With so many full-service carriers offering first class seats for their premium customers, we wanted to take a look and see which British Airways aircraft have a first class cabin. Operating in its present form since 1974, British Airways is a global airline and the United Kingdom's national flag carrier. The airline was also one of the founding members of the oneworld alliance back in February 1999.

Recent years have seen BA make cutbacks to its short-haul economy class offering, known as Euro Traveller, with competition from low-cost carriers prompting the airline to dip its toe into the race to the bottom. However, at the other end of the spectrum, its long-haul First Class cabins are a picture of opulent luxury. Before looking at which planes have such cabins, let's see what this class of travel offers.

A brief guide to British Airways' First Class offering

Flying in First Class with BA offers customers benefits such as exclusive access to lounges, fast-track security, and private stylish onboard suites. According to British Airways, each First Class seat converts into a 6ft 6in (198 cm) flatbed and comes with a quilted mattress, white cotton duvet, and pillow. First Class customers also enjoy his and hers amenity kits and loungewear from Temperley.

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When it comes to onboard catering, British Airways' First Class passengers can eat at any time by ordering meals from an à la carte menu that features signature dishes made with quality British ingredients. As well as the meal service, British Airways offers snacks and beverages that include cocktails and, of course, champagne. WiFi is also free, and inflight entertainment comes on a 15-inch screen.

Despite the desirable opulence of this offering, it isn't present on all British Airways' planes. Indeed, data from ch-aviation shows that, while BA's current fleet consists of almost 300 aircraft, only around 70 are fitted with First Class seats. As expected, all of these belong to its fleet of twin-aisle long-haul planes.

Airbus widebodies

British Airways' largest aircraft by overall capacity are, perhaps unsurprisingly, its double-decker Airbus A380s. Correspondingly, these quadjets have the carrier's joint largest First Class cabins, with data from aeroLOPA showing that each of the UK flag carrier's superjumbos has space for 14 passengers in its most exclusive class of travel. These suites are laid out four-abreast (1-2-1) on the bottom deck.

Interestingly, despite having potentially angled the type as its new flagship aircraft in recent years, British Airways' Airbus A350-1000s do not have any First Class seats onboard. However, their layout is still somewhat premium-heavy, with 56 Club World suites and 56 World Traveller Plus (premium economy) recliners present.

Boeing widebodies

The only other aircraft type in British Airways' present fleet with a 14-seat First Class cabin is the Boeing 777. BA flies both the 777-200ER and 777-300ER variants of Boeing's popular 'triple-seven' widebody family, and certain examples of each of these variants have 14 First Class suites onboard. Other 777-200ERs and 777-300ERs have eight, while certain high-density 777-200ERs have none at all.

Meanwhile, British Airways also has eight-seat First Class cabins on two of the three variants of the Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' family that it operates. While the short-fuselage 787-8 is missing this cabin, it is present at the front of both the mid-sized 787-9 and the stretched-fuselage 787-10 models. The 787-9 is pictured above, although the 787-10 has the same layout, with two windows per row.

What do you make of British Airways' First Class offering? Have you ever been lucky enough to fly in this exclusive cabin with the UK flag carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

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  British Airways

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  BA/BAW

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport

  Year Founded:

  1974

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  Airline Group:

  IAG

  CEO:

  Sean Doyle

  Country:

  United Kingdom

  Loyalty Program:

  British Airways Executive Club

  Region:

  Europe