British Airways is set to retrofit ten abreast seating to more Boeing 777s as it looks to refurbish aircraft. The airline's 777-200s based out of Gatwick already have a ten abreast configuration. However, more aircraft are now set to receive this.
Ten abreast seating seems to be becoming the new norm in aviation circles. British Airways is one of eleven airlines to already offer ten abreast seating on the Boeing 777, with two more carriers due to join the club. According to IAG's Capital Market Day presentation, however, it seems like more British Airways 777s are due to get the ten abreast configuration.
Why the change?
British Airways is currently rolling out its new Club Suite cabin across its fleet of aircraft. Being in a 1-2-1 configuration, the suites take up much more room than the previous 2-4-2 configuration without direct aisle access for all passengers. As a result, in order to keep a similar number of seats on the aircraft, British Airways is rejigging the cabin.
Currently on Boeing 777-200s without the retrofitted cabin, British Airways offers 226 seats. At the front of the cabin are 14 seats in the First Cabin in a 1-2-1 configuration. There is then a galley and 48 Club World seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. There are then 40 World Traveller Plus premium economy seats also in a 2-4-2 configuration. Last but not least, there are 124 regular economy seats in a largely 3-3-3 configuration.
The new cabin
The retrofitted cabin is set to make things far cosier. The First cabin will be slashed into just eight seats. The Club World cabin will actually gain one more seat, however, to accommodate this it will also take up far more cabin space, now in a 1-2-1 configuration.
For the World Traveller Plus cabin, noting is set to change in terms of the seating arrangement. However, the other big change is to the economy cabin. British Airways is set to make this cabin much cosier while maintaining a similar footprint.
Currently, the economy cabin consists of 124 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. However, the rear two rows are 2-3-2 and 0-3-0. This is set to change as the aircraft are refurbished inside.
Firstly, three seats in the middle are becoming four. While there were 15 rows in the middle of the cabin, there are now 16. As such, thanks to the 3-4-3 arrangement, there will now be 138 economy seats, an 11% increase.
What does British Airways say?
When Simple Flying contacted British Airways regarding the cabin densification, the airline responded with the following comment:
"We are flying more customers than ever before to our expanding network of destinations. To meet this demand, we're updating our 777 aircraft fleet flying from Heathrow to bring us in line with many of our competitors and allow us to offer even more low fares."
They went on to add: "As part of the update, we will be fitting new entertainment systems with bigger screens in the World Traveller cabin. We will also be introducing our brand new Club Suite on the aircraft, offering customers direct-aisle access, a suite door for greater privacy and luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration."
What do you think of the densified British Airways Boeing 777-200 cabin? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!