INTER V IEW
B ritish Airways (BA) has announced a number
of improvements to its passenger experience,
including the introduction of the new Club
World and the A350. We asked Sajida Ismail, BA’s head
of inflight product, what it takes to keep the venerable
brand fresh and on the cutting edge in today’s competitive
airline business. Her insights show that, while BA is
always open to innovation, the focus now is on
maintaining a holistic brand experience that is supported
by a combination of hard product, soft product, digital
services and, most importantly, a personal touch.
The current Club World has been in service since
2006, so change was timely, Ismail suggests. “Whilst we
were the first innovators in the market with the flat bed
seat in business class, it required change,” she says.
The Club Suite addresses the needs of today’s market
and responds to industry trends while incorporating
customer feedback collected over the years.
“We are constantly listening to customer feedback
in order to provide the best service possible, and every
aspect of the Club Suite has been designed with the
customers’ needs as a priority. Our customers have been
telling us they want direct aisle access as well as more
privacy and more space, so our design was heavily
influenced by this,” Ismail explains.
Thus the Club Suite offers direct aisle access in a 1-2-1
configuration and introduces a door for privacy. The
ability to add a privacy door was one factor that led to
BA’s choice of the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat.
“The seat was selected based on a number of key
factors that would support us in delivering an improved
customer proposition,” Ismail says. “In addition to the
favourable timescales to deliver the Club Suite on our
A350, we were also able to design a sliding privacy door
for the first time on the Super Diamond platform. Other
key product improvements include increased storage
space, so customers can now have their personal items in
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
MARCH 2020 083
THE CLUB SUITE FEATURES MUCH
LARGER USABLE SURFACE AREAS
THAN THE CLUB WORLD BUSINESS
CLASS SEAT, WHICH IS GREAT
FOR WHAT ISMAIL DESCRIBES
AS ‘MICRO NESTING’
Boeing 78710s
joining the fleet
In January 2020 British Airways took delivery of the first its 12
B787-10 Dreamliners on order.
The aircraft feature four classes. Initially created specifically for
the Boeing 787-9, the eight latest-generation First suites include
a fixed 23in HD IFE screen that can be controlled using a handset
integrated into the seat. The 48 forward-facing Club Suites (1-2-1
configuration) offer direct aisle access, a suite door for greater
privacy, and flat-beds, as well as 40% more storage space, including
a vanity unit and mirror, 18.5in IFE screens, HD gate-to-gate
programming, and PC / USB power.
The aircraft is also fitted with a 35-seat World Traveller Plus
(premium economy) cabin and 165 seats in World Traveller
(economy class).
At the launch, Alex Cruz, British Airways CEO, said: “The aircraft
delivers a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the aircraft
it replaces, another step towards our commitment to net zero
carbon emissions by 2050. It will also offer greater comfort for our
customers, as it features our latest generation seats in all cabins.”
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com