Schwann

I wonder if their reasoning for that was a financial one. It seems like a strange decision to make.

KARFA

I think it�s more a case of nothing has been decided yet, rather than a decision never to refurb older aircraft.

lcylocal

The previous setup had a mains socket (multi standard) in the forward rows for laptops as well as a USB-A. Then just USB-A sockets at the back.USB-A is limited to 5W so only any good for phones etc.

Given most laptops now use USB-C for charging and this doesn�t involve carrying the mains plug/transformer then USB-C with USB-A for older phones makes most sense.

I expect the sockets and cabling could support 60W throughout the aircraft. But the overall power system would need to be more robust/bigger/heavier/more expensive to let all 180-odd seats plug in a laptop pulling 60W so the sockets at the back are limited.

IFlyPlanes

This would seem like an operational disaster to be honest. Having such different cabins among the fleet would also throw passengers off too and would not be a good look for the brand.

On top of this, I don't think that the seats in the current NEOs can last 20 years, that would be a nightmare to fly on!

Genius1

It would make sense for the neos to be refurbished with the new seats, and the ex-BD aircraft (if they are not to be retired) and other ceo aircraft to be refurbished with the Pinaccle seats coming off them and any retired A319 aircraft where still in good condition.

TCX69

This is a mistake. The new seats aren�t designed to have headrest covers on. There isn�t any velcro to hold them on either, hence why they are all skew in that photo.

They should have been taken off by now.

rugby23

it�s almost as if this wasn�t an investment in customer experience, but just whatever seats were cheapest/easiest on a few new aircraft deliveries

KARFA

there are already multiple short haul cabins on the a320 series so I am not clear why this would break the camels back now?

chriswiles

I doubt your average joe wouldn't notice the difference between the current Neo seat and brand new seats. I don't see it being an 'operational disaster' at all. It's worse right now if you fly a standard A320 v Neo as on the standard A320 you get the table between seats, curtains in CE and so on. You don't get those on the current Neo.

Long haul there's a huge difference in cabins. You expect a relatively modern 787-9 to have the Club Suite. It doesn't. You'd expect the 787-10, which is almost brand new, to have the 2020 'new' F, it doesn't, etc etc. Also, it's confusing enough between 777's as BA will often refer to their planes only as a '777' so it's hard for your average flyer to know if it's a 777-200 and really old F from 2010 or 777-300 and the 'new' F from 2020 etc etc.

All this is more of an 'operational disaster' then converting A320's to the 'new' cabin.

IFlyPlanes

It adds yet another cabin to the mix, another set of seat replacements and parts if something goes wrong. Some crews may not be very familiar with the new cabin as it seems right now (as shown with the antimacassars) it just creates more workload when it comes to training.
A larger proportion of A320neos would have the older cabin vs the newer one (with the current order at least) whereas with the current cabins, it's only a very small proportion with only 3x A320s having different cabins to the rest at LHR

What we already have in terms of the multiple short-haul cabins isn't great. But with the G-MIDx aircraft at LHR due to be sent to the scrap in the near future and the ex-BD A319 frames getting the newer cabins (this does not seem to be confirmed however it is somewhat likely) it seems like things are beginning to look up.

I didn't factor in long-haul much as the thread is about short-haul interiors, the cabins on long-haul are definitely more of an 'operational disaster' than the short-haul cabins especially due to the prices people pay for the service, only one can hope in the next 5-10 years it gets cleared up.
By not refurbishing the current A320neo's in the future, not having the tables and curtains would only continue the 'disaster' we have now in short-haul.
However, I would agree that the average passenger wouldn't notice too much of a difference as of right now. That's on me for reading into it a little too much.... It's just somewhat bad PR when someone says that BA have worse legroom than Ryanair etc.!

However the A320neo cabins in 15 years will be very worn down and if they aren't retrofitted or changed then it will be very noticeable to anyone, regardless of whether it's someone on FT or a regular customer.

13901

Again, I don't know where Head for Points has gotten this, but as thing stands now, provided that the feedback on the product is positive, there will be a refurbishment programme starting in 2025.

lcylocal

My working assumption is HfP asked the BA press office and they said �no plans� meaning that there are no plans we want to announce in public right now. Rather than this is something we have ruled out. Raffles may want to comment for himself though.

I not sure that is quite right. The ultra slimline seats down the back of the neo feel quite different and quite basic compared to either the Pinnacle seats or the new seats.

Ultimately it�s about consistency of product and how this reflects on the brand. Getting to a place where the ceo�s are all Pinnacle and the neo�s all new seats with the large bins would be a good place to be.

Genius1

That would infer that feedback is acted upon, but nobody likes the T5 lounge washrooms and they�ve survived for 16 years so far. 😆

opus99

largely I agree with you!

the 787-10 does not have the doors simply because the cabin is too narrow (well that is what I�ve heard; Etihad has a first suite on its 787-9s which is still a wider seat than BAs but less angled so overall I guess the whole suite not as wide) to include the version with doors. So that comes only on the 300ER.

They didnt bother with the 200ERs because I think from 2027/28 they start pulling those out of the fleet.

what I do particularly hate is the fact that the website doesn�t show you what variant of the jet you�re flying.

im guessing the website updates will have this feature as they have them on other airlines at IAG.

even partner airlines will tell you the variant of the BA aircraft that�s operating.