering what you recommend? I would like some inspiration as all I do is read BBC News. My hobbies would be as stated above, plus travelling. I’d happily sit and watch a 90 minute documentary about the global financial crisis of 2007/2008, finding it fascinating (embarrassing to admit!).

    My hotel in Chicago had complementary copies of the Wall Street Journal – which again, I liked.

    I don’t invest at all, I have some savings so maybe would like to dabble with small quantities in the future, but I am not looking necessary for a guide on how to invest.

    I have done a bit of research and have came up with a list. Your thoughts? Thank you!

    Lonely Planet
    The Economist
    MoneyWeek
    Wall Street Journal
    Time
    Bloomberg Businessweek
    Conde Nast Traveler
    The New York Times
    A UK Newspaper (Which is best… Th Guardian, The Times… The Independent?).

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 07:59

      I am a big fan of BusinessWeek, especially as it is virtually weightless and so ideal for travelling. I am stockpiling copies for our August break. I would rank the Economist a bit behind, also very light (Businessweek is a bit skewed towards small business owners, hence my preference). I find myself reading the NYT ahead of the FT when travelling although never when in London.

      • Tom says:
        22 Jul22 July 08:01

        Is that because BA seemed to have swapped the FT for NYT in their lounges? 😀

        • Oh! Matron! says:
          22 Jul22 July 08:24

          Sorry for hijacking but flew with Kyiv yesterday, where they had a selection of Sunday Times for reading on the plane. Now, call me ungrateful, but if you can manage to read a copy of the Sunday times (Sans magazines) in Y, I’m impressed

    • AlexT says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:07

      I’d do Economist first, all else after.
      FT > WSJ, at least when it comes to European business news.
      NYT is good, as is the WP.
      Don’t touch BBG unless I’m at work as they’ve really gone down the clickbait route lately with a some of their articles
      w/ regard to UK newspapers I focus on the Guardian, which is ironic as a few years ago (pre-Brexit) I wouldn’t touch it. How times have changed… would never vote Tory again either 🙂

      • Funkypigeon says:
        22 Jul22 July 10:30

        BBG?

        I can get The Economist on the Avios deal. Or 12 issues for £12 then £45 quarterly on a student deal.

      • Rob says:
        22 Jul22 July 10:31

        At around 20 grammes per issue, BusinessWeek is the ideal publication to drag around on your travels!

    • Benj says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:29

      The FT does a daily podcast (Monday to Friday) of less than 10 minutes, which is a nice little primer on some basic finance-related news (often politics-related).

    • uk1 says:
      22 Jul22 July 12:07

      Hi, not many people know that many UK libraries offer free PressReader subscriptions which in my case is wonderful. I’d say that apart from (UK) The Times much of your wish list is a part of PressReader and it can be set up so they download onto your ipad automatically each day. I pretty much automatically download all foodie mags, tech mags, Washington Post, NY Times, many UK dailies and UK glossies ie Country Life, Hampshire Life, etc etc. I’m thrilled it’s free. Just go to your local authorities web page and see whether it’s mentioned.

    • Lady London says:
      22 Jul22 July 14:57

      Consumer finance for people that live in the UK has some coverage in the Daily Mail – can’t remember which day it’s Wednesdays or Thursdays I think. I think their website is thisismoney.co.uk.

      I like the Guardian but they have a politically left slant. So their coverage of money matters is the same. They do come out with things other newspapers don’t though.

      I used to see financial stuff in the Telegraph on Saturdays – some coverage was excellent of matters for the UK consumer. Not sure if the Telegraph has it other days. Usually I only get to see the Telegraph on Saturdays.

      They’ve all got websites if you want to take a look at the type of coverage.
      And other than the FT, UK newspapers’ coverage is mostly only of interest to UK-based people..

  • rotundo says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:09

    “You need to check the seating plan after you book, looking for 1-2-1 in Business Class and eight seats in First Class.”
    What does this mean for expertflyer.com? They offer a paid service to notify when a seat becomes available, so one would hope that they have accurate seat maps!

    • Rob says:
      22 Jul22 July 10:30

      …. yes, or use ExpertFlyer. We don’t really cover that on here, though, because it is far too advanced for our ‘average business traveller’ readership (which is the 99% who never comment).

      • Adam says:
        22 Jul22 July 12:52

        Surely you do your readership a disservice here Rob?

        I would expect that you have a very similar readership to other blogs like One Mile at a Time, The Points Guy, Turning Left for Less etc. and yet they all have excellent guides on how to use Expert Flyer for varying degrees of experience.

        Rather than saying “it’s way too advanced for my readership” (which may or may not be accurate and possibly a little insulting), why not educate them on what it is and how to use it? That way whenever you refer to Expert Flyer, you can direct readers to your article(s) on it.

        • The Original David says:
          22 Jul22 July 13:39

          Perhaps he also credits his readers with the ability to use Google, so if there is already a great selection of EF resources out there, HfP doesn’t need to waste time writing the same thing in a different font.

          • Rob says:
            22 Jul22 July 14:32

            If you draw a line with Business Traveller at one end and Flyertalk at the other, we try to be nearer to Business Traveller.

        • Lady London says:
          22 Jul22 July 14:31

          We’re also pretty cheap, and Expertflyer is a paid service.

        • ChrisC says:
          22 Jul22 July 14:51

          if those other blogs all have ‘excellent guides’ to expert flyer then there really isn’t any need for Rob to do his own guide is there?

          Rob concentrates on the things that other blogs don’t always do to Robs expert degree like BA avios

  • Waddle says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:20

    OT: I have a 2,500 bonus Avios offer for £500 spend on BA Cruise118.

    • lammy52 says:
      22 Jul22 July 08:59

      Checked pricing with cruise118 site not using the link and it was cheaper, £1349pp compared to £1469pp for 8814 Avios, using the BAcruise118 link.

  • Watchman says:
    22 Jul22 July 08:45

    That clarifies an email from BA last week stating that my seats had been changed for a LHR-NBO flight in Feb 2020. Had been in 11, now in 5, but for the life of me couldn’t find a seat layout in CW that had row 5. Let’s hope they meet their schedule

  • Josh says:
    22 Jul22 July 09:37

    Booked onto BA174 from JFK in First on the 2nd Nov and it’s still showing a full cabin of 14 seats so I guess no luck on this flight for now

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