BA unveils new business class

British Airways chose the centre of one of its main customer bases - London's Docklands close to the financial heartland of the UK - as the venue to launch its new Club World business class.
BA is following hard on the heels of Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific in unveiling its next generation business class flat bed. For chief executive Willie Walsh, five years after the carrier "revolutionized" the industry with the first flat bed, "now is the time for BA to take a decisive step forward".
The ｣100 million ($190 million) investment sees BA keeping its patented "ying yang" arrangement where half the seats face backwards. The bed is 25% wider and there is a new privacy screen and on-demand in-flight entertainment system.
The roll-out of the new Club World will take 18 months with the first aircraft in service at the end of November. Only Boeing 777s and 747-400s are slated to receive the upgraded beds for now.
As part of the roll-out BA is increasing the number of business class seats from the 38 today to 52 in 31 of its 747-400s. This will produce an extra 8% more business class capacity.