We haven’t expanded any first class airlines in some time, but we’re going to start off 2020 with a bang and fix that! Today we have expanded British Airways first class reviews, partly driven by our own recent experiences with the carrier. We’ve expanded from five reviews to 12, providing a robust impression of British Airways first class across many different aircraft.
It was clear from the reviews that the carrier’s recent investments in soft product — including the food, drink service, amenity kit, and bedding — have all paid off. But do they make British Airways first class a competitive product? Read on to find out.
As a reminder, Premium Travel Insider aggregates reviews from around the web and scores them on a 1-3 scale. A 3 indicates that a given category exceeded reviewer expectations, a 2 indicates it met expectations, and a 1 failed to meet expectations. We evaluate a variety of categories, the most important of which we call the “Big 5” that are most important to a premium travel experience: seat, food, drink, service, and in flight entertainment. You can learn more about our methodology here.
Expanded British Airways First Class Reviews Top Line
We expanded to 12 reviews from five, and went from three sites to seven. British Airways scored a 2.38/3 overall, with a 2.39/3 on the “Big 5” score. These scores are consistent with each other and reflect British Airways as good, but just shy of greatness as a first class product. With an overall level of detail at 2.17/3 paired with our 12 reviews, we have high confidence in the consistency and quality of these reviews.
What Changed the Most?
| Category | Current Rating | Previous Rating | Change |
| Lavatory | 1.44/3 | 1.00/3 | +.44 |
| Bedding | 2.33/3 | 2.00/3 | +.33 |
| Drink | 2.91/3 | 2.80/3 | +.11 |
| Service | 2.36/3 | 2.25/3 | +.11 |
| Amenity Kit | 2.80/3 | 2.64/3 | -.16 |
| WiFi | 1.40/3 | 2.00/3 | -.60 |
Several things changed, and mostly for the better. The biggest gain was lavatory… unfortunately it went from an abysmal 1.00/3 to a bad 1.44/3. This is driven by the fact British Airways first class lavatories are small, undistinguished, and simply not up to par with a first class cabin. Bedding jumped up a good amount, and many reviewers commented that the new British Airways bedding is vastly improved over their previous product. Modest gains were also shown in drink program and service.
The amenity kit decreased a non-trivial .16, but this seems to be more a matter of increased reviews. A 2.64/3 rating is excellent, and most reviewers found the kits to be well-stocked and high quality. WiFi dropped precipitously, but WiFi is a finicky category. Reviewers noted that the “streaming” speed was acceptable, but that the “standard” option was not.
What (Mostly) Didn’t Change?
Several categories remained fairly consistent, for better or for worse. On the good side, the food increased a tiny bit, landing at 2.67/3, or an excellent rating. The new catering is generally considered a big hit on British Airways. The seat stayed about the same at 2.18/3, which is the high end of acceptable. The reality is that British Airways doesn’t fly a competitive first class seat. While the seat is roomy, it’s more like a very nice business class seat than a true first class seat. IFE stayed below average, landing at 1.82/3. This is driven by poor, low-definition screens on a number of British Airways aircraft.
Is British Airways First Class Worth Flying?
Based on our expanded British Airways first class reviews, we can state that British Airways is a good product to fly. The soft product is in the great-to-excellent range, but the hard product is what holds this airline back. If you’re expecting a huge seat in your first class, you should probably choose another carrier. However, the airline has made great strides in becoming more competitive in the first class world, and may be the right choice depending on your routing.
Looking for more details? Check out the full British Airways first class reviews page or look at our full first class reviews.