Review: British Airways B777 Club Suite (London to the Maldives)

Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.

A few weeks ago, I took a trip to the Maldives and stayed at two of the country’s most exclusive resorts: The Ritz-Carlton Maldives and Patina Maldives. Both properties are located in the Fari Islands, a four-island man-made archipelago in the North Male Atoll, based a 45-minute boat ride from Velana International Airport. Read my trip reports here:

• Review: Edelweiss Air Airbus A340 Business Class from Zürich to Male
• Review: British Airways Boeing 777 Business Class (Club Suite) from London to Male (today)
• Review: The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
• Review: Patina Maldives, Fari Islands
• Review: British Airways Boeing 777 Business Class (Club Suite) from Male to London

Today: Review of British Airways’ B777 Club Suite (Business Class) from London to the Maldives

Over the past years, British Airways introduced a new Business Class seat – called Club Suite – onboard its Airbus A350, Boeing 787-10 and select refurbished Boeing 777 aircraft. The new product – which ranks among my favorite longhaul Business Class seats – offers direct-aisle access, a door for greater privacy, and luxurious flat-beds in a 1-2-1 configuration. Together with the introduction of its new Club Suite, British Airways also dramatically improved its onboard service concepts, with catering from DO & CO and  excellent bedding from The White Company. It was my second flight in British Airways’ Club Suite to the Maldives (you can read the review of my first flight here) and I really enjoyed the entire flight experience (except for Heathrow’s overcrowded lounges).

Have you ever flown British Airways’ Business Class suite (‘Club Suite’)? If so, what was your experience? Leave a comment.

• Trip: London (LHR) to Male (MLE)
• Airline: British Airways
• Aircraft type: Boeing 777-300ER
• Aircraft registration number: G-STBD (built in 2011)
• On time departure: 6:30 pm
• On time arrival: 9:30 am (+ 1 day)
• Miles: 5300 miles (8530 km)
• Flight time: 10 hours
• Seat: 13A
• Class: Business Class

In this review (more information & photos below my YouTube movie):

1. Price of my ticket
2. Lounge at Heathrow London Airport
3. Business Class cabin
4. Business Class seat (+ best & worst seats)
5. Amenities & bedding
6. Meals
7. Entertainment
8. Onboard internet
9. Other inflight experiences
10. My verdict (score)

1. COST OF MY TICKET

I paid 3100 euros (inclusive of taxes) for my Business Class ticket from Frankfurt to Male (via a stopover in London). The ticket was booked directly on the British Airways’ website during an online sales period.

2. LOUNGE AT LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT

London Heathrow is comprised of several terminals. Terminal 5 – the UK’s largest free-standing building –  is exclusively used by British Airways. Opened in 2008, Terminal 5 is designed to handle 35 million passengers a year and the complex took almost 20 years from conception to completion. The main terminal building is referred to as Terminal 5A, while there are also two satellite buildings, Terminal 5B & 5C (reached via an underground rail link). The latter are mainly used for longhaul operations.

British Airways operates several lounges within Terminal 5:

• Three Business Class lounges, with two located on the north and south side of the main building and one in satellite Terminal 5B. These lounges are called Galleries North, Galleries South and B gates lounges respectively, and they are open to Business Class passengers and Sapphire members of a frequent flyer program of one of the Oneworld
• A First Class lounge located one floor below the South Galleries, which is open to Emerald members of any of the Oneworld airline frequent flyer programs.
• The famous Concorde Room is British Airways’ most exclusive lounge, open only to its First Class passengers. The Concorde Room features hotel-style rooms with beds and ensuite bathrooms, plus restaurant-style dining. I previously reviewed the Concorde Room here.

This article only reviews British Airways’ flagship Galleries South Lounge, which is located one floor above the main concourse.  The lounge is accessed via a set of escalators, which are located under an impressive work of art that’s hanging from the ceiling and comprised of dots which were used as airport signage in the 1970s. The lounge’s entrance features an Airbus A380 model as well as a giant horse statue with a lamp on its head.

The lounge itself is massive and split into different sections, with separate areas for relaxing (which are centered around several self-serve bar areas), dining and working. The lounge is decorated in British Airways’ signature style, featuring mood lighting, oak wooded floors, elegant furniture, and a neutral color palette. Enormous floor-to-ceiling windows offer A decent buffet is on display right behind the lounge’s entrance and it offers soup, sandwiches, fruits, nachos, salads, and some hot (curry) dishes. The lounge offers excellent facilities, including a customer service counter, luggage room, business center, showers and a kids play area.

Unfortunately, the lounge can get extremely busy in peak hours despite its enormous size. For example, during my visit, there was almost no seat available anymore in the lounge, so what was supposed to be a relaxing visit turned into a frustrating experience. If possible, I recommend to skip this lounge and instead visit British Airways’ B gates lounge in the satellite Terminal 5B (although, unfortunately, it’s impossible to know upfront from what satellite terminal your flight will leave as the screens in the airport only announce the departure gates about one hour prior to the scheduled flight time).

3. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN

British Airways’ retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs are equipped with the carrier’s newest Business Class product, called ‘Club Suite’. These aircraft feature 76 Business Class seats – with sliding doors – which are spread over 3 cabins: a small front cabin (with 12 seats), a large middle cabin (with 42 seats) and an aft cabin (22 seats). The seats are laid out in a spacious 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone configuration, with direct aisle access for every passenger. Herringbone takes its name from the angled look of the seats when viewed from above on a seat map: the seats on the sides angle out toward the windows, while the seats in the center angle toward one another. Obviously, the center seats are the best choice for travel companions although these seats feature extendable dividers in case you are seated next to a strangers (guaranteeing complete privacy).

The three Business Class cabins onboard British Airways’ retrofitted Boeing 777-300ERs feature an absolutely gorgeous design. The cabin feels chic, airy and spacious, and British Airways’ stylish logo prominently features on a panel in the front of each cabin. Designed with silver, grey, and charcoal hued fabrics by UK company Hainsworth, the seats look luxurious, and they are also finished with Muirhead leather (which covers the ottoman and arm caps).

4. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)

British Airways has chosen the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat for its Club Suite Business Class product. The seat – which has a width of 22 inches (56 cm) – can also be found on other carrier’s such as Etihad Airways’ A350s.  Contrary to British Airways’ older Business Class seats, the new Club Suite comes with a sliding door for enhanced privacy. The door is fixed in the open position during take-off and landing, but during cruise, the flight attendants release the locking mechanism and you can leave the door open or closed. The door is ‘only’ 44 inches (112 cm) tall, so it still allows the crew to peer over and check in with you as needed.

In front of the seat is a 18.5-inch HD entertainment screen (more on that below) and a footrest located in the space below the TV screen. A tray table is stowed under the TV at a good height to maximize legroom; it needs to be pulled out for any use and when unfolded, it measures 16 x 18 inches (40 x 46 cm).

Above the non-aisle armrest is a small touchscreen, which can be used to adjust the seat position and to control the lighting of the suite during the flight. This side of the seat also features two storage units to stow away smaller personal items (e.g. glasses, wallet, smartphones, etc …). The largest cubby holds a handset for the inflight entertainment, a USB port, and a power plug. Next to the seatback is a large console with a vanity mirror and some more storage space on the inside; a reading light is fixed to the console’s outside wall.

At the push of a button, the seat can convert into a very comfy bed with a length of 79 inches (200 cm).

What are the best Business Class Club Suites?

• Solo travelers should choose one of the window seats.
• Travel companions should go for the middle seats. However, due to how private they are, they really don’t lend themselves all that well for traveling with a partner, as you have to lean forward when you want to have a chat (the consoles of both seats are located in the middle).

What are the worst Business Class suites?

• Most Club Suites on the Boeing 777 have two windows but there are some that only have one (due to the size of the suites). For example, the seats in row 7 and 12 have only one window and are not ideal if you are a person who enjoys taking in the views during a flight.
• I suggest to avoid the last row of the front mini-cabin (row 7) and the front row of the second cabin (row 8) due to their proximity to the galley and lavatories.
• I also suggest to avoid the last row of Business Class (row 23) which is in front of the Premium Economy Class bassinet seats.

Click here for a seat map of British Airways’ Boeing 777 aircraft.

5. AMENITIES & BEDDING

Business Class passengers get the following amenities during a British Airways longhaul flight:

• A Club World amenity kit, which comes in the form of an elegantly designed bag from The White Company. The kit contains eyeshade, earplugs, socks, a toothbrush, toothpaste, pen and toiletries from The White Company’s Restore & Relax Spa Collection, offering a touch of luxury in the sky.
• Excellent bedding, also provided by The White Company, which comprises:
  • a soft large pillow in a white cotton pillowcase;
  • a super-soft woven day blanket with satin trim;
  • a specially developed luxurious duvet;
  • a padded mattress topper to provide an extra layer of comfort to improve sleep quality
  • an elegant day cushion, which doubles up as lumbar support when working or relaxing
• Noise-cancelling headphones, which are of good quality as they block out most of the engine and cabin noise.

6. MEALS

During this flight, two meals were served: a dinner after takeoff and a breakfast prior to landing. Overall, the food was good but I felt it could have been better and a little bit more sophisticated, especially for a premium product. Also, the dinner service was extremely slow: the starter was only served after more than two hours in the flight and we were already flying above the Black Sea when the dessert was served (3 hours and 30 minutes after takeoff). It’s disappointing that British Airways’ mediocre food offering doesn’t match its excellent Club Suite hard product.

I choose the following dinner selection from the stylish bistro-style menu:

• Starter: roasted cauliflower soup, garlic, herb croutons
• Main course: British chicken supreme, oven roasted broccolini, baby bell pepper, fennel, carrot, truffle gnocchi
• Dessert: British apple crumble, apple compote

Breakfast was served 90 minutes prior to landing, and started with a fresh orange juice, seasonal fruit and blueberry & banana super bowl. As a main course, I had the full British breakfast with scrambled eggs, pork sausage, back bacon, button mushroom and grilled tomato.

7. ENTERTAINMENT

British Airways’ Club Suite seat has an 18.5-inch TV screen which uses the latest Panasonic X3 in-flight entertainment system. The screen is fixed into the shell of the seat in front (or the bulkhead for the front seats), allowing gate-to-gate entertainment (which is not the case with British Airways’ older Business Class seats where the screen needs to be popped back into place prior to takeoff or landing). The inflight entertainment can be selected by directly touching the TV screen or with the use of a handset, which has its own small TV screen. The entertainment system itself, called High Life, offers tons of movies and box sets to explore. 3D Interactive GeoFusion flight maps are available, allowing passengers to follow the flight route in hi-resolution graphics.

8. ONBOARD INTERNET

WiFi is offered on all British Airways wide-body aircraft. On this flight from London to the Maldives, the rate varied from £2.99 (for messaging for one hour) to £19.99 pounds (for streaming during the entire flight).

9. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES

# LAVATORY: There are four lavatories for the 76 Business Class passengers, all of them located in galley between the front and second Business Class cabin.

# VIEWS: Upon landing, we were treated to some spectacular views of the Maldives.

10. MY VERDICT

• Cabin design: 9/10
• Privacy: 9/10
• Seat comfort (upright): 9/10
• Seat comfort (bed position): 9/10
• Food (quality): 8/10
• Food (quantity): 8/10
• Inflight entertainment : 9/10
• WiFi: 7/10
• Service: 7/10
• Overall experience: very good (8.3/10)

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