British Airways Boeing 787-10 flies

British Airways has finally taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-10, after some months of delays.

The aircraft, which is the longest variant of the Dreamliner, features eight seats in First Class, 48 seats in Business Class (Club Suite), 35 in Premium Economy (World Traveller Plus) and 165 World Traveller (economy). This continues the current trend of minimising the World Traveller cabin to allow British Airways to focus on premium classes, where there is a larger profit margin. However, this plan was implemented before the current downturn in premium flying due to Covid-19, which may curtail spending at the premium end of the market.

The capacity of the 787-10 model is 256 passengers, around 40 more than previous BA Dreamliner models, and much more than other airlines fit into their variant of the aircraft. KLM for example fit 344 passengers into their Boeing 787-10.

Even though it is the largest aircraft in the Boeing 787 range, it still has less capacity than the A350 which has 219 seats in economy, compared 165 on the 787.

The BA 787-10 also an improved cabin pressure, which feels as if you are at a lower altitude, so you arrive at your destination feeling less dried out. Better soundproofing and quieter engines also means there is less noise in the cabin. This is also the first 787 where BA will have Wi-Fi installed on every aircraft. Slow speed British Airways wifi costs £5, while high speed for the whole flights is £24.

However, for most passengers it is of note, as this is the only variant of the airline's fleet of Dreamliners that features the new Club Suite. This Business Class style of seat was brought into service with the new British Airways A350 in 2019, and features a sliding door.

British Airways new A350 Business Class seat flies

British Airways 787-10 Seat Map. (Image from BA)

British Airways 787-10 First Class

There are eight First Class seats, unlike the 787-8 model that has no First cabin.

The First cabin on the 787-10 has eight seats in two rows arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. While more private than the First cabins on the 777s, it is less private than Business Class.

• New First on BA 787 the stuff of dreams

British Airways 787-10 Business Club Seat

Unlike BA's 787-9, which has a Business Class cabin split into two smaller cabins, the 787-10 has one large central Business Class cabin, ahead of the the doors, and another one after in a section split with premium economy.

British Airways' new Business Club Seat is called the Club Suite, and offers customers direct-aisle access, a door for greater privacy and 48 flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

British Airways new A350 Business Class seat flies

Called the British Airways enhanced Super Diamond seat, it has a privacy door meaning it has the privacy you might have expected in First just a decade ago. Seats are also at an angle, giving more length for the same seat area.

American Airlines has already fitted a near identical seat to it's fleet, giving some commonality on code shares, and it can also be found on China Airlines and Air Canada.

Unlike most airlines, which have removed the centre overhead bins, British Airways has installed them. This must be said is largely because BA flies shorter business orientated routes such as transatlantic, where most passengers skip checking in a bag and just take on board a small wheelable bag for a shorter trip.

It has 40 per cent more storage, including a vanity unit and mirror. There is the usual Super Diamond slide out table with a bi-fold, which gives egress when the table is down.

Each Club Suite has its own sliding door - ironically, something that even BA's first class suites lack - which is 45 inches (115cm) tall. Pairs of central seats have a sliding divider, so if you are a couple travelling together, you can make it into a small cabin for both of you.

It is enough to give you plenty of privacy and a sense of real seclusion without making you feel too hemmed in, especially as the seats are angled away from the door. However, the crew can still see into your suite.

It is a vast improvement to BA's eight-abreast current alternating reverse seats found throughout the 777s and most of the 787s.

British Airways new A350 Business Class seat

The new inflight entertainment system has a standard 18.5-inch HD TV screen, with the system powered by Panasonic Aerospace, and mains plus USB power sockets.

The 787-10 British Airways Business Class also includes a small walk up snackbar, similar to the Club Kitchen found on the A380.

British Airways new 787-10 Business Class seat

British Airways 787-10 Economy Seat and World Traveller Plus

Further back, the British Airways 787-10 has 35 World Traveller Plus seats in a 2-3-2 layout. These premium economy seats mirror the same smaller Premium Economy seats fitted by Qantas and other airlines.

The British Airways 787 World Traveller Plus seats have calf rests in every seat, and full leg rests found on the front row. Every seat has USB charging ports as well as 12-inch seatback TV inflight entertainment screens. These are 2 inches bigger than those in economy. With the combination of a 18.7-inch seat width and up to 38 inches of legroom

The British Airways 787-10 economy seats have a cabin with 135 Recaro seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. The seats are the new style as fitted to British Airways 787 and the retrofitted 777s with a bi-fold seatback table and gate-to-gate IFE with a the 10-inch TV screen. The seats will have 31 inches of pitch and be 17 inches wide.

British Airways 787-10 fleet

British Airways is now one of the handful of airlines in the world to fly all three versions of the Dreamliner. BA has a fleet of 12 of the original 787-8 plus 18 of the larger and longer-range 787-9.

The airline has 12 more 787-10s on order.

Boeing always had planned three variants of the 787. The -8 was developed as the standard model, with almost identical size and capacity to the 767, with the -9 being a stretched version. It did plan a small version - like the 747-SP - called the 3. However a few airlines, like BA requested a double stretched version, the 787-10, and this is it.

British Airways has so far revealed a few of their 787-10 routes:

• Atlanta
• Dallas Ft. Worth
• Seattle
• Nashville