MATERIALS
These have been carefully chosen. As well as
satisfying stringent safety specifications, they
also have to satisfy the colour palette of the new
cabin, which is dark on first impression and then
light inside the suite, with warm silver, grey and
charcoal hues. UK company Hainsworth was
used to provide the seat fabrics. There is also a
nice touch of felt lining around the inside of the
suite, intended to help dampen noise.ARMREST
The stitched leather you see here is
from Scottish company Muirhead (it’s
also on the ottoman footrest). The
armrest has a button to lower it after
take-off, not only providing comfort
but also increasing the amount of
room around your shoulders when
the seat is fully reclined into a bed.DOOR
BA is the first airline to add a door to
the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond
and it helps it to justify calling the
new seat a “Suite”. The door has to
be open for take-off and landing but
can be closed afterwards if you want
privacy or left open if you prefer.STORAGE
The existing Club World seat
has only a foot drawer for
any substantial storage. The
new seat has several areas
including three distinct
lockers with lids, one of
which contains the power
points for charging your
devices, and a fourth space for
a water bottle.SEAT CONTROLS
The controls have some easy presets but
there are also more options (accessed
through the touchscreen) for fine-tuning
your seat. Note the anodised trim, which
also frames the door on the aisle, and the
wood grain-effect panel below the seat
controls. The surface above the seat control, in
fact, lifts to reveal another of the several storage
areas incorporated around the seat.48