Take a look at BA’s new short haul seating in the wild

British Airways has released some photographs of its new short haul seating on an actual aircraft. To date we’d been restricted to seeing a mock-up in a staged environment.

The first aircraft with the seating, an A321neo registered as G-TNED, is now flying. Eight A320 and A321 aircraft will be delivered in the first wave.

Unfortunately there are no plans to retrofit the new seating to existing aircraft.

Whilst arguably the existing seats are not life expired, what is less forgivable is the refusal to retrofit the new larger luggage bins – although a few recent deliveries do have them. The increase in capacity by letting suitcases be stored end-on is substantial.

Here is a long shot down the cabin:

Unlike the more recent additions to the fleet which use two different seats, the new aircraft use the same seat throughout the aircraft. There is no swap to a thinner seat beyond the exit row.

However, leg room is still reduced beyond the exit row. You need to be sat in front of this for maximum space, but if Club Europe extends to the maximum then this won’t be possible.

Seats do not recline behind the exit row but all seats are installed with a slight recline built-in.

As you can see above, a fixed table is back in Club Europe. This had been removed on more recent aircraft deliveries, ostensibly to save weight, but had clearly proved unpopular.

The antimacassars for your head to rest on do still exist but are not photographed here.

Power sockets, USB-A and USB-C, are installed in seat backs (under your seat in Row 1). There are no 3-pin plug sockets.

The USB-C power output is lower at the back of the aircraft (15W) but the 60W USB-C at the front should be good enough to charge a laptop.

There is no wi-fi on the new aircraft. It is not installed by Airbus and the aircraft will need to be retrofitted at a later date.

Finally, here is a view of the new larger luggage bins. These allow a wheely case to be stored ‘wheels in’ and on its side, which leads to a substantial increase in capacity. One issue I experienced, having flown recently on an existing delivery which had these bins, is that passengers do not realise that the bins are larger and store their luggage as usual.

Whilst no photographs were supplied, feedback on Flyertalk is that the loos are larger.

All in all, the cabin looks good – it even has mood lighting as the photographs show – and it is a shame that there are no plans for retrofitting.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

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.

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. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

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