British Airways Debuts New, “Densified” Seats Without Power Outlets
Joe Cortez March 07, 2018
LONDON, UK: World Traveller cabin on a British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick on 04 March 2018 (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
When economy flyers from London Gatwick Airport board a reconfigured British Airways Boeing 777, their seats will come without a noted amenity: standard power outlets. In addition to the 10-wide seating in the main cabin, flyers will only receive USB charging ports for their electronic devices.
Economy travelers boarding British Airways Boeing 777s from London Gatwick Airport (LGW) will soon find themselves without a way to charge laptops or other large electronic devices in the air. In a press release, the flag carrier announced the launch of their refined World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins to the public, to be fully installed by 2019.
In the economy World Traveller cabin, traditional international power outlets will be replaced by USB power outlets designed for small electronics. The US-UK-EU outlets will only be available in the premium economy World Traveller Plus cabin. Although the power outlets are going away, British Airways says many amenities are being designed with the traveler in mind.
British Airways engineers developed the new seats in both World Traveller and World Traveller Plus, featuring adjustable six-way headrests. Flyers will have access to a swipe-controlled Panasonic in-flight entertainment system, on larger high-definition seatback screens. The economy screens will offer a 10-inch screen (four inches bigger than previous entertainment systems), while premium economy flyers will get a 12-inch entertainment screen.
However, the seats in economy will be roughly 10% smaller as this section will now have 10 seats per row instead of nine. The new formation will increase from 3-3-3 to 3-4-3. To squeeze the extra seat in, British Airways will be shaving down long-haul seats by 1.5 inches.
In premium economy, power outlets are not the only major difference. In addition to more room, these seats also offer leg and footrests, along with two in-seat tables. A cocktail tray is featured at the front of the seat, while a larger table is available from the armrest.
View From the Wing also noted that the new product is “densified“:
“BA is increasing their Premium Economy cabin from 24 to 52 seats and reducing business class from 40 to 32 seats in three cabin aircraft. The four-cabin 777s “will see an additional 12 seats added.”
Across both cabins, the carrier will install new lighting similar to those on other Boeing aircraft. The new cabin lights are designed to emulate the natural phases of the day and night, with the goal of reducing jetlag and helping flyers feel more refreshed at their destination.
According to British Airways, over $800 million went into the cabin redesign. Six Boeing 777’s based at LGW will receive the new seating by the end of the year, with retrofitting complete by summer 2019. Boeing 777 aircraft based at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) will be fitted with the new cabins starting in the fall of 2019.
[Photos: British Airways]
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Are the airlines doing any type of safety checks to make sure people can get out of those narrow seats and aisles in the event of a crash? I don't care what ports there are or entertainment, I value my life more than that stuff.
I'm planning a trip to London next summer and I'm taking the Queen Mary2. Yes, it's a bit more expensive and yes it's going to take 7 days each way, but I just DREAD flying 12+ hours under the conditions that the airlines impose on those of us that can't afford business or first class. And I won't need special ambient lighting to help me arrive at my destination more relaxed and less jet-lagged.
I hope BA have plenty spare seats as those 10x WT seats are going to be broken by the 'big boned' like me. Seriously though, the only way BA, AA, Delta and the other US/EU airlines (that are bargain basement marketing) are going to change is if customers stop flying with them. I am going LHR to SVG on Monday and am flying Qatar via DOH. It is costing me 5hrs but is saving me almost 40%. I don't mind because the service and seat are so much better. Oh and the added bonus is that I can collect my BA miles anyway :)
A nice way to hide the real message: Seats in Eco will be significantly more narrow. I avoid all airlines using 10 seats in a row on 777. And I do not use this horrible chicken-stall like business class which is so far below the comfort of other airlines. I guess the next step is to sell tickets without any seats...until they notice that customers will stay away. I am not the first and not the last! I remember BA was called the slums in the air in the 70s and caught up pretty well later on. Now they are on the best way to fall back again.
Ten seats abreast - no thank you. It sounds apallingly crowded. British Airways has it wrong.