British Airways has revealed the full layout of its refurbished Airbus A380 superjumbos, and the headline number is 106: that is how many Club Suite business class seats will fill the entire upper deck of each aircraft. The airline set out the details on 5 October 2026 and says the first completed aircraft should enter service in the coming months.
British Airways describes the result as the world's largest business class cabin. The work goes well beyond one cabin. Every class gets new seats and larger entertainment screens, and the galleys and stairways are being redesigned too. According to the airline, each aircraft needs more than 35,000 individual parts to complete the work.
Four cabins, two decks
Once refurbished, each A380 will carry 12 seats in First, 106 in Club, 84 in World Traveller Plus premium economy and 215 in World Traveller economy, a total of 417 seats across four cabins. With business class taking the whole upper deck, British Airways has split that space into four separate cabin zones.
The upper deck also gets what the airline calls Club Kitchens, along with reworked galley spaces that British Airways says are meant to let customers move around and relax during the flight. The Club Suites themselves stay lie-flat but gain more storage, better functionality and a refreshed colour palette built on the airline's blue, red and cream tones. Business class customers will also get the airline's latest amenity kits, which come in four different designs.
The new First suite
At the front of the aircraft is the new First suite that British Airways first showed in 2024. It is 36.5 inches wide, has a 6-foot 7-inch bed, and comes with a multi-purpose ottoman, a stowable table, a 32-inch 4K screen and mood lighting with settings such as "relax", "dine" and "cinema". The seat sits inside a curved 60-inch wall for privacy and has a built-in minibar. In the centre seats, a divider opens to create a shared space so two people travelling together can dine facing each other.
"We've completely reimagined the customer experience, introducing new and updated seats in every cabin, all carefully considered to deliver greater comfort and an elevated customer experience," said Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO of British Airways. "At the heart of the transformation is our brand-new First suite, but this investment goes far beyond a single cabin." Doyle called the retrofit "one of the most significant transformations" the airline has carried out on any of its aircraft.
Premium economy and economy
In World Traveller Plus, the new seats add privacy wings and larger entertainment screens, and passengers will get a reusable amenity kit designed as a tote bag, with moisturising balm, a dental kit, socks and an eye mask. In World Traveller, British Airways promises wider seats, larger screens and upgraded bedding. Both cabins are also getting new pillows and plusher blankets.
Some of the service changes have already started. A revised First dining service and new sleepwear arrived on 1 October, and new amenity kits made with Swaine followed on 6 October.
A thinner A380 winter while the work happens
The retrofit explains why British Airways is flying its 12 A380s less this winter. As we reported last week, Cirium schedule data cited by Simple Flying shows the superjumbo on just four Heathrow routes between November 2026 and February 2027 (Miami, Johannesburg, San Francisco and Singapore) while aircraft cycle through the programme.
The A380 work is part of a wider transformation plan that British Airways announced in March 2024, which AeroTime describes as an $8 billion programme. Alongside the cabin news, the airline confirmed a new lounge at the Heathrow Terminal 5 C gates, due to open at the end of 2028 with a 17-metre bar, a rebuild of the Terminal 5 arrivals lounge starting in early 2027, and a new First check-in at Terminal 3 with American Airlines that should open this winter.
Why it matters
Putting 106 business seats on one aircraft is a clear bet on premium demand on BA's busiest long-haul routes. How quickly the refurbished jets return will decide when passengers can book the new cabins.
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