ba world traveller plus 777 200

Refreshed but with room for refinement: A review of British Airways World Traveller Plus on the refurbished 777

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here .

[tpg_rating tpg-rating-score="74" ground-experience="7" cabin-seat="23" amens-ife="27" food-bev="12" service="5" pros="New fabrics, fantastic bedding and a huge inflight-entertainment selection." cons="Limited foot space, disappointing second meal and awkward service flows." /]

A lot of excitement in British Airways' 100th year has centered around its new Airbus A350 aircraft with the long overdue and highly publicized new Club Suite business-class product. BA has a huge task ahead to install this seat in more than 100 existing wide-body aircraft, a process that will take years.

The very first of the existing aircraft to complete the refurbishment was a Boeing 777-200, which was then assigned on the prized route from London Heathrow (LHR) to New York JFK. I got to try Club Suite on this aircraft , so I also wanted to try out the World Traveller Plus (premium economy) service. Having heard whispers this cabin was also receiving a refresh, I wondered: How would the product compare to other BA WTP flights?

World Traveller Plus flights between London and New York can be a great use of Avios, with one-way redemptions costing 26,000 Avios per person on off-peak days plus about $400 in fees, taxes and surcharges.

We ended up paying the charges using the Platinum Card® from American Express, which earned 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly with the airline and with American Express Travel. And with BA as a transfer partner of both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards , it's easy to amass the points required to book flights. Plus, there are often lucrative transfer bonuses between one (or both) of the programs and British Airways, meaning you'd need even fewer points to score an award.

[flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Ground Experience" tpg-rating="7" tpg-rating-max="10" tail="G-RAES" age="22" departure="12" departure-2="10" duration="7" duration-2="02" live-tv="0" tailcam="0" headphones="0" comp-alcohol="0" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]

I arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5, the home of British Airways, around two hours before departure.

Having checked in online but still needing a boarding pass, I tried out the check-in kiosks.

These were efficient, and I had my boarding pass in no time. I headed through Terminal 5 security, which despite the terminal being busy, was quick and efficient. I have never waited more than five minutes at any London airport security in my several years of living there.

From there, it was downstairs to find my gate. No lounge access is included with a World Traveller Plus ticket without any airline status, so I wandered around the terminal itself. The gate areas in the A Pier were heaving on a Thursday morning.

My flight was departing from the B gates, so I headed underground to take the transit train.

The B gates had more seating, though there were no power outlets at each seat.

Shortly after I arrived at the gate, around 60 minutes before scheduled departure, an announcement was made that boarding would be delayed around one hour due to an engineering issue.

Passengers in Club and First cabins were invited to return to the BA lounge in Terminal 5, but with no lounge for me, I decided to just stay at the gate and get some work done.

Despite the supposed hour's delay, boarding was delayed only 30 minutes, and I hoped we might even make up the time in the air for an on-time arrival into JFK.

Boarding was strictly maintained by group numbers. Groups 1 and 2 were boarded before me, and I was one of the first Group 3 members to board.

Other than the slight boarding delay, it was a civilized and organized ground experience and boarding process.

[flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Cabin and Seat" tpg-rating="23" tpg-rating-max="30" configuration="2" configuration-2="4" configuration-3="2" width="18.5" pitch="38" tray="14" tray-2="16" lavs="4" live-tv="0" tailcam="0" headphones="0" comp-alcohol="0" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]

I walked through the huge Club Suite cabins, which took up around half the aircraft, and then made it to the World Traveller Plus cabin behind it.

This was laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration. I was excited to see the seat fabrics were brand-new following the refurbishment, and the navy blue color looked smart.

The cabin was completely full on my flight, and with only a few seating options, I chose an aisle seat midway back in the cabin.

On closer inspection, I was disappointed to see that the refurbishment of the seats appeared to start and finish with the seat fabric. The casing of the seat had not been refreshed and was scuffed and dented. The IFE screens were also evidently previous-generation, as the buttons were quite faded.

Legroom was definitely a step above economy, and I liked the adjustable footrest.

The problem was there was very limited foot space under the seat in front of me. I do have big feet, but there was little room to fit these under what I expected would be a spacious seat.

There were two seat power sources to share between my seat neighbor and me.

There was a bifold tray table, which in upright position was able to accommodate my 13-inch laptop easily.

The recline of the seat was good, and I was able to fit in a comfortable, quick nap. Note that the seats recline deeply an abruptly: Both my seat neighbor and I were startled when the people in front of us reclined their seats.

The passenger in front of me was restless during the flight, and the seat shook significantly each time he tossed and turned. I could just manage to do some work on my laptop when the seat in front was fully reclined, though my concentration was interrupted numerous times when the seat in front wobbled and rattled because of the passenger's movements.

Although boarding commenced around 30 minutes late, we ended up departing almost an hour late, as the secondary screening for those with a dreaded 'SSSS' on their boarding pass was not set up properly at our gate at boarding time (perhaps because the delay in boarding ended up being far less than expected), so there were still passengers trickling on board well after I thought boarding had been completed.

With the Club Suite cabin taking up so much of the aircraft, the 777-200 featured a surprisingly small single World Traveller (economy) cabin in a tight 3-4-3 configuration -- this was the entire economy cabin.

There were no bathrooms dedicated to the WTP cabin. There was a pair of bathrooms at the back of our cabin shared between both cabins, though they were marked as out of order from boarding until several hours into the flight before a crew member noticed the stickers, checked the bathrooms and decided they were serviceable.

There was a curtain separating the premium and economy cabins, though this wasn't closed until halfway through the flight, which added to the feeling that there was little differentiation between the World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins.

[flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Amenities and IFE" tpg-rating="27" tpg-rating-max="30" screen="12" live-tv="No" tailcam="No" wifi="5.7" wifi-2="0.36" headphones="Yes" comp-alcohol="0" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]

This was the area where the flight really shone. I arrived to find several goodies waiting for me on my seat.

First was a plush, decent-sized pillow, which would not have looked out of place in business class.

There was a matching blanket, which was plush and large. Both had a really cool blue-and-white striped design that was fresh and stylish.

There was also a matching amenity kit in the same fun design, and headphones.

The headphones, while not noise-canceling, were of good quality and produced good sound. There was also the standard inflight magazine, duty-free magazine and sick bag in the seatback pocket.

While the IFE screens had not received an upgrade in the refurbishment, there were still hundreds of movies and TV shows to choose from. I certainly didn't get bored!

Though the flight map was fairly basic, considering the plane had just been refurbished.

The selections could be navigated by remote control.

Bathrooms were a good size and pretty standard, though I noticed that the mirrors were filthy, even at the start of the flight.

Wi-Fi was available shortly after takeoff and had good speeds: I was able to get quite a bit of work done on the flight.

[flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Food and Beverage" tpg-rating="12" tpg-rating-max="20" live-tv="0" tailcam="0" headphones="0" comp-meal="2" meals-purchase="No" comp-alcohol="Yes" extra-pillows="0" turndown-service="0" /]

During the boarding process, poured drinks were offered from a tray. The cabin crew said they had "water, juice or Champagne." This immediately struck me as odd, because I didn't think BA served actual Champagne in World Traveller Plus (few airlines do). This is nitpicking, but if it were prosecco or English sparkling wine the crew member really should have described it as such. In any case, it wasn't very cold.

With an 11:20 a.m. departure, I expected a full lunch service followed by an afternoon tea meal shortly before landing, like I had experienced on other carriers on the same route, albeit with slightly later departure times.

As expected, lunch was served shortly after takeoff, beginning with a drinks service. All passengers were offered a premeal drink (a Bloody Mary for me) and asked to select wine for their meal. I asked for a white wine and was told there was only a sauvignon blanc. This was served with sour cream-and-chive pretzels.

There were three entrees. I would normally go for beef but decided to mix it up and selected a Thai prawn green curry.

BA serves World Traveller Plus meals still with the plastic and foil on top of containers. This really affects the presentation, and I wish they would tidy up the tray before handing it to the passengers ( Virgin Atlantic does the same thing).

This is the difference five seconds of tidying would make:

One of the big selling points of British Airways World Traveller Plus catering is that the entree is from the Club World kitchen, meaning you can expect a business-class main course. Unfortunately, while Club Suite passengers on this flight received meals plated in the galley, the same could not be said for WTP meals, which were reheated in the same dishes they were loaded onto the plane in.

This resulted in a fairly unappetizing-looking dish that tasted OK but was dried out around the edges because of the reheating.

I did like the starter, a goat cheese, orange and beetroot tartare. The goat cheese especially was a premium and refined touch. The cookie-dough cheesecake for dessert was also decent and got me ready to be in New York City.

Midflight, a small ice cream was served.

It was already pretty cracked when I opened it.

Around 90 minutes before landing, a second meal was served. I was expecting some sort of afternoon tea like on other flights to New York, but it was a lonely pizza, with tea or coffee offered this time.

While the main dish from lunch was promised "from the Club World kitchen," this was about as economy as it got.

The taste was decent, better than a frozen supermarket pizza and dense enough that it at least filled me up. I found the switch from proper china at lunch to paper cups for the second meal to be strange.

[flight_stats ticket-class="econ" review-stat-section="Service" tpg-rating="5" tpg-rating-max="10" live-tv="0" tailcam="0" headphones="0" comp-alcohol="0" extra-pillows="No" turndown-service="No" blurb="Delays and disruptions made for an uneven service flown that was little different from economy." /]

The crew on my flight were well-intentioned, but there were several frustrating elements to the flight. As the crew began serving lunch, they asked us both what we would like to drink at that moment and whether we wanted wine with our meal. I chose a Bloody Mary cocktail to start with and then white wine with my meal. This was both served to me before any food was. While that would ordinarily be fine, we then hit some turbulence, meaning the service was suspended for around 30 minutes.

This threw the entire service flow off. Most passengers drank their wine for their meal during the turbulence, and by the time their main courses were served, they had no wine left. The crew did not realize such a long delay would result in empty glasses, and, firstly, didn't both offer more wine when the meals were finally served (seeing glasses were empty), and, secondly, didn't offer any more drinks during the meal service at all.

While we were provided with coffee cups with our meal tray, the crew seemed so flustered that they completely forgot to serve any tea or coffee with lunch.

On this route that I've flown several times, I'm used to a full meal service shortly after takeoff and a lighter meal just before descent. The full lunch was served after takeoff as expected, but then midflight a single (mini) ice cream was served despite us having been served a normal dessert just a few hours earlier. I was confused why I was served two desserts so close together and initially thought that may be the entire second meal. But then around 90 minutes before landing, the crew came through a third time with a pizza, which, while filling because of its carby goodness, was not a patch on the afternoon tea usually served in World Traveller Plus on these flights.

There didn't appear to be any crew members dedicated to the World Traveller Plus cabin -- we were served first, but the same crew members then rolled down to World Traveller and served them. This added to the feeling there was little differentiation between the two cabins.

Overall impression

Given the huge improvement to the business-class cabin on this aircraft, I was hoping for more of an improvement in the World Traveller Plus cabin refresh. While new seat fabrics are nice on a 22-year-old aircraft, this was a pretty middle-of-the-road experience.

I appreciated the extra legroom and recline, and the awesome bedding was a lovely surprise, but this was far from a perfect flight. The lack of any real separation between the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins was symbolic for the flight: While the premium cabin was served first, it felt fairly economy from start to finish. There wasn't much room for my (big) feet next to the bulky IFE box, and the turbulence with a full cabin seemed to upset the service flow, as things were simply forgotten.

The second meal service was strange: two very light and decidedly economy snacks served separately rather than a proper afternoon tea service.

This aircraft is more than two decades old, as are many flying BA's most profitable route, but in the future I'll be looking for a more modern aircraft where possible.

All photos by the author.

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In-flight amenities

All seats feature 12 audio channels featuring up to 4 talk-radio channels hosted exclusively for British Airways and the remainder as music channel choices. More Information

Club World Business features personal video screens featuring interactive games and offering up to 18 channels of the latest film and television programs.

In World Traveller and World Traveller Plus, every seat on long haul flights has its own 6.3 inch LCD video screen offering 18 video channels and a flight information channel. World Traveller Plus adds interactive games.

More Information

Club World Business and World Traveller Plus feature in-seat laptop power connections. There are no connections in the standard World Traveller class. Read our guide to in-seat laptop power for more information.

British Airways is in the middle of introducing WiFi on all of their 777-200 aircraft. As of November 2018, 28 out of their 43 777-200s have WiFi.

More information

British Airways offers a variety of complimentary food and beverages, based on the time of day and departure location. An enhanced meal service is offered to Club Europe passengers. Click here for more information about food offered onboard.

Note that British Airways flies more than one version of the 777. There are three classes on this transatlantic plane, but BA also has a 4-class configuration. This aircraft type is based at London Heathrow.

All A, D, F, and J seats in World Traveller class have limited underseat leg and storage space due to the presence of an entertainment equipment box.

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British Airways World Traveller Plus Review: Is it Worth It?

By: Author Amanda OBrien

Posted on Last updated: 19/03/2024

In 2017 I flew premium economy with Qantas Sydney to Hong Kong return. It was a fantastic experience.

In fact, it was so good it made me question if I could really justify the extra amount to fly business class if it wasn’t an Australia – Europe/US flight.

So when was looking at flying from London to New York – and then Los Angeles to London return – I thought I would give British Airways World Traveller Plus a shot. Which I did back in 2018 and I recently flew with British Airways World Traveller Plus post-Covid in 2022.

I’m going to kick off with an update from 2022 when I flew from Portland to London Heathrow with British Airways in premium economy. My older review involved flying out of London Heathrow so it has quite a bit of information on checking in at Heathrow etc.

⇒ Click here for Prices and Deals on British Airways

British Airways World Traveller Plus 2022 update

After a long break flying with British Airways in World Traveller Plus I signed up again to try them out in July of 2022. I was flying from London to Washington DC, and then home to London out of Portland. I received an offer that was too good to refuse to upgrade to business class on the flight from Heathrow to Washington DC. This review update covers the Portland to London Heathrow leg in premium economy.

I somehow managed to end up on British Airways’s first (not sure if this is the first ever flight but it was certainly the first for a while) direct flight out of Portland to Heathrow. Everyone was in a great mood and there was even cake and sandwiches at the boarding gate for everyone!

As such, we had a very nice new 787 that I believe was a Dreamliner. Few things make me happier than realizing that I am on a relatively new plane as it always means a huge improvement in the premium economy experience.

When I mentioned to the crew that Virgin Atlantic offers its premium economy passengers prosecco the attendant even went and got me a glass of champagne from business class! As I said, all were in a joyous mood.

To be honest, not a lot has changed since the last time I flew World Traveller Plus with British Airways. The 787 I was on had only three rows of premium economy seats. I quite liked this as it normally means faster service and I feel more of a sense of space when the area is smaller. The seat layout was 2-3-2.

I had booked in my window seat when I booked the flight as I always do on overnight flights (I find it worth it to pay a bit extra at booking to achieve this).

One thing that has improved is the quality of the headphones in premium economy which are now noise cancelling. Also, the quality of the food on offer has improved. I enjoyed a very nice steak.

The Dreamliner 787 also has new touch-operated window screens and better cabin pressurization. If you are able to choose your flight and can see the different planes available, I suggest checking to find the Dreamliner 787 option for world traveller plus as it is definitely a step above premium economy on some of BA’s other planes.

British Airways World Traveller Plus Review (2017): Online Check-In

Unfortunately, things with British Airways World Traveler plus did not get off to a good start. Two days before my flight I went on to the British Airways app and was able to reserve one of the aisles British Airways Premium Economy seats – great.

The next day, when I went to actually check in online I was told that my passport number was wrong and that I wasn’t able to check in.

I then had issues with my uber so only arrived at the airport 90 minutes before my British Airways flight.

British Airways Premium Economy: Bag Drop and issues arise

I went and used the check-in machine for my premium economy British Airways flight and my seat had changed to a window – which was good news for me. Then I went to the desk for bag drop.

When the attendant is on the phone for some time when all you do is drop your bag, it is not a good sign. I was told by the attendant that I had been “sneaky” taking the window seat.

I was quite annoyed by this and asked how could I be sneaky when the app had done this for me. I was then told that they had overbooked business class and that seat had been meant for someone who was being downgraded to premium economy on British Airways – which meant they now wanted to move me to British Airways economy class.

I was so annoyed. It really makes me furious when airlines do this. Or should I say when British Airways do this as they are the only airline that has tried to bump me from flights several times due to overbooking.

In what other industry would an organization take your money ahead of time and then when you turned up to experience that service be told that you couldn’t as they had overbooked – and that apparently this was fine?

It is a major problem as a solo traveler as we are at the top of the list when it comes to who gets bumped first when it comes to air travel.

A British Airways staff member once told me that the safest people were those also flying with British Airways from a connecting airport eg Manchester to London and then on to say NY, followed by groups, followed by families and then by couples.

Only the male solo traveler is worse off than the female solo traveler. My annoyance was greater as I had injured my ankle in Nepal earlier that year and absolutely could not have sat in an economy seat for several hours without problems.

Luckily I had a letter from my doctor with me (I had it in case my ankle got worse and I needed medical treatment) so I was able to produce this and say I had to stay in British Air premium economy.

I ended up in British Airways Economy Plus but not without quite a bit of undue stress and frustration. This experience alone has been enough to really put me off flying with British Airways.

I do find it outrageous that you can be potentially bumped like this – and that the staff always seem to act like this is of no consequence and why are you getting upset? OK rant over!

British Airways Premium Economy Review: Getting to the Gate

Anyway, the flight was then at Gate A10 at Terminal 5, which means a very long bus trip. I thought we were driving to New York.

BA World Traveller Plus also means no lounge access and no priority seating.

British Airways World Traveller Plus Review: The plane and the seats

The British Airways World Traveller Plus 777 plane was a little old and compared to Qantas it felt a lot less spacious. The seat layout was 4 in the middle and 2 on each side.

I was on the side thank goodness. I would have been very unhappy to have paid for premium economy and to have had one of the extreme middle seats.

I often wonder who ends up in these seats – are they the people that don’t make sure they do early online check-in? Or maybe they are more tolerant than me.

BA World Traveller Plus Review: In-flight amenities

British Airways Premium Economy 747 has good quality headphones which were nice. The British Airways premium economy product also does have a very good in-flight entertainment system.

The British Airways Premium Economy in-flight amenity kit was not bad – socks, eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and a pen. Great idea to have a pen as everyone needs one on a flight.

There is a lot of legroom and the seats are comfortable on the British Airways 787 Premium Economy flight. I was also pleased to see that there were 2 USB ports in the seat ahead and then 2 power points between the seats.

The food was a big positive for this World Traveller plus review 777 writer. It did feel like an upgrade from economy. We were also offered a lovely glass of sparkling wine before take-off.

Premium Economy British Airways Review: Some Positives

One of my favourite features of British Airways premium economy 777 is that they have a very useful brochure which explains all the features and benefits of the world traveler plus seat – this is such a good idea.

Every premium economy and business class seat is different and you don’t want to miss out when good features can be used.

There was also a good-sized storage locker next to the window which was handy – another reason trying to get the window seat is one of my top tips.

World Traveller vs World Traveller Plus

In March 2018 British Airways made major upgrades to its World Traveller and British Airways Premium Economy 777 cabins at Gatwick on their Boeing 777s.

Both cabins have had their entertainment screens increased by 50% in size. I’m looking forward to checking out the new six-way headrest.

Interestingly these new planes will feature a considerable increase in the number of World Traveller Plus seats – coming from a reduction in Club World. Premium Economy is on the rise.

So what about the rest of the fleet? World Traveller Plus is a major improvement on World Traveller, which doesn’t offer the best seats. Also, there are few opportunities to upgrade within World Traveller – apart from the exit rows.

If you have a long flight or an overnight flight I think the upgrade cost is absolutely worth it.

Upgrading to British Airways Club World

Theoretically, being in BA World Traveller Plus means it is easier/more likely that you can be upgraded to Club World. BA does offer paid opportunities for upgrades but not all the time – and not necessarily at the best prices.

The best way to check if this is an option for your flight is to visit the Manage My Booking page. The price generally varies between 400 and 700 GBPs.

For frequent flyers, Avios points are a good option for upgrading – or combining Avios points with payment. It is not normally the best use of Avios to upgrade (they tend to be their most effective for less-visited longer trips in economy class in my experience) but it is a good option.

Finally, if you are a frequent flyer and flying World Traveller Plus there is a greater opportunity for an upgrade. This will most likely happen when World Traveller Plus has been booked out and business class has seats.

British Airways Premium Economy: The Verdict

Overall, the seat itself is the key difference between world traveller and world traveller plus on British Airways.

On Qantas and other airlines, there does feel like there is more of a difference between the two cabins – particularly when it comes to service.

I was flying with British Airways when they were having extensive problems as an airline so it could not have been fun to be working for them at that time.

However, I am paying the extra and in my view, I do expect a slightly better service. I would hesitate to take British Airways Premium Economy again – mostly driven by nearly being downgraded to economy.

I don’t want to have to worry about this when I am headed to Heathrow. I, of course, would fly with them if there was a good enough deal, but they have certainly moved down my list after this experience.

Here is BA’s full rundown on their premium economy offer and The Telegraph’s Comparisons of Premium Economy Offers including British Airways Premium Economy Reviews

⇒ Prices and Deals on British Airways

British Airways World Traveller Plus Frequently Asked Questions

What class is world traveller plus on ba.

World traveller plus on British Airways is premium economy. This is a class between economy and business class.

Do you get lounge access with British Airways World Traveller Plus?

No, you do not get lounge access with a British Airways World Traveller Plus ticket.

Does World Traveller Plus on British Airways get priority boarding?

Yes, World Traveller Plus travelers on British Airways get priority boarding and check-in.

Does World Traveller Plus on British Airways get to use the fast track queue for security?

No, World Traveller Plus customers on British Airways do not get to use the fast track queue for security.

How wide are the World Traveller Plus British Airways seats?

The seats in British Airways World Traveller Plus generally have a 38 inch pitch and are 18.5 inches wide. The seats are 1 inch wider than economy and the pitch is 7 inches greater than economy.

Booking Flights:

I use Skyscanner for all my flights – from economy through to business – click here to Check out SkyScanner 

Boutique Hotels in London

Artist Residence is located in Pimlico which is fabulously central. It is in a gorgeous 5 store regency building and has a cute bar.

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The Portobello Hotel is located in one of London’s best known and cutest neighbourhoods Notting Hill. This is also the hotel where Kate Moss and Johnny Depp filled up the bath with champagne.

The hotel is located on a quiet street but is a great location.

The Great Northern Hotel is ridiculously close to Kings Cross and St Pancras stations which is incredibly convenient. The hotel dates back to 1854 but has had a major refurb so it feels fresh and modern.

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Who Paid for What in this British Airways World Traveller Plus Post

I covered the cost of my flights on British Airways Premium Economy. This post on British Airways world traveller plus contains affiliate links. That means if you click on them and end up making a purchase on that website I will receive a small commission. I wanted to make sure you were aware of this.

READ NEXT: American Airlines PREMIUM ECONOMY REVIEW

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Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.

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Journeying John

Sunday 5th of March 2023

Glad your food was ok and an upgrade but I have to reportthe reverse, bith in and oit of India, there was no choice and what was actually served was worse than mkat carriers economy meals. As for BA's IT systems and contempt for customers who habe paid for a service they don't recieve. Your experience is far from unique and I wonder if you would ever have got any form of compensation had you not had the ankle injury. BA or the UK brand of IAG are #BestAvoided today.

Amanda OBrien

Wednesday 15th of March 2023

I doubt it on the compensation front John! Luckily BA seems to be getting better but I am still nervous about being kicked off flights when I am travelling solo

Jean-Pierre

Tuesday 21st of February 2023

Interesting you had problems with entering your passport information when checking-in. This has happened twice to me using the BA website. The two occasions have been years apart so BA have not fixed their website.

I eventually found a telephone number to call for website support and after about 40 minutes the agent was able to get my passport info to take. It was very frustrating, especially after paying for the upgrade to World Traveler Plus, the taking more money part of their website works very well.

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Simple Flying

Review: refreshed premium economy on ba's boeing 777-200er.

Simple Flying had the chance to review British Airways ‘refreshed’ premium economy product on the flagship LHR to JFK route.

On a recent trip, Simple Flying had the chance to try out British Airways on its flagship London Heathrow to New York JFK route. This flight was in premium economy, dubbed World Traveler Plus, on one of the airline's refurbished 777-200ER. Here's a look at the experience and if it's worth the upgrade.

My flight was BA117 departing at 08:25 AM from London. Terminal 5 was bustling at 07:00 AM, with lines even at priority counters and the 'First Class' wing of the terminal. I arrived a bit later than planned but hoped that my VeriFLY check-in the day before would mean I could skip straight to security.

Wrong. When I tried to scan my boarding pass to security, I was informed that BA needs to activate the pass first. There was meant to be an agent near the security check VeriFLY status and scan through, no one was to be seen.

I quickly made my way to the first BA check-in area next to security, which had one "VeriFLY Fast Track" counter. With eight people ahead of me, I thought a speedy check of the pass would be more than enough to issue boarding cards. Unfortunately, the first passengers were stuck for over 15 minutes, leaving everyone behind fuming.

It took me 30 minutes from the queue to security that morning, despite having completed all checks in advance. Simply opening more counters could have made the trip less than 10 minutes, but short staffing was clear, with dozens of counters empty.

After a quick stop at security, I caught the concourse train to the C Gates. This area contains the gates for the A380 and 777s, giving planespotters a great view while waiting for their group to be called.

Onboard, this 25-year-old 777-200ER (G-VIIF) shows no signs of its age. The front is filled with 49 Club Suite seats, followed by 40 in the World Traveler Plus cabin right behind. The fabric of the seats feels soft and fresh, colored in a deep navy blue.

I was seated in 20A, the first row of premium economy. I managed to score this seat at check in without paying BA's exorbitant seat fees before then. To make things better, the seat next to me was empty as well, providing ample room to stow my backpack.

There are pros and cons to choosing a bulkhead seat like this one. I had a lot more legroom and could get out without bothering my seat neighbor (had I had one). However, there was also no separate leg rest (it extended from the calf rest), the IFE was in seat, reducing width slightly, and no storage was available during takeoff or landing. Given the 38" of pitch in premium economy, you'd be comfortable in other seats too, but the extra legroom is great if you're tall.

While BA117 was scheduled for a 08:25 AM departure, we were delayed because a baggage handling vehicle was left parked right behind the 777. We ended up departing at 09:03 AM, 40 minutes behind schedule, but the flight deck's constant communication definitely helped.

Five minutes after taking my seat, I was offered a pre-departure drink of orange juice by the cabin crew. This was a nice touch and a reminder that COVID-era cuts are finally being lifted.

The first meal service was breakfast and started fairly quickly after takeoff, 25 minutes in. I had dozed off right after takeoff but was woken up since all seats to be upright for the meal service. This is likely since the significant recline means the passenger behind have little space to eat. However, it also disrupts sleep for passengers looking to maximize sleep.

For breakfast, the crew offered frittatas or the English breakfast. I went for the latter, which was served on a single tray and on glass dishware. This came along with fresh fruit (the highlight of the meal), croissant, and a drink of choice (apple juice for me).

To beat jet lag when arriving into JFK, I chose to take a nap after the meal tray was cleared out. The provided blanket and pillow were both soft and thick, providing more than enough padding for this daytime flight. However, the included footrest didn't provide too much support to take weight off the feet. This was a big different compared to Virgin Atlantic , where premium economy includes a high-rising footrest.

Amenities and wrapping up

At my seat I found a pillow, amenity kit, and headphones. The headphones were high quality and a step-up from the earbuds found in economy, a huge plus for premium economy. The amenity kit is made of soft fabric that can reused easily.

Inside, you will find a pair of socks, an eyeshade, dental kit, and lip balm. While a basic cream would have been nice (flights tend to be a dry environment), the kit was well stocked and contained the essentials.

British Airways opts to provide a light snack prior to the scheduled landing of 11:25 AM. This consisted of a DO&CO chicken salad sandwich which was far tastier than the breakfast main. Along with this came a bottle of water and drink of choice, where I chose a coffee (milk and sugar).

While British Airways has added a whole new business class cabin to the 777 lineup, premium economy has only seen a seat change. This meant the IFE and fixtures remain old, and their age was showing. Comparatively, the A350s and 777s offer a truly new product, which one would hope made their way to the 777-200ER as well.

While the entertainment had a good selection of movies and TV shows, it was slow to respond and had the entire row's screens had to be reset once during the flight.

Overall, British Airways offers a comfortable product for long-haul flights with few complaints about the aging product. However, it is clear that BA treats the cabin as economy plus, rather than business class light. In a world where Virgin Atlantic and Emirates are offering luxurious premium economy cabins, BA will be looking to upgrade its offering to remain competitive.

What do you think about British Airways premium economy product? Let us know in the comments!

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BA Unveils Its “Densified” London Gatwick Boeing 777

British Airways has unveiled images of its refurbished Boeing 777-200 aircraft at London Gatwick, which will operate on all long-haul routes from the end of 2019.

London Air Travel » British Airways » British Airways London Gatwick » BA Unveils Its “Densified” London Gatwick Boeing 777

British Airways has today, Monday 5 March 2018, unveiled images of its refurbished Boeing 777-200 aircraft which will operate on all long-haul routes at London Gatwick from the end of 2019.

BA took delivery of its first refurbished aircraft last week. It features an entirely new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabin. The first routes to operate the new cabin are Punta Cana, Cancun and Kingston. Please see here for full details of the expected routes for 2019.

When BA first announced the plan to densify its Boeing 777 fleet it said that 12 aircraft would be refurbished. BA has said today that 6 aircraft will be refurbished by the end of October 2018. The refurbishment will continue in 2019.

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World Traveller – Economy

This biggest change is in World Traveller, and this is the reason why details of the new cabin are so eagerly awaited.

The new World Traveller cabin is now 10 seats across in a 3-4-3 configuration. BA has tried to soften the blow by emphasising improved in-flight entertainment with a larger 10″ screen, USB power and moveable arm rests. However, fundamentally this refurbishment is driven by a desire to increase seats and have a lower seat cost than Norwegian at London Gatwick.

BA also say that the new World Traveller seat will be installed on some Heathrow based Boeing 777 aircraft from autumn 2019.

World Traveller Plus – Premium Economy

The World Traveller Plus cabin has been increased from 24 to 52 seats.

What is noteworthy is that BA has introduced an entirely new seat. This means BA has now 3 different World Traveller Plus seats. The original World Traveller Plus seat (which the new seat replaces) on Boeing 747 and many 777 aircraft; the second World Traveller Plus seat introduced in 2010 (pictured below) that features on many Boeing 777 and all Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 aircraft.

Whilst World Traveller Plus retains its 2-4-2 configuration and the seat appears to have many features of the 2010 World Traveller Plus seat such as the shared cocktail table, adjustable head rest, a leg rest, and USB and three pin power sockets.

BA has not provided any details of the dimensions of the new seat – and the original plan was to increase the cabin size to 42 seats. The 2010 seat is noteworthy for offering a quite deep recline, which can be a bit too deep for some passengers.

The one point we would make is that, for World Traveller Plus, 52 seats is a large cabin and it does lose its “demi-cabin” feel as a consequence.

BA also say that the new World Traveller Plus seat will be installed on some Heathrow based Boeing 777 aircraft from autumn 2019. . BA has since updated its original press release, it is the new World Traveller seat will be installed on Heathrow aircraft.

Club World – Business Class

The Club World cabin has been reduced from 40 to 32 seats. The cabin features the same seat that BA introduced in 2006. However, the in-flight entertainment system has been upgraded.

Inflight Connectivity and Entertainment

The aircraft features an entirely new Panasonic in-flight entertainment system. This should offer a lot of content and be very fast and responsive.

There is no mention of WiFi. It seems that the installation of WiFi is being carried out separately and no refurbished aircraft currently feature WiFi.

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12 thoughts on “BA Unveils Its “Densified” London Gatwick Boeing 777”

Well the aisle cannot be smaller so the seats must be incrediblely smaller in World Traveller(Cattle Class)

Looks like we are travelling in new configuration to Orlando on May 9th. Will let you know thoughts on WTPlus. Are there dedicated loos for WTP if not needing one at short notice will be worse than ever!!!!

This new aeroplane must be extremely cramped and not good for your health

bad idea to cram and reduce comfort legroom and reclining. Like trying to get to the loo inside a can of sardines. we flew to glasgow scotland on american airlines and vowed to go BA to london instead because AA was too cramped for a 10.5 hour flight..Now it sounds to me like my fav BA is sucking up to the canned sardine mental bandwagon as well. More seats for the pound good news for market investors bad news for the lower and middle class average working class Joes and Josies. WELL suck it up customers, the pocket book overrides the need for comfort. Come fly with us in our overcrammed can of sardines….your back will need a spinal fusion when you get to your destination, we hope you have top grade medical coverage. Um…..Nope! I really would hope the almighty buck or pound would not succeed the need for c9mfort and a bit of breathing room. My son is 6 ft with long legs…AA was a joke…Im short and My legs were cramped. Ok for a few hours but…when yourknees are hitting the back side of the seat in front of you all in the name of airline making a few million bucks in exchange for infringing on my comfort and health, it is Criminal! BA…dont do what AA did. Its not worth it. I will be very disappointed if you Stoop to that level of arrogance. Heck there was a time in my life where AA was superior..the Bomb (no pun.), but now I no longer hold my AA in such status…now B rated and Hated. Shame. I bragged and boasted how superior you were for long haul, and now you are shining the brass but reducing the comfort for my axx. I will have to break up with you if you compromise on comfort. aka downgrade comfort for free 1hr wifi and shiney new toilet seats and an extra bag of crisps…Nope sorry Honay..not ever. Dont do it. Just Dont! I want my legroom I want my seat room…I dont want to perform acrobatic maneuvers just to get out of my seat and down the isle everytime I have to pee! Moo moo moo!

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BA, if as I read above your seats are being reduced in size and comfort, I will not be booking any more flights with you sadly! Comfort is paramount, especially on long haul flights. You try keeping people with long legs, bad backs, small children etc comfortable in these situations! Accept slightly lower profits, give bigger seats, and get amazing customer feedback……or you will go out of business! You’re warned!

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This is our economy class, available on long haul flights.

These maps are representative of seating layouts on board, but may vary according to aircraft. Once you have made a booking, you can see the actual seating layout for your flight and  choose a seat using Manage My Booking .

If you’d like to discuss your seating options and choose a seat, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help you.

Below you’ll find seat maps for the Airbus 380-800, Airbus 321-200, Boeing 787-9, Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-300 and Boeing 787-8.

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*The Boeing 777-200 is available on flights from London Gatwick and on selected routes from London Heathrow.