British Airways First Class is often dubbed “the world’s best Business Class”, reflecting its positioning as more of a “J+” product for some time, as carriers like Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Etihad have set new benchmarks, leaving BA’s relatively minor incremental upgrades over the years struggling to keep pace.

Thankfully, the airline has been working on an all-new First Class cabin for its Airbus A380s and upcoming Boeing 777-9 aircraft, which has now been unveiled.

British Airways has unveiled a game changing new First seat for its customers, combining elegant design with expert British craftsmanship, reflective of modern British luxury travel. The new cabin forms part of the airline’s A380 retrofit plans, expected to take to the skies in mid-2026.  

British Airways

While the airline calls this a “game changing” new product, it probably falls into the more “solid improvement” category in our opinion, though it will certainly enhance the passenger experience, and with a generous number of seats retained in this cabin – it’s good news for future award availability.

British Airways new First Class

As you would expect, the new British Airways First Class is a suite-style product, with 5ft-high curved walls and closing privacy doors.

The seat itself is by Collins Aerospace, with design by Tangerine, the same agency responsible for Finnair’s new AirLounge Business Class.

Key features of BA’s new First Class include:

• An ultra-wide 36.5-inch (93 cm) seat, with a bed length of 79 inches (200 cm)
• A 32-inch 4K in-flight entertainment TV screen, with new tablet controls
• A 60-inch (152 cm) high curved wall, with closing privacy doors
• A ‘do not disturb function’
• Companion dining, using the ottoman stool
• Three windows at each of the window seats, with electronic window blinds

The product feels to us like a blend between the Emirates Airbus A380 First Class suites, in terms of physical design, and Air France’s Boeing 777 La Première First Class, with its light grey and blue upholstery.

This certainly looks to be a big improvement on BA’s existing A380 First Class seats, which are relatively private but have shorter privacy walls and lack closing doors.

The existing First Class cabin on the carrier’s other aircraft types also remains quite open in terms of privacy, and really does resemble a good Business Class in many ways.

The new cabin is in a 1-2-1 layout and will feature 12 suites, down from the current 14, which we understand will remain on the main deck of BA’s Airbus A380, rather than moving upstairs.

At the middle seat pairs, “the divider slides open to create a shared lounge space”, while at all seats companion dining is possible on the ottoman stool at the foot end of the suite.

Storage looks impressive with a wardrobe built in to the wall on the outside of each suite, which can accommodate a suit and a piece of carry-on luggage.

At the seat itself, a large drawer extends from under the side console alongside the aisle side, which is depicted as large enough to accommodate a handbag.

There’s also an even more accessible small storage compartment directly next to the seat, for items like your smartphone, passport and boarding pass.

A wireless charging pad is built in to the side console – now common in practically all new First Class and Business Class seat designs.

Design features incorporate a nod to Concorde’s delta wing design, the subtlety of which may be lost on many passengers, but it should keep the AvGeeks happy.

The elegant curves throughout the cabin take inspiration from British Airways’ Concorde wings, giving a natural flow to the space and creating a welcoming environment.

British Airways

This includes the new ambient light in each suite.

The seat and IFE controls are integrated into a new tablet, stowed at the side wall. Alongside, you’ll find an individual air nozzle, USB-A and USB-C ports, as well as an AC power socket to keep your devices charged.

Airbus A380s first, Boeing 777-9s to follow

British Airways’ new First Class cabin will debut on retrofitted Airbus A380s, starting in mid-2026.

Based on the northern winter flying programme, BA currently flies its A380s to:

• Dallas
• Dubai
• Johannesburg
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• San Francisco
• Singapore

While the exact timeline for the refit program remains unclear, it’s reasonable to expect the process could extend into 2028, as the 12 aircraft in the fleet will likely be retrofitted one at a time.

Retrofitting its 12 Airbus A380s with these new cabins suggests British Airways intends to keep its superjumbos flying for at least another decade or so – well into the mid-2030s and perhaps even longer. By 2036 these aircraft will be 21 to 24 years old, and will be approaching the end of their design life.

One interesting aspect of the new First Class is that it was actually supposed to debut on the carrier’s Boeing 777-9 fleet, starting in 2022.

Indeed BA’s renderings of the new First Class are actually based on the Boeing 777-9 cabin.

It’s well-known that ongoing delays to the production of the 777-9 have led many carriers – such as Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, and most recently Singapore Airlines – to introduce new products on alternative aircraft instead in the meantime, with delivery of the troubled type now slated for 2026 at the earliest, but more likely 2027 for BA.

That means that while the new product will indeed make it to the carrier’s Boeing 777-9s, there should be a good number of Airbus A380s already flying with it installed by the time those join the fleet.

There are no indications at this stage that BA intends to retrofit this new First Class to other aircraft in its fleet – namely the Boeing 777-200s / -300s and the Boeing 787-9s / 10s.

Premium-heavy configuration

The new BA First Class will begin to appear on retrofitted Airbus A380s from mid-2026, and the refit is definitely premium-heavy, as outlined below.

British Airways Airbus A380 Refit
Cabin	Current	New	Change
First Class	14	12	14%
Business Class	97	110	13%
Premium Economy	55	84	53%
Economy	303	215	29%
Total Seats	469	421	10%

As you can see, there will be a significant loss of Economy Class seats in the new fit, which will give way to a huge 84-seat Premium Economy cabin and a slightly enlarged Business Class cabin, which will also be upgraded to feature the latest Club Suites product at the same time.

With 49% of all seats dedicated to premium cabins, this will be the most premium-heavy Airbus A380 configuration flying globally once it enters service.

For comparison, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Emirates, Etihad and Qantas generally configure their A380s with around 25-30% of capacity in premium cabins, then the remaining 70-75% of seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways and Etihad have a particularly Economy-heavy fit – only around 11-16% of seats on their A380s are in First and Business Class (neither airline offers Premium Economy).

British Airways is the only Boeing 777-9 customer that has publicly confirmed its seating layout for that new aircraft type, as follows:

• 8 First Class
• 65 Business Class
• 46 Premium Economy
• 206 Economy
• 325 Total

Interestingly this does not follow such a premium-heavy layout, with around 37% of seats in premium cabins. Indeed even with nearly 100 fewer seats in total than the refitted A380s, the 777-9s will only have nine fewer Economy Class seats.

Hopefully we will see British Airways deploying its Boeing 777-9s on its Singapore routes to London and/or Sydney in future, which alongside the refitted Airbus A380s would then provide consistent cabin products on all flights.

One advantage for those redeeming miles (or likely Avios) for the new First Class product is the high number of First Class seats BA still installs on its aircraft – 12 on these retrofitted A380s and eight on the upcoming 777-9s.

While it’s often a challenge to secure a First Class award on the carrier’s Singapore routes, that’s not the case elsewhere on its network, especially across the North Atlantic where it’s relatively easy to book this cabin in our experience – we did it from London to Washington for 68,000 Avios some years ago.

While British Airways does not compete with the major Middle East and Asia carriers in the quality of its First Class product, we do like the look of this new design, coming to the Airbus A380 fleet and – eventually – the Boeing 777-9s.

The finish looks quite sleek, privacy has finally been addressed with high walls and closing doors, and storage looks ample.

As always, the full verdict is only possible when we can experience the seats in service, including the all-important soft product – not BA’s strong point in First Class when judged against competitors.

Unfortunately we’ll be waiting a couple of years before these seats are in service, partly due to continued Boeing 777-9 delays, but we look forward to trying this one once it makes its way to the Oneworld carrier’s Singapore routes.

(Cover Photo: British Airways)