This Top-Tier Airline's Upgraded, Game-Changer Business-Class Seats Beat First Class

Six years after introducing its Club Suite seats in 2019, British Airways' industry-leading business-class cabin is still earning rave reviews from airline-industry watchers who endorse it as a better — and far less costly — alternative to the airline's first-class cabin. How much less? Depending on dates, time, and route of travel, choosing British Airways' first-class cabin over its branded business class, Club World, can cost as much as twice the price of Club World. Does the experience justify the cost? It depends on your priorities, but the two classes of service are so similar, there's a tongue-in-cheek joke among frequent fliers that describes the carrier's first-class cabin as the "world's best business class."  Maybe that's why some airlines are slowly doing away with first class altogether.

Before we get into specifics, it's important to note that the branded name for British Airways' business-class service is Club World. That's not to be confused with Club World seats, an older design that British Airways is gradually replacing with its new and improved Club Suite seats. To avoid confusion, we are focusing only on aircraft cabins already retrofitted with Club Suite seats. It's difficult to pinpoint an exact completion date for the retrofit. The rollout has already been delayed a few times, including a pandemic-related pause when air travel was down as travelers chose closer-to-home staycations over flying to a vacation destination, but British Airways hopes to have the new seats installed fleet-wide by the end of 2026. One major improvement? Seats in the updated cabin are arranged herringbone-style in a 1-2-1 configuration, so every seat has direct aisle access. There's also a privacy screen — it can lowered when two passengers are traveling together — between the side-by-side seats in the middle of the cabin. But we're just getting started on a long list of built-in comforts and amenities.

Individual Club Suite seats are more like mini-cabins than airline seats. Every suite has its own privacy door, although it must be open during take-off and landing. Forward-facing seats are configured in a herringbone pattern to make the best use of limited space, maximizing comfort and amenities. Once seated, passengers flying in British Airways' Club Suite seats find themselves ensconced in their own mini-cabin with everything they may need during the flight at their fingertips. British Airways worked with North Carolina-based Collins Aerospace to customize the company's Super Diamond seats, taking into account customer feedback regarding its previous — and in some cases, still in service — Club World seats.

The result is a surprisingly spacious cabin done in tones of silver, gray, and charcoal. Upgrades include replacing the Club World 12-inch video screens with a Panasonic X3 in-flight entertainment system featuring an 18.5-inch screen, and because the entertainment is built into the shell of the seating infrastructure rather than part of a drop-down or pop-up display, there's no need to interrupt programming during take-off and landing. British Airways' Club Suite also addresses a longtime complaint about its Club World seats by increasing personal storage space. There's a touchscreen control panel for adjusting the seat that reclines to a fully flat 6-foot bed. British Airways sources its Club Suite bedding — padded mattress cover, satin-trimmed blanket, duvet, larger pillow, and cotton pillowcase — from The White Company, a British housewares company with stores worldwide including its original location in London's Sloane Square, one of the city's premier shopping neighborhoods and a great destination to visit to avoid tourist traps in London. How does all this stack up to the airline's first-class service? Bedding, meals, and lounges may be a bit more upscale in the first-class cabin, but is it worth twice the ticket price? That depends on your priorities.