Review (old) British Airways business class from Singapore to London: luckily its days are numbered
British Airways in the 1980s was considered one of the world's best airlines. Just think that it had in its fleet both [...]

British Airways in the 1980s was considered one of the world's best airlines. Suffice it to say. had both Concorde and 747 in its fleet. The network reached every corner of the globe, and the service on board was one of the best, including cabins.
In this article:

- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- B777/300
- Class:
- Club Wolrd
- Treat:
- Sin - Lhr
- Price:
- 650 €
- Book
But then came the 2000s, the growth of Middle Eastern airlines, new planes, new cabins, and competition such as that of Virgin Atlantic pushed BA to the back of the ranks and travelers' ratings.
Twenty years later, British Airways has decided to relaunch itself and to return to being one of the companies charting the course, not one of those following in its wake. The new Club World Suite has redefined standards by becoming a favorite among premium travelers worldwide.
An airplane cabin, however, is not changed in a day, nor is it a cheap job, but British Airways has guaranteed that the old business class will disappear from its entire 777/300 fleet And it will become (almost) just a memory. Unfortunately, the 777/300 that took me from Singapore to London was still configured with the old business cabin.

The Club World Suite cabin on board the new A350s and B777s with the upgraded interiors
Reservation
I bought this ticket in the midst of the pandemic; it was one of the many bets I made when I saw hyped-up fares popping up. Singapore's borders were still tightly closed, but BA's ultra flexible ticket policy allowed me to turn the ticket into a voucher without penalty or move the flight. My tactic in these bets has always been to never take tickets for direct flights and select secondary departure stopovers in order to have a better chance of having the airline make a change and thus be able to move my flight to a new date.
The ticket for this route cost me just over €650., not bad for a 13-hour business flight plus a second flight from London to Nice. Flights that also allowed me to accumulate 180 Tier points useful for renewal of status in the Executive Club program.
At the airport
Changi Has recently lost its crown as the world's best airport and the reason is probably the fact that for almost two years Singapore's borders were closed. Also when it was reopened for transit, the experience there was more like a military prison. Than as a shopping mall.
Today things are slowly returning to normal, but passengers and movements are still few compared to the pre-Covid world. Terminal 1 was deserted; there were fewer than 10 flights departing from afternoon to night. Indeed, Singapore Airlines operates from terminal 3 and flies to so many destinations, but still not enough to fill the runways.
I arrived at the airport about 7 hours before my flight and the reason is that I definitely wanted to visit the Jewel, or the complex opening in 2019, a mixture of shopping mall, amusement park, and a biosphere that is located right in front of the T1 entrance.
A few minutes before 9 a.m. I then moved to the terminal, which is literally next door. Check-in procedures have become like a visit to the doctor's office when waiting in silence for the blood tests to be read and analyzing the grimaces of the attendants with the fear of having made a mistake, forgotten a document and thus being denied boarding.
The fact is that the rules change all the time., even while planes are already in the air or when it is too late to change the type of pad. Fortunately, I had done my homework correctly and within minutes I had my two boarding passes and my lounge voucher.
Unfortunately, British Airways' is still closed, although BA has reopened much of its lounge network. But here it has only one flight and not even full, so I understand the choice not to open its doors.
The only two lounges open are the independent and both accessible with the Priority Pass card, and I must say that BA of the two available chose as backup the worst.
The Marhaba Lounge is located on the second floor, right above the Gucci store 5 minutes from the designated gate for flight departure.
The lounge is dark and has virtually no view, normally this is the lounge used by SkyTeam carriers operating at this airport such as KLM, Air France, and Vietnam Airlines. Within minutes it went from empty to crowded, precisely because within an hour flights to Paris, Amsterdam, and London were departing. Even the idea of keeping a section of the hall closed was not a smart choice on the part of the staff.
In general, the quality of the food was by no means outstanding and the drink offerings equally paltry. That's why I moved to the other lounge which was definitely a notch better than this. Or you can think of stay in the Jewel lounge to the last and then go directly from check-in to boarding.
In Singapore, but also in many other Asian airports, security checks are not done immediately after check-in, but directly at the gates, which is why it is always advisable to go toward boarding before the opening time printed on the ticket. In any case, the flight was not full, so everything went fairly quickly and smoothly.
The 777/300 is the largest aircraft in British Airways' Boeing fleet after the early retirement of all 747s 2020.
On board
I knew very well what plane and what cabin I would find, I had found out at the time of booking when at the seat selection I had seen that the layout would be that of the old business class, the one with The cabin housing 8 seats per row, or 2-4-2.
The new Club World Suite Instead, it has a 1-2-1 arrangement, meaning half the seats for twice the space for each individual passenger, this is also the standard configuration found in all the best business class cabins in the world.
The hope, however, was that in the various rotations of the machines, one of the few 777/300 which, on the other hand, already has the new cabin installed, unfortunately, this was not the case.
BA was one of the first companies to introduce paid seat choice even in business, a way to make cash and increase revenue when a passenger pops off a discounted fare ticket as in my case. And business seats, on this route, cost no less than £100, but sometimes choosing a seat can cost as much as £150.
One of the benefits of having a status with the company is to be able to zero out this expense and choose your seat for free. If you are Gold or above, when you book; if you are Bronze or Silver, starting 7 days before departure. This is also a factor to take into consideration because. choosing the place can make so much difference in economy as much as in business, especially when it is configured this way.
I had assigned myself seat 11A, thanks to my Bronze status I saved a good £115 practically 20% of the cost of the ticket! I chose a window-side seat, the peculiarity of the cabin configuration makes s^ that window-side seats travel looking at the back of the plane And, unlike when I travel on a bus, this doesn't give me any problems.
It's nice to be able to travel by looking at the engine and wing of the plane, it's an unusual view.
The good thing about this cabin is. Window side seats are isolated from the rest of the cabin and provide privacy almost suite-like, but everything else is old, ancient and out of time.
A lift-up bulkhead divides the two seats, but if you travel in pairs it is a "nice" configuration because it allows you to face each other and talk, while normally you travel sitting next to each other.
In contrast, the aisle-side seats are the most exposed and the least insulated; privacy is virtually nonexistent.
If you are traveling as a couple, it is also an interesting choice to have the two middle seats oriented, as with window-side seats, toward the back of the plane. You can travel close together, you do not have access to the aisle but you are very isolated from the aisle, certainly better than taking a pair of side seats, where it is true by leaving the bulkhead down you can travel facing each other, but one of the two passengers will travel exposed to the aisle, not the best.
If you are traveling alone, the seat to reserve is definitely the window-side seat, keeping in mind that you will not have direct access to the aisle because you will still have to climb over the legs of the passenger traveling in the back row.
The seat is small compared to more modern ones, but it is still comfortable. It does not become a bed, or rather it reclines to a bed, but to lie down it is still necessary to lower the footrest onto the back of the passenger in front of us.
A push-button panel allows you to manage seat position, tilt, and little else.
There is a small drawer, single storage space Where to store one's items. It's big enough for shoes, my 13" Mac, and to empty pockets of wallets and other small items. There is no space other than the hat box.
All passengers are given a blanket, a small topper to put over the seat (frankly useless) and an excellent pillow, this one one of the best of all the business cabins tried in my life.
The configuration of the seat and the fact that the legs do not go under the seat in front of the passenger are the best thing about the experience aboard this cabin. In fact the sleeping version, especially in the seat by the window is very comfortable, you are totally isolated from the aisle and the structure of the seat make it very much like a small suite, the problem though is that it is all very small, too much.
Dulcis in fundo there are no air vents on any business class seat, this is a trend that not only affects older configurations, even some modern cabins do not have this simple benefit that is present in all other classes.
IFE and Wifi
What can I say, here you can see all the years this booth has on its shoulders, the screen is small and of a resolution reminiscent of CRT TVs.
The offering of movies and other content is bare bones, probably one of the worst entertainment systems I have used in recent years. Not even Alitalia offered so little. Unthinkable to find Live Tv channels, as well as a catalog of TV series or documentaries, not to mention movies listed as latest releases that are months old.
The whole thing can be controlled with a touch reminiscent of the first such devices that took a few seconds between the click and the next action. Alternatively, there was the good old remote control embedded in the seat bulkhead.
Next to the drawer is a power outlet and a second USB outlet, the location is convenient if you want to charge your devices while they are stored in the only space available to the passenger.
No webcam and also unexciting software to see course and position of the plane.
Fortunately BA was one of the first to install wi-fi on its entire long-haul fleet, and the policy of selling not by traffic but by time is also one of the best in the skies. The same cannot be said for the speed of the network; it is already something that works. The cost varies depending on the product you buy: messaging app and email only or unlimited. Being able to chat the whole flight costs only €5.99, but if you want to surf the whole flight the cost goes up to €24.99
Service and Food & Beverage
As soon as I was seated, I was offered a glass of champagne, and soon after takeoff, a second glass arrived along with a bag of salty snacks.
BA's small beauty kit and menu were also distributed during the passenger boarding stages.
Being an overnight flight, the menu included a light dinner and breakfast. What I really don't like about the service at this post-pandemic stage is that it is still done in a single set, with all the plates placed on a tray covered by a napkin. The only thing that distinguishes the service from economy is that the plates are ceramic and the glasses are glass.
I was very disappointed with the quality of the product offered. When I think that BA offers very good dishes for a fee on short-haul flights in economy, I wonder how it is possible that premium passengers on long-haul are still offered certain tasteless dishes.
The competition here is also light years ahead. From Singapore that allows a la carte menu choices before takeoff to Air France that has in-flight catering that deserves the award of best European company and beyond.
Breakfast was also a disappointment. Yet it was the English workhorse, scrambled eggs with bacon, beans and mushrooms.
More than sufficient service on the other hand, normally the cabin crew on night flights tend to "run off" after service, but here they kept passing along the aisle asking the few awake passengers if they wanted something to drink and/or eat.
In conclusion
I have more flights coming up with BA. I would have to fly on the A380 that was brought back into service. although many people gave it away, where I will find the same business class cabin, but I'm in love with the A380 so it won't weigh too heavily on me.
BA is trying to make up for lost ground, but there is still a long way to go to compete with competitors especially those from outside the EU.
But it is not only competition from Asia that BA has to worry about, there is Virgin Atlantic, which with its A350s offers a competitive product on all classes of travel, while on the route to New York recently came JetBlue and its new Mint Class as well as an economy product that looks so much like the premium economy of all European carriers.
This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site. Covid and restrictions permitting, Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.

Pro
- The window side is the best place
Against
- The booth
- The entertainment system is poor and the monitor small and not high-definition
- The food offerings could be better