BA's swish new A350 lands at Heathrow

The first British Airways Airbus A350 featuring the airline's long-awaited next generation of business class seat touched down at London Heathrow over the weekend. The A350-1000, G-XWBA, is the first of 18 heading to BA, including four aircraft expected to join the fleet this year.

The airline's newly-branded “Club Suite” offers direct aisle access and a suite door for greater privacy as well as luxurious flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. READ: Qantas 60 years of jet travel. The seats boast 40 percent more storage, including a vanity unit and mirror as well as  WiFi, large 18.5-inch inflight entertainment screens with high definition gate-to-gate programming, and PC / USB power.

The first phase of operations in August will see the A350 fly on short routes between London and Madrid to give the airline time to perfect its customer service delivery and familiarise cabin crew with the aircraft layout. https://www.facebook.com/britishairways/videos/395939121037855/?t=51 In phase two, which starts during September, the aircraft will begin long-haul flying from Heathrow to Dubai, followed by services to Toronto, Tel Aviv and Bangalore this year. During this period another three A350 aircraft will join the British Airways fleet and two Boeing 777 aircraft will also be retrofitted with the new cabin.

Other long-haul aircraft across the network will receive the new business class from the start of 2020. “This aircraft marks a significant and exciting milestone in our £6.5 billion investment program and is even more special as it comes with our new Club Suite,’’ said BA director of brand and customer experience Carolina Martinoli. “The A350 is a fantastic aircraft and an excellent showpiece for British engineering. Our customers are going to love the space, light and comfort on board.” Watch the making of the BA A350 video: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-n0LK2Gxxk&feature=youtu.be[/embed] As well as a new 56-seat Club World cabin, the three-cabin A350 features the latest World Traveller Plus premium economy cabin (56 seats) with new furnishings including a plush new pillow and warm quilt and new amenity kits There is also enhanced service and an improved dining experience.

The World Traveller economy cabin offers 219 seats with high-speed WiFi. In a world-first, the airline mapped out its new Club Suite and A350 in lasers within the British Airways Laserdrome, a 100 square metre structure, towering 6.5 metres high.

Like it's Boeing counterpart, the A350 offers travelers reduced noise and higher cabin pressure with greater humidity to promote better well-being. High ceilings and straighter cabin walls also give a sense of greater space. A 25 percent lower fuel burn means a more environmentally friendly flight with significantly reduced C02 emissions.