New Club World (Genuinely something new)
Mar 4, 2019, 4:40 am
#901
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 63
Apologies if this has already been reported elsewhere but I noticed the following on MMB today when looking at a POUG offer:
- More space, comfort and privacy in our seat that reclines to a fully flat bed or to the unique 'z bed', which offers a 6 feet 6 inches sleeping surface
Mar 4, 2019, 4:46 am
#902
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,924
Isn't the current Club World seat considered a 'z-bed'?
Mar 4, 2019, 4:52 am
#903
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: United Kingdom
Programs: BAEC Blue, Flying Blue Silver, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold
Posts: 817
Apologies if this has already been reported elsewhere but I noticed the following on MMB today when looking at a POUG offer:
- More space, comfort and privacy in our seat that reclines to a fully flat bed or to the unique 'z bed', which offers a 6 feet 6 inches sleeping surface
Mar 4, 2019, 5:18 am
#905
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold4life, ICH RA, Hyatt Gold and others
Posts: 701
Well in BA's defence, it is the seat manufacturers with very full order books who are struggling to manufacture seats at a rate that would enable an airline like BA with a large longhaul fleet of premium heavy(ish) seats to get a product roll out in anything other than a long timeline.
Mar 4, 2019, 5:26 am
#906
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spitalfields, London
Programs: BA Gold, KFC 'The Colonel's Club' Palladium tier, Mucci des Visions Célestes du Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Posts: 2,318
Mar 4, 2019, 6:09 am
#907
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: Meh
Posts: 2,596
Well in BA's defence, it is the seat manufacturers with very full order books who are struggling to manufacture seats at a rate that would enable an airline like BA with a large longhaul fleet of premium heavy(ish) seats to get a product roll out in anything other than a long timeline.
Mar 4, 2019, 6:23 am
#908
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
Posts: 23,433
Mar 4, 2019, 6:49 am
#909
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold4life, ICH RA, Hyatt Gold and others
Posts: 701
The seat manufacturer and WW have confirmed they can make 3 BA seats a day.......for the time being. So not quite a month for a single frame.
There are carriers out there who have made big fanfare announcements on new hard product only to then have to slow down roll outs for similar reasons.
Mar 4, 2019, 6:51 am
#910
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: BA - Blue > Bronze > Silver > Bronze > Blue
Posts: 6,812
It was an investor presentstion, he’s not justifying anything, just covering their backs if NPS drops, despite a new seat being rolled out.
Investors won’t be too happy if a big investment seems to be lowering NPS
Mar 4, 2019, 7:06 am
#911
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
And long timescales seem to be a feature of far less complex projects too. Didn’t it take more than a year just to get some new blankets + pillows into CW .... ?
Mar 4, 2019, 8:21 am
#912
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: LHR, LGW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,426
Does this rumour mean that whatever is revealed in a few weeks time is not the final J seat? Should we expect another J seat unveiling further in the near future?
Seems a bit odd, after almost 10 years to come up with something, to reveal a seat that isn’t finalised...
Seems a bit odd, after almost 10 years to come up with something, to reveal a seat that isn’t finalised...
Mar 4, 2019, 9:02 am
#913
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold4life, ICH RA, Hyatt Gold and others
Posts: 701
well from memory, the original plan was close to the original post to this thread which was an all-aisle "further evolution" of the current seat. Then Cruz decided (again my memory) to can it and start with a more standard manufacturer shell plus some BA touches.
I also suspect the complexity and timing of the fleet replacement plan - which sees 787[-8,-9,-10]/350/380/772/77W/777x all in play - has had a timing impact as the LOPA economics need to work for each sub-fleet within that part of the network each fleet is primarily designed.
Clearly shrinking F is necessarily part of not losing too much J capacity from the addition of all aisle access etc.
Seat design is not independent of many other bigger factors - which also take time and which have been fluid for a while also.
I stress it is a rumour however but there is some logic to it.
I also suspect the complexity and timing of the fleet replacement plan - which sees 787[-8,-9,-10]/350/380/772/77W/777x all in play - has had a timing impact as the LOPA economics need to work for each sub-fleet within that part of the network each fleet is primarily designed.
Clearly shrinking F is necessarily part of not losing too much J capacity from the addition of all aisle access etc.
Seat design is not independent of many other bigger factors - which also take time and which have been fluid for a while also.
I stress it is a rumour however but there is some logic to it.
Mar 4, 2019, 10:09 am
#914
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: United Kingdom
Programs: BAEC Blue, Flying Blue Silver, Hilton Gold, Marriot Gold
Posts: 817
I think it got to the point where BA had to can it or risk falling seriously behind.
Mar 4, 2019, 11:13 am
#915
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
Some would argue that this is too long a timeframe; I agree but with a caveat. It's not just about introducing a new seat, it's about selecting a seat and supplier, designing the bespoke applications, finding the right configuration for all the aircraft types based on current and future routes, then it's testing, certification... Plus let us not forget approvals. BA's financial approvals are long and painful and, the more expensive the project, the longer and more painful they become. I've only heard rough estimates for the cost of one fleet re-furb: the cost was enough to buy several Cristiano Ronaldos (Air France is paying 170m USD for the refurbishment of 15 330s). In these cases the approval is not just done by the applicable committee and BA Board, but also by IAG's.
All of the above is my opinion and not BA's.