Kipper,
His girlfriend will be so delighted to get a new MacBook Pro that not having a backup charger won't be an issue. I just replaced my 2010 with a 2016 MacBook Pro. As others have mentioned Apple changed the shape of the charger connector and old charger will not fit the new MacBook Pros.
More important decisions when deciding on a MacBook Pro are about which size/model do you want and how do you want to configure the MacBook Pro. Your friend can easily do comparisons online between the different models and configurations online at Apple to select right MacBook Pro. Also if there is an Apple Store nearby those folks are very helpful.