British Airways | Executive Club - BA Gatwick 777 3 Class Refurb - Any news whether these aircraft will receive a refurb like the Heathrow-based 4 class ones did? The galley was staggered at the back of the minicabin, so while 8K was probably the least desirable seat in the cabin, it was certainly not in the galley. At the same, however, British Airways is launching a refurbishment of the Boeing 777-200ER fleet. The menu described my chosen appetizer item as Caesar salad with beef tataki, which sounded like an odd marriage of two very different styles of cuisine. The drinks were the same as in the main part of the lounge. Two of the oldest are due to be retired by the end of 2020, taking the fleet down to 27. This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. My first impressions of the cabin were fantastic: The beautiful sunset colors flooding through the windows bounced off the slick black and gray finishes of the new seats. I arrived around two hours before the flight and was relatively surprised to see a hefty World Traveller/World Traveller Plus queue. Bit of a vague question but the Club cabin on the refurbished aircraft at Gatwick is quite similar to how it was before the refurbishment. These regularly operate on routes from London Heathrow to Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver. One particular area for consideration is capacity. I would happily relax there for hours if my flight left late in the evening. Answer 1 of 45: Hi there Does anyone know the timing of the BA New Club World upgrade on the Gatwick to Orlando route. Red Ventures Services Ltd is an appointed representative of Red Ventures Financial Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 803495). With its solid food, drinks and service in Club Suite and those shiny new seats, I was actually happy I was in the second-highest-class of service on the flight. However, it is going to take some time before it is retrofitted to the existing fleet and for new aircraft to be delivered with the new seat. The target is that 80% of BA’s long-haul fleet will be fitted with WiFi by 2020. Given how many flights BA operates each evening, I expected the lounge to have a fairly large capacity but still was pretty surprised at its size — it is enormous, with multiple huge rooms. Gate 6 had plenty of people milling around but also plenty of seating. Last year year introduced new a format to its catering service and new bedding from The White Company. Elaine had been crewing for BA for many years, and her experience shone through — she is a credit to the airline. This meant they were still familiarizing themselves with the intricacies of the seat and did struggle somewhat with functions like locking the seats open for takeoff. During the initial phase, the first A350 will operate some flights on the London-Madrid route “to allow the airline’s teams to perfect their customer service” and familiarize cabin crew with the new layout. There were various self-serve wines on offer. The Points Guy UK is a trading name of Red Ventures Services Ltd, registered in England and Wales No. For the next 2-3 years at least, the majority of BA long-haul flights will operate with the existing seat. Previously I had always felt that the Gatwick long-haul experience wasn't quite on par with Heathrow, so how was this experience? I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy UK newsletter and special email promotions. This turned out to be a tasty but extremely rich dish, which on a short overnight flight is not advisable if you’re planning to sleep immediately afterward. Menus were also handed out for the dinner and breakfast service, with breakfast cards offered for those who wanted to maximize their sleep. I think BA will have some difficulty charging a big premium for First over Club Suite on aircraft with both cabins, but they now have a very solid business-class product on one of their oldest aircraft, and I would be equally happy with either class in the future. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page. Here's a look at what British Airways says we can expect when its refitted (and cramped) 777 aircraft take to the skies out of London Gatwick airport later in 2018. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. While the seats will be installed on all Airbus A350 aircraft as they are delivered factory fresh to the airline, BA now has the long and complex task of retrofitting these seats (or a variant thereof) to more than 100 wide-body aircraft. There is a lot else happening to the existing BA fleet. Aside from the ridiculous mattress pad, the bedding was lovely. At the time of writing 7 Boeing 777-200 aircraft have been refurbished. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! With new high-density seating in Economy Class and 8-across seating in Premium Economy there … Past the galley and bathrooms was main cabin, with 36 seats spread out evenly across nine rows. While the First seats are more spacious, they are quite exposed and didn’t actually look nearly as slick or modern as the Club Suite installed directly behind them. The cabin crew did not take the use of display trollies in the aisle and this was abandoned. From there, it was a short walk to the premium passport check, staffed by a very upbeat and friendly officer who jokingly suggested the couple in front of me should sign their infant up for Global Entry. BA will continue to have its own lounges in Terminal 8. BA is also due to refurbish its lounges in Johannesburg this year. Alternatively, you can download magazines, albeit on a relatively slow link, using the BA lounge WiFi. Your head was by the suite wall, and you couldn’t really see the door at that angle or whether the door was open or closed. I completed the menu card before settling in to sleep, and like clockwork the crew woke me up 75 minutes before landing with the selected breakfast all served on one tray over the of the suite door. It took me a few goes to work out how to shut them properly. British Airways operates sizable operations at New York-JFK’s Terminal 7 with around a dozen departures to various London airports every single day, mostly in the evening. An 8th aircraft is currently in Singapore for refurbishment. The aircraft that I was on was one of the newly refitted 777-200ER aircraft based at Gatwick, with only Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. The BA lounge was up two flights of stairs from security, next to the Alaska Airlines lounge. At the height of the walls BA had chosen for the Club Suite, I found the door to be fairly pointless. The sliding door was pointless, the mattress pad didn't match the seat, boarding was chaotic, and check-in was slow. Customers flying from Gatwick will now be able to experience the airline’s fully refreshed Boeing 777 fleet and new generation premium economy and economy seats. The lounge was so massive that, even after taking a full lap, I couldn’t quite decide where to settle. British Airways New York 777 Club Suite Flights: LHR-JFK: BA173 Dep 11:20 Arr 14:05, JFK-LHR: BA112 Dep 18:30 Arr 06:30. According to British Airways’ website, “Club World combines premium levels of comfort and service with the freedom and flexibility to make every journey unique and unforgettable.” I traveled from London Gatwick to Cancun on BA 2203; a daytime flight, onboard aircraft G-YMMS, a 7 year old Boeing 777 … We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. I flew to Mauritius on British Airways from Gatwick in Club World. Our British Airways Club World flight was onboard a recently refurbished 777. system to the gate area, resulting in a lot of confused and frustrated Club Suite passengers being turned away from the boarding lane while it appeared the flight was in the last few stages of boarding. Fees, taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges are steep, £504 from New York to London. Another 6 inches of height on the suite walls and door would have made a huge difference. Try and get aisle seats if you can (although there is no privacy whatsoever) because that way you don't have to clamber over people's legs to get out. If you have booked a flight directly with BA you should receive an e-mail before your flight with a download link. However, there will only be 3 years to enjoy this lounge as BA will be moving to Terminal 8 at New York JFK in 2022. Boeing 777-200ER – There are approximately 29 777-200ERs in BA’s Heathrow fleet, with the remaining 14 at Gatwick. It was so low that the crew served me breakfast over the closed door. Despite flying between London and New York regularly for TPG, I’d never been in the BA JFK lounge before. In recent years, BA has opened new lounges for Club World passengers in Boston and Gatwick. Given they were sitting behind Club Suite, this made no sense to me as Group 4 and Group 5 were boarded before Group 2. One thing to note is that some Club Suite on the 777 have two windows while some only have one, due to the size of the suites. This has its own security and leads directly into the lounge. Others have received a more substantial refurbishment with a new in-flight entertainment system to bring the aircraft in line with the 86 Club World seat aircraft. I have been reading on the web about the The seat design was almost identical to the previous First cabin, just with fewer seats. There was a good-sized bifold tray table, and I liked how you could slide it up and down on its rail depending on how close you wanted it to your body. Everything about the seat was fresh and shiny, and the dark colors were sophisticated and slick. British Airways | Executive Club - B777-200 Refurbishment - Hi, Apologies if I am submitting this thread in the wrong topic. I selected maple soy-glazed salmon with gnocchi for my main course. I really liked it. While it was known that the upgrade would be applied to two Boeing 777-200s, the airline has now revealed their registrations. Terminal 7 was bright and pretty busy this early evening. As British Airways unveils its new Club World Suite, here’s what else to expect from BA long-haul business class in the coming years. British Airways launched its long-awaited new Club Suite on its new Airbus A350 aircraft to much fanfare earlier this year. There were a number of hot-food options, as well as a small a la carte menu of made-to-order food. I had a look around the seat. For dessert, I had a cinnamon cobbler, which despite the fairy average presentation was tasty and relatively light compared to the entree. British Airways Boeing 777-200ER Fleet. The entire plane boarded through the very front door of the aircraft, which meant every single passenger stomped through the first-class cabin to get to their seat. The desk agents were busy complaining to each other about their jobs and barely paused to check my boarding pass. Let’s talk about the walls and the door. Feeling a little foolish, I approached the staff member blocking the entrance and asked, “Am I allowed to come in here?” To which she looked at my boarding pass and welcomed me inside. They were standard size, and there was little to differentiate them from the economy bathrooms on this same aircraft. If history is anything to go by, it will be aircraft on Heathrow routes with the some of the highest premium demand that will be retrofitted first. While this might seem like a small benefit, it gives the feeling of there being no one else in the cabin. At 6 feet, I often find both the top of my head and the balls of my feet touching either end of the bed. The dish had been plated on board rather than just being reheated in its original dish, and the difference in presentation was noticeable: no burnt, dry edges, no sauce slopping down the side of the plate. She smiled and assured me this was a common problem passengers encountered. Crew members moved through the cabin as boarding concluded handing out “wash bags” (amenity kits) branded by The White Company celebrating British Airways’ 100th year in 2019. Just like the A350 version, there were three separate storage compartments that were mostly closed but not latched closed. This BA refurbishment had hit the news as Economy Class now contained 10 seats a row instead of the previous 9. I recently spent a week on the beautiful island of Mauritius at the Ravenala Attitude hotel. They have long been known for their relatively poor interior condition. I will never do it again. She wasn’t kidding. EXCLUSIVE: British Airways has today revealed to Simple Flying which Boeing 777 aircraft will be receiving the new Club World suite by the end of the year. BA 777 Club World Review Summary All in all I’ve got mixed views about the British Airways Business Class product. Its first commercial route is back and forth between London Heathrow (LHR) and New York-JFK on the BA173/112 rotation, and I jumped at the chance to try out the new Club Suite on the 777 only a few days after the refit was complete. I liked the new black bars, where there was no wait to be served. They featured a standard mix of items including Restore & Relax Spa Collection toiletries. I was offered a glass of Champagne during boarding from a tray of filled glasses as I watched the beautiful sunset outside. I explained that I really wanted a window seat and we quickly agreed on a great compromise: I could eat and sleep in my window suite and watch movies on the middle seat if I wanted to. We get to experience the complimentary breakfast in the British Airways Club World Lounge at Gatwick LGW before taking our seats in Business Class on the Boeing 777 to Orlando MCO. We found award availability around four days in advance on Flight BA112, which we determined from the seat map featured the new Club Suite. British Airways officially unveiled its new Club World Suite today, Monday 18 March 2019. I usually dislike in-lounge promotions and partnerships, as they can cheapen what should be a premium experience, but where they are done well like this Brewdog bar, they’re a great feature. The flight from gatwick is done on BA2205 under registration G-VIIO. The cabin felt really fresh and new. BA is about half way through a two year project to refurbish its Gatwick based Boeing 777s. Note: these appear to shift on certain Sundays, so be sure to check before booking. I also loved the special Brewdog bar area, where you could pour yourself several different beers. I felt like going for a long walk after dinner to try and work off the heavy meal I’d just enjoyed. For me this was a fail. A RED VENTURES COMPANY. And, with BA as a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards UK, it’s easy to amass the points required to book flights. It’s certainly a fabulous feature to give business-class passengers privacy by building a suite with a door, but this seat just had one fundamental problem: The walls and door weren’t nearly high enough. I will never do it again. As more 52 Club World seat are refurbished this year and others are retired, the chances of flying on a non-refurbished aircraft should diminish. When I finally reached the desks, the check-in agent excitedly told me the news that my particular flight would be have the brand-new Club Suite. These are planned to be be largely four-class Boeing 777-200 in the first half of the year, as well as some three-class Boeing 777-200 and four-class Boeing 777-300 largely in the second half of 2020. This plane has the old style economy and world traveller plus. Yes the service is great, the food and drinks are good and the ground facilities are a step up from most of its competitors. She was the perfect mix of professional and personable, and I enjoyed every interaction with her. I’m not abnormally tall, but it felt rather pointless given I could see the entire cabin with it closed when the seat was upright and didn’t need it when the seat was fully reclined. I was pleased to find the 777 Club Suite more spacious than this, and was not restricted at all as I slept. With boarding pass in hand for my selected window seat in Row 12, I headed toward the premium security line. This compensation helps pay the costs associated with running our website, and does not result in any additional fees to you. It’s a really wonderful space, and I was actually sorry to have such little time there to catch the first BA flight of the evening. Champagne Canard-Duchene, Cuvee Leonie Brut NV. I had selected Seat 12K, a window seat midway through the cabin. Other international BA lounges earmarked for refurbishment in the coming years include Chicago and Miami. The economy and premium economy cabins have been fitted with elegant new seats with 50% larger entertainment screens and each seat will have a USB socket. The cabin interiors are being refreshed and a significantly improved in-flight entertainment system installed. Started the process of refitting these aircraft with Club World was only 32 seats between doors and. 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