Prospero

Welcome to FlyerTalk's latest iteration of the British Airways First cabin and seating guide. The line up is going through some pretty big changes at the moment, with the retirement of the Boeing 747, ongoing cabin size reductions (from 14 to 8 seats) on some Boeing 777s as well as a full cabin removal on others (77Z). Here we have the basics covered, included detailed cabin layout plans but if you have any specific questions to ask, please post them here. If you are wondering why the Airbus A350-1000 isn't mentioned in this thread, well that's because it doesn't have a First cabin.


The hard products
Prime 2010


The grand father of British Airways' family of First suites found on some Boeing 777-200ER and 777-300ER aircraft is ergonomically designed to provide comfort and support in all modes from the upright landing position to the conversion to a fully flat sprung diaphragm bed, exquisitely finished in hand double stitched leather with polished lacquer finished tables. The windows are framed as a single large format glass lined opening with electronically controlled blind, taking a gentle historical design cue from an earlier Imperial Airways era.

The cabin avoids ostentatious gadgets and gimmicks. The bed is cleverly designed so when in bed mode, the seat cushions, padded armrests, and foot stool all align horizontally with the surrounding horizontal padded surfaces, adding more space for sleeping. Due to the orientation of the centre seats which are angled slightly more towards the front than the corresponding window seats, the centre seats offer additional bed length.

In-flight entertainment installed on the Boeing 777s is powered by the Panasonic eX3 (77R), Thales i5000 (77H/77M), and Rockwell Collins TES (77Z) systems delivered to a 15.4" personal display.

Note, BA is in the process of phasing out the 77Z, 77Y cabin configurations as part of its Boeing 777 refit programme, due to be completed by the end of 2021.


Prime A380


BA's largest aircraft also features the largest suite, measured in raw square footage it offers 30% more personal space and 60% more storage space than the original 2010 Prime suite. The seat is similar in width and length to other suites but benefits from more generous peripheral space as well as full size personal locker, large enough to stow a max IATA size cabin case as well as coats etc.

In-flight entertainment installed on the Airbus A380 is powered by a Thales i5000 system delivering content to a 15.4" personal display.


Prime 787


Introduced in September 2015 with the delivery of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, this suite features a static 23" HD display. This seat has received mixed reactions from the FlyerTalk community, with several reports spanning many months of significant wear and tear issues, including scuffed leather, damaged controls, and disabled or even broken lamps. These issues are apparently being resolved.

In-flight entertainment installed on the Boeing 787-9 is powered by a Thales i5000 system with Panasonic eX3 on the 787-10.


Prime 2020


BA recently took delivery of four new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft which feature a smaller eight suite cabin. The suite is similar to the first suites you will find on the Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft but this new suite features a pair of sliding privacy doors. Initial press photos show the cabin walls and windows in a factory finished condition but it is believed the cabins are being fitted with BA's signature lining panels, panoramic glazed openings, and fabric screens.

In-flight entertainment installed on the new Boeing 777-300ER (77H) is powered by a Panasonic eX3 system delivering content to a personal 23" HD display.



Fleet line-up and cabin layouts
Current First cabin layouts
Please refer to the wikipost for the latest information on each aircraft type.

Note: in eight suite cabins seat 2F is equipped with a bassinet. In twelve and fourteen suite cabins, the bassinet is at seat 4F.



























Related threads:
BA Fleet and Travel Class Guide
BA fleet: confirmed information on aircraft deliveries, refurbishment and retirements
LGW & LHR selected 777s go 10-abreast (3-4-3) in Y 2018 onwards
New BA First Class? [8F configured Boeing 772]

cheshirepete

We’ve just booked in First for February 2022 to SYD. It’s a 787-9 with 8 seats. I asssume this is the 2015 layout? However on the seat map in Expert Flyer all the seats show as facing forwards in CW, whereas the WiKI above shows a Herring bone config. So, have some of the -9’s been refitted?

Prospero

All the 787-9s are in their original configuration. I think what you are seeing on EF is just a graphic shortcoming in the way It presents seat maps.

Rubecula

Expert Flyer does not explicitly show the seat orientation. The 787-9 will have the old CW seating arrangement in Feb 2022.

Edit, Prospero beat me to it.

andymcdonnell

I’ve booked F flights LHR-JFK 20 Nov (BA 115). MMB shows it as 77W with a seat map of 8 seats 1-2-1 in 2 rows.

Is this the new First suite?

SonicStar817

According to expertflyer and looking at the J cabin, yes it would be the new first seat.

dwugson

What is the configuration of the current F cabin in the single daily flight between JFK and LHR. I know there are only 8 seats but can they be closed off into self contained suites?

RB211

Isn't the new first seat effectively the old first seat with a door?

rb211.

SonicStar817

The flights are operated with the 200ER, so it would be old First Seats with no door.

Not really. It's the newer 787 First seat with doors.

dwugson

Thanks, had hoped for the new seats given the low number of flights at the moment!

Amlb

If you had a choice of 789 or A380 in F on an overnight flight, which would work better?

Thanks

AM

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I would go for the a380 as the a380 experience may not be around for as long as the 789 assuming some of them even come back into service. I have done both and preferred the a380 although the a380 was from Hong Kong and the 789 was a short overnight from Toronto. Both are good .
regards
Tbs

RB211

But let's face it, "newer" is just an evolution of the previous "new first." Personally I wouldn't say any of it is new, per se!

rb211.

Tobias-UK

No contest! For me A380 every time 👍

Prospero

I concur. One of the principal advantages of the A380 cabin is the location of the galley, which like the beloved and dear departed 747s, is discretely positioned aft of the cabin. The A380 also has a massive amount of buffer space between the rear of the First cabin and front of the neighbouring Club World cabin. Together, this creates a very peaceful environment