Is the new British Airways Club World business class seat the old Emirates seat?

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

2019 is now approaching, and with it the arrival of the first British Airways A350 which will feature the new Club World seat.

Whilst BA has filed a number of patents showing various designs, you shouldn’t read much into this. Patents are filed all the time whenever someone has a workable idea and it doesn’t mean they will ever be used. The only thing we know for certain is that all seats will have direct aisle access.

Cabin crew website paddleyourownkanoo is claiming, from apparently two separate sources, that British Airways has now abandoned the idea of developing a new seat in-house.

More surprisingly, it claims that both sources have confirmed that BA has settled on the Emirates A380 seat – a seat which first flew in 2005.

The obvious flaw in this story is that Emirates only uses the seat on its A380 aircraft. It has never been retrofitted onto its Boeing 777 fleet, which implies that it doesn’t fit. Even now, the new Emirates Boeing 777 business class seat bears no relation to the A380 version.

Let’s assume that BA has found a way, though. It is not a crazy idea. I have flown the Emirates version many times. It is a surprisingly dense configuration which would appeal to BA, without actually feeling so dense because the seat walls are quite high. You get a lot of personal space. You get huge IFE screens. You get a small private mini-bar at your seat. You retain a middle pair, in some rows, for couples who want to be side by side.

The biggest oddity is the seat length. To allow all passengers direct aisle access, the seats which are adjacent to the aisles are shorter than those directly by the window or in the middle pair. This is to create a gap for the adjacent passenger to walk through. Whenever we fly it, my kids go in the middle pair so they can be side by side (and get the longer seat) whilst all 6’2′ of me gets the shorter seat adjacent to the aisle.

The full article is here if you want to check it out but don’t take it too seriously.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus: