BRITISH Airways has taken delivery of the first of 18 shiny new Airbus A350’s – and I landed myself a seat on her inaugural flight.
Well, I say seat, what I actually sat in was more like a tiny, very posh hotel room in the sky.
Don’t judge, I usually fly economy.
BA call it the Club Suite, and it’s very fancy.
The first major refresh of business class in 13 years, it transforms into a lay-flat bed and comes with its own sliding door for privacy.
Taking off from Heathrow to Madrid – a temporary short haul route to train up cabin crew on the new hardware – my flight is just over two hours of pure lux.
BA’s design boffins have carefully thought through every aspect of the seat – even if the best ideas feel like they were poached from a standard family hatchback.
There’s a cup holder by your feet, a vanity mirror, and two small glove compartments, one with two USB and three pin power socket inside.
The motoring inspiration continues in the materials – faux light brown wood, sound insulating felt and sleek metallic lines.
While satisfying clicks from panels and the sturdy swoosh on the slide-away table’s runner feels painstakingly tuned.
The main telly is a massive 18 and a half inches, it’s just a shame that the blockbuster movies on file have all been encoded at what can only be described as ‘potato quality’ – a crime on a screen so nice.
There are two other screens, one on the remote and another to adjust the bed up and down.
Tucked into bed with the door closed and it felt like I’m napping in the love child of a capsule hotel and a BMW – and it feels great.
But what about cattle class, where 219 of 331 passengers will be sat?
If you’re in economy, you’re still going to have a much nicer experience.
All passengers will benefit from high ceilings, reduced noise and better air.
Older planes are pressurised to around 7000ft or over, while this one is around 6000ft.
That’s an improvement, but still the same altitude as Mount Kilimanjaro, so you’ll want to watch your drinking.
There are also environmental benefits to flying on the state-of the-art A350 as 25 per cent lower fuel burn significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
So even if you’re not a high flyer, it’s worth looking out for routes that fly the new A350 for your next holiday.
BA’s only A350 runs from Heathrow to Madrid ten times a week until September 2.
From then, passengers will see the planes popping up on routes, starting with Dubai, Toronto and then Tel Aviv.
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