Flight Review: British Airways Business Class 787-900

In winter of 2023/2024, we flew with British Airways in their old Business Class on a B787-900 between London Heathrow and Dubai, this is our British Airways Business class review.

At the airport

Flying Business Class with British Airways gives you the possibility to use the Business Class Check-in Counters as well as Fast Track for security. All in all this was a very smooth experience, and we cleared the security in 5 minutes, which gave us plenty of time at the airport.

As our flight was departing from Terminal 5B, we had the opportunity to visit the impressive British Airways Lounge at the B gates, of which you can find a review here.

Boarding was performed in groups and was organized surprisingly well.

 

Seats

Unfortunately, our aircraft was not equipped with the new and very nice British Airways Club World Suites. A list of all the routes currently operated by the Club World Suites can be found here.

We had the old seats, which unfortunately are not that great, especially considering that they are in a 2-3-2 configuration with no direct aisle access from every seat. Furthermore, these seats lack of adequate storage space, and there is no too much good to say about the British Airways old Business class seats, except for the excellent legroom and freedom for your feet as the seats are not designed with foot ottomans.

The usual seat commands, a folding table and a reading lamp can be found at your seat, that’s about it. The windows were controlled by button due to the fact that it is a relatively new aircraft.

 

Food & Drinks

During boarding, you were offered a choice of water, juice or champagne to wait for the other people to board the aircraft.

After boarding, a hot towel was offered, and you could make your choice from the menu.

Considering the food and drinks section, British Airways definitely made an effort over the last couple of years.

As an aperitif, we opted in for an actually good tasting cocktail, which were accompanied by some nuts.

There were a couple of appetizers and main dishes to select from, which you can take a look at below.

The main meals all were very tasty and better than they were on flights we took with British Airways in the past.

The only exception here is the sandwich served as a pre-arrival snack. This one was very basic, as was the presentation. Here there is definitely some room for improvement.

 

The self-serving spot in the galley was filled with drinks, and you could poor your self a glass of wine, champagne, soft drink or grab a beer and some chips or nuts. I think I never saw such a packed self-service desk in business class considering drinks on any flight. This makes of course sense as you do not have to wait for your drinks and the flight attendants only need to fill up here. Personally, I prefer it this way.

 

Amenities

The TV is of a mediocre quality and folds out of your seat. It is a not very responsive, small touch screen, and you also have the usual small remote to control the in flight entertainment system. The choice of series and movies however was great.

 

The usual White company amenity which has been in place for years is still the standard at British Airways. Some sort of variety would be nice here. The pillow and blanket however are of a better quality and still very nice to sleep with.

The toilets are standard, with nothing special here. What was not very nice at all is the fact that they became very filthy throughout the end of the flight without any cleaning done. Definitely some more room for improvement here.

 

Staff

All staff members were very polite and attentive, which is rather unusual these days. You could have asked for drinks all the time. The only downside as the lack of cleaning the lavatories.

 

Bottom Line

While in terms of food and amenities, British Airways is doing well, the old Business class is definitely at the bottom of the list considering all major airlines. No direct aisle access at every seat, narrow beds and tiny entertainment screens sums up the seat experience.

However, combining good service and solid food with their new business class, British Airways is again one of the top carriers if you are lucky enough to sit in their Club World Suite seats.