British Airways to launch world’s biggest business class cabin

British Airways will introduce what it describes as the world’s biggest business class on its upgraded double-decker Airbus SE A380 jets , targeting premium passengers as airlines rush to cash in on upscale travel .

The IAG SA-owned airline will update its fleet of a dozen A380s with a 106-seat business class cabin spanning the entire upper deck of the aircraft, the airline said at an event in London. The first upgraded A380 is due to enter service in the coming months.

The carrier said it would also upgrade its first-class seating with dividers that fold away , enabling the conversion of middle seats into larger cabins for passengers travelling together.

The changes will reduce the number of seats on the A380 by 11 per cent, from 469 seats to 417, with the bulk of the reduction coming from the economy-class cabin. Economy berths will be reduced by about 30 per cent to 215 seats.

“This is the largest single investment that any airline has ever made in reconfiguring an aircraft stretching from nose to tail and touching every single aspect of the experience on board,” British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said on Monday. Retrofitting one aircraft takes about 100 days, he said.

British Airways' decision to spend millions on transforming its fleet of A380s makes the carrier an industry outlier while rivals around the world are phasing out the four-engine behemoth for smaller, more fuel-efficient twin-engined jets. Slot constraints at London’s Heathrow airport mean it cannot easily replace the super jumbo with smaller aircraft.

US and European carriers have been pouring money into first and business-class seating to target well-heeled passengers who are a resilient source of income at a time when the Iran war has caused jet fuel prices to soar, driving up costs. Air France-KLM’s La Premiere recently won an award for the world’s best first-class in Skytrax’s annual airline rankings and has plans to expand the service to more US cities.

Emirates, which operates the world’s biggest A380 fleet, has as many as 76 berths in business class. However, it will still have a party trick that British Airways’ upgraded jets will lack – a shower for first-class flyers . The airline is also spending heavily to upgrade its fleet, including reconfigured premium-economy cabins and new business-class cabins.

Across the Atlantic, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Holdings have generated most of the industry’s profitability by catering to premium customers.

British Airways unveiled its plans for the new A380 first-class seating in November 2024, and had planned to launch the product in the middle of this year.