British Airways tries to regain its halo with a new first-class seat

Inside the entrance to Tangerine, a small design agency in Southwark, south London sits a historic object. It is an example of the first lie-flat business-class airline seat, introduced by British Airways 25 years ago, an innovation that was revolutionary at the time but is now commonplace. Aviation has moved on and BA, which once called itself “the world’s favourite airline” needs to regain its halo. The airline is hoping to improve service quality and restore prestige with a £7bn investment programme. Much rests on a tangible symbol of its commitment to luxury: a new seat for first-class passengers on some routes, which was also designed by Tangerine. The new BA suite has a wide seat that converts to a 2 metre-long bed, enclosed behind a curved wall with a recessed wardrobe to hang clothes and store a wheel-on suitcase. The suite, which will roll out on its Airbus A380 aircraft next year, was engineered and is being made by Collins Aerospace in Northern Ireland, with leather and fabrics from various UK suppliers. BA is not alone in investing more in first-class travel and joining the “seat-to-suite” offer to its wealthiest customers pioneered by Gulf airlines such as Emirates. Air France last week unveiled its new first-class suite called La Première, which extends for five windows, with an armchair and a chaise longue that converts to a bed. There will be only four of them per cabin.<br/>