The Airbus A380 is sticking around at British Airways, as the carrier will soon begin refurbishing its entire fleet of double-deckers. With this project, the A380s will receive new seats from head to toe, along with a new LOPA (layout of passenger amenities) that will dramatically increase premium capacity while cutting overall capacity. This will include the world’s largest business class, as the UK flag carrier’s A380s will come with 110 Club Suites, up from 97 Club World seats in the carrier’s existing LOPA.

The Airbus A380 was a commercial failure, and many airlines retired the Airbus A380 during the COVID-19 pandemic, although some carriers ended up bringing back superjumbos. British Airways, however, has long been positive about its double-deckers, only temporarily storing its planes during COVID and returning all 12 examples post pandemic. While the carrier’s flagship aircraft currently features its oldest cabins, this refurbishment project shows that these planes will be around for at least several more years.

The Refurbishment Of British Airways’ A380s

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British Airways currently has 12 Airbus A380-800s. These planes were delivered from 2013 to 2016 and still feature their original interiors. British Airways has since introduced Club Suites in 2019 and has been retrofitting most of its widebodies with this much-improved product, but the A380s have yet to receive it. In addition, the A380 has aging First, World Traveller Plus, and World Traveller seats, along with outdated screens. While the A380 is generally beloved by passengers, British Airways’ A380s offer among the worst onboard experiences in its long-haul fleet.

Once retrofitted, these Airbus A380s will feature new seats in all cabins. The exact seat models chosen for economy and premium economy are currently unknown, but British Airways will be installing Club Suites — the carrier’s current business class seat — based on the Collins Aerospace Elevation. In addition, the A380 will debut the airline’s next-generation first class seat, which will be a custom design that will also be installed on the Boeing 777-9. In addition, these planes will be equipped with complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi for all passengers.

Currently, British Airways’ A380s feature 469 seats, split between 14 First suites, 97 Club World seats, 55 World Traveller Plus seats, and 303 World Traveller seats. Once refurbished, these planes will have 12 First suites, 110 Club Suites, 84 World Traveller Plus seats, and 215 World Traveller seats, for a total of 421 seats. In 2026, British Airways is deploying the Airbus A380 from London Heathrow Airport to Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dubai, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco. The first retrofitted A380 is expected to enter service later in 2026, with the project set to be completed by the end of 2027.

What To Expect In Club World On The A380

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Currently, British Airways’ A380s feature the carrier’s old Club World seats. While they were revolutionary for their time, as they were the world’s first lie-flat business class seats, they’ve received shockingly few updates since they were first introduced in 2000. Arranged in a yin-and-yang pattern, not all passengers have direct aisle access, and the onboard configuration ranges from seven to eight seats abreast, making this one of the densest long-haul business class products in the world.

The biggest news with the retrofit is that the A380s will receive Club Suites. These seats are based on the Collins Aerospace Elevation, a reverse herringbone seat similar to the popular Collins Super Diamond but with a privacy door. The main benefit of a reverse herringbone seat is that every seat is virtually identical, whereas other types of seats have more variability. In addition, Club Suites includes a large 18.5-inch (47-centimeter) touchscreen display.

British Airways’ A380s feature one of, if not the most unusual LOPAs of any A380, as the carrier installs 53 Club World seats on the upper deck and 44 Club World seats on the main deck, the only airline to do so. Once the retrofits are complete, the 110 Club Suites will take up the entirety of the upper deck, and there will be no Club Suites located on the main deck. These seats will be configured four-abreast, whereas Club World is currently configured seven abreast on the upper deck and eight abreast on the main deck.

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New First Seats On The Airbus A380

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British Airways’ First suites on the Airbus A380 are spacious but aging. Given the added width of the A380’s main deck, the suites have more peripheral space along with a large storage closet compared to other aircraft. In addition, the seats are 22 inches (56 centimeters) wide upright, and 29 inches (73.7 centimeters) when reclined in bed mode, while coming with a bed length of 79 inches (200.7 centimeters). However, the seat lacks a privacy door, while the aging screen is only 15.4 inches (39 centimeters).

The new First suites on the A380 will be a custom design built by Collins Aerospace. These new suites will feature 60-inch (152.4 centimeter) tall privacy walls and sliding doors. Compared to the small pivoting screens from before, the new First suites will come with 32-inch (81.3-centimeter) 4K displays, multiple charging options (including AC, USB-A, USB-C, and wireless), and Bluetooth audio. The seats will be 36.5 inches (92.7 centimeters) wide with the same bed length as before. The center suites will feature retractable privacy partitions, while the visual design is inspired by British Airways’ Concorde wings.

Currently, British Airways’ A380s feature 14 First suites on the main deck, whereas the refurbished aircraft will feature 12 First suites in the same location. Likely, the slight capacity cut is due to the larger size of the suite, possibly combined with larger lavatories or galleys. The location, however, is unusual as most airlines prefer to install first class on the upper deck of the A380, but British Airways’ new LOPA for the A380 has Club Suites taking up the entirety of the upper deck.

World Traveller And World Traveller Plus

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British Airways has yet to officially reveal its new World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins on the A380. The carrier currently relies on Recaro for the seats in these cabins, with the A380s currently featuring the Recaro CL3620 for World Traveller and the Recaro PL3530 for World Traveller Plus. As such, British Airways will likely go with updated seat models, either the CL3710, CL3810, or R3 for World Traveller, and the new Recaro R5 currently being installed in other widebodies for World Traveller Plus.

British Airways currently installs 55 World Traveller Plus seats on the upper deck of the Airbus A380, configured seven-abreast, while the new LOPA will see the World Traveller Plus cabin move to the main deck. There will be 84 seats configured eight-abreast located directly behind the First cabin. Meanwhile, British Airways currently installs 199 World Traveller seats on the main deck and 104 seats on the upper deck, while the new LOPA will feature 215 World Traveller seats, all located on the main deck.

Economy and premium economy tend to generate less excitement than business or first class, since innovations for these seats are more subtle. It’s unknown if British Airways plans to use the same seat models as on its other aircraft, but the new seats are certain to include larger screens and more charging options compared to the current A380 seats. One loss, however, is that passengers in these cabins will no longer have access to side storage bins, as these are only located on the upper deck.

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Compared To Competing A380s

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One of the issues with the Airbus A380 is the high cost of cabin refurbishments, given its large size. This was one factor behind Air France’s removal of the type in 2020, as the carrier cited refurbishment costs in excess of $50 million per aircraft. In a more mild example, Lufthansa, in the midst of reconfiguring its widebodies with Allegris cabins, will be installing the Thompson Vantage XL for business class while keeping its other cabins largely the same.

Some airlines have completed more thorough refurbishments of their A380 fleets, such as Qantas and Singapore Airlines, but what’s striking is that none of them are installing business class cabins of this size. Even Lufthansa’s refurbishment, which will cut business class capacity by ten seats, will still give the plane 68 seats, which is a massive amount of premium capacity primarily found only on other A380s. Qantas’s A380s have 70 seats, while Singapore Airlines installs 78 seats for business class.

British Airways can support 110 seats on its A380s due to the size and strength of its hub in London-Heathrow. Heathrow is the premier airport in London, and London is one of the world’s biggest business hubs, matched only by New York. With premium travel on the rise, and slots limited at Heathrow, British Airways is one of the few airlines that truly requires the capacity offered by the A380, and market conditions dictate that the carrier maximizes premium capacity even more so than other airlines.