British Airways is spending $9 billion to help make it the world's favorite airline once again after years of slumping popularity

05.03.2024 - 18:25 / insider.com / Airlines

British Airways unveiled a host of new initiatives at a media event in London on Monday, as part of a $9 billion "transformation."

The UK flag carrier was named the world's best airline by Skytrax in 2006, but its reputation has since faltered. It ranked third-last out of 17 airlines for customer satisfaction on long-haul flights in a survey last month from British consumer advocacy group Which?.

"We're on a journey to a better BA for our people and for our customers, underpinned by a transformation program that will see us invest £7 billion [$9 billion] over the next two years to revolutionize our business," said CEO Sean Doyle.

With a new seat design, new routes, and upgrades to the Airbus A380, here's how BA is changing.

Monday's showcase took place in an iconic skyscraper nicknamed "The Cheesegrater" in London's financial district, so the mockup cabin had great views of Tower Bridge.

British Airways is rolling out the new seat design to its Airbus A320neo and A321neo jets, used on its short-haul flights. They're set to be delivered from May onwards.

The navy color with red accents is supposed to evoke the British flag — although it also looks similar to Delta Air Lines' seats. Nonetheless, it's an upgrade from the current gray.

Headrests can be folded at the sides, and next to the tray table, there are two convenient ports — one USB-A and one USB-C.

Like most European airlines, business class on short-haul flights uses the same hard product, except the middle seat is sectioned off. There's also a couple of inches of extra legroom: 31 inches instead of the 29 in economy.

British Airways' new first-class has been retrofitted on its Boeing 777 jets. The same design is now coming to the superjumbo A380, expected to debut at the end of 2025.

Some airlines have been retiring the enormous A380 since the pandemic, but that's not the case for BA.

"The A380 is an important part of our fleet and rightfully, incredibly popular with our customers," Neil Chernoff, chief planning and strategy officer, told Business Insider.

BA is the only European airline that offers first-class seats between the UK and US. This winter season, the A380 has been flying to Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco — as well as to Dubai and Johannesburg in South Africa, Chernoff said.

He added that for the summer season, there would be added routes to Boston, Washington Dulles, and Singapore — but Dubai would be dropped.

British Airways also announced two routes are set to return. It will fly daily from London Heathrow to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur starting on November 10. Economy tickets start at $786, and first will cost at least $5,000.

From October 28, it will also fly three times a week from London Gatwick to Bangkok