If you’ve flown long-haul with BA in the last 20 years, chances are you’ve met their legacy yin-yang seat – a quirky layout that once made British Airways the first airline to offer fully flat beds in business. That was back in 2000. Fast forward to 2025, and somehow, this same seat is still clinging on across large chunks of the fleet. Our British Airways 787 Business Class flight to Kuala Lumpur was booked as a convenient non-stop overnight hop en route to see family – and to squeeze in our first ever visit to Penang. We usually opt for Qatar via Doha on this route, but the timing and lack of connection drama gave BA the edge. What followed was a reunion with one of the most outdated seats still flying. Curious how it held up? Read on.
In this review:
Flight Details
Flight No: BA33
From/To: London Heathrow (LHR) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
Departure time: 21:10
Ticket Class: Business
Flight time: 13 hours 7 mins
Frequent Flyer Points: 8,832 Avios
Status Points: 1,800 Tier Points
Aircraft: G-ZBKC
Aircraft type: Boeing 787-9
Number of classes: 4
Number of seats in flying class: 42
Seat: 6K
Position: Right-hand side of the aircraft, 1st row in the front Club World cabin
Airport Experience
We checked in via the First Wing at Heathrow Terminal 5, a perk that made the start of our British Airways 787 Business Class journey feel like a breeze. Security took less time than ordering a coffee. Shoes stayed on, liquids remained in bags, laptops untouched – bliss. We were through in minutes.
The BA First lounge was doing a decent impression of Waterloo Station at rush hour when we arrived at 6:30pm, but gradually thinned out. We wrapped up a few work calls before settling into the dining area for a light snack, a glass (ok, two) of Champagne, and a debate over whether we should start our journey to the gate when the screen updated to “Gate Open” or “Boarding”.
With our gate over at C66 – practically in Slough – we left early to begin the long trek to the far satellite pier.
Boarding & Welcome
There’s no prize for being first onboard in British Airways 787 Business Class, and we proved it. By the time we strolled up, boarding was nearly done, our overhead bin was still free, and the Champagne was already slightly chilled.
Cargo and air traffic hold-ups meant the aircraft was 30 minutes late departing, which made the lack of panic about boarding early feel even more worthwhile.
Seat
Ah, the legendary British Airways 787 Business Class yin-yang seat. Introduced back in 2000, and seemingly untouched ever since. Our aircraft, G-ZBKC, entered service in 2015 – but the seat design felt like it arrived on Concorde.
Climbing over your neighbour to reach the aisle in a £3,000 seat? Classic. Having your meal tray served over someone else’s legs? Iconic. A tray table that tilts to one side, threatening to offload your cod fillet onto your lap mid-flight? Quintessential Club World.
Comfort
While the seat padding was surprisingly comfy for sleeping, the lack of usable storage or shelf space made things awkward. No spot for a water bottle, nowhere to stow your phone or glasses, and that foot-level drawer – while handy – was completely blocked if your seat was reclined. As for the IFE screen: it wobbled like jelly during turbulence and looked like it had seen a lot of use.
Charging options were mixed. The USB port couldn’t power any modern mobile device – the current was too weak. The international mains socket, thankfully, did the job. The downside was it was equally as inaccessible as the foot level drawer when the seat was reclined.
The big frustration? BA have had the new Club Suite out since 2019. Yet here we were, in 2025, still flying a 20+ year old seat design on one of their flagship long-haul routes. Make it make sense.
What is the best seat on British Airways 787 Business Class?
We had 6J and 6K in the second, smaller business cabin – and they were some of the best in the house. It’s quieter, with less foot traffic and no nearby loos or galley noise.
For a window seat without the gymnastic aisle-exit routine, 7K is your best bet. It has three windows and direct aisle access behind 7J. Wherever you choose, just make sure you’re at least 2 rows from a clanging galley or gargling toilet.
See the seating plan on SeatGuru.
Onboard Experience
There were three washrooms at the back of our smaller Club World cabin, all clean and regularly restocked throughout the flight. White Company hand soap and moisturiser were supplied.
A White Company amenity kit was left on each seat, which contained items like hydrating facial mist, a lip balm, and body lotion, along with socks, an eye mask, earplugs, and a dental kit.
I found the cabin crew were warm, professional, and genuinely helpful – no signs of the service decline that’s plagued BA in recent years and has been apparent on some of our recent BA flights.
The cabin itself, though, felt dry and stuffy, especially as the flight wore on. Dreamliners don’t seem to manage humidity particularly well. We’ve found the new Airbus aircraft much more comfortable in that regard – it’s a noticeable difference.
Food & Drink
A round of drinks was offered about 20 minutes after take-off. The sauvignon blanc was nice.
The crew started dinner service about 1 hour in and it began well enough, though the tray table’s drunken lean meant we had to play Jenga with the various plates and glassware. The smoked salmon and prawn starter came BA-style: quality fish, ruined by a random scoop of cream cheese. The prawn was overcooked/chewy, but the chicory was a nice accompaniment.
The cod main course had the moisture content of a Jacob’s cream cracker. The tomato sauce didn’t save it – if anything, it clashed. Broccoli was aggressively incinerated. Very forgettable.
Dessert was the comeback act: a chocolate orange and walnut sponge, genuinely enjoyable and well paired with a small port. The Baileys I ordered came with a Lindt ball, which felt oddly generous for BA, but nice nonetheless.
Overall, I’d say the meal was an inconsistent mix of hit and miss.
Breakfast two hours before landing was surprisingly solid. Fresh fruit, yoghurt, and a full English – with decent eggs. The crew even remembered my extra tea despite me dozing – it was still warm when I woke to find it beside me. Respect.
Menus
In-flight Entertainment
Oh dear. Because the old-school screens fold away, you can’t use them at take-off or landing. It’s 2025, and yet here we are. The ones that worked flapped around as the aircraft moved and were loaded with BA’s Highlife entertainment, with a mix of new release movies and old favourites.
One of our screens was stuck in a boot loop, which meant zero entertainment in that seat. The crew offered Wi-Fi streaming of Highlife content as a workaround, but after setting it all up it became clear that only trailers were available stream. We gave up and watched Disney+ on our laptop – the only thing we had bigger than a phone screen. Thankfully, the Wi-Fi held up long enough to watch a few episodes.
The phantom passengers
Annoyingly, there was a vacant seat directly behind us, but the crew refused to move us because it had to be left available for flight crew to use throughout the flight. We didn’t see anyone occupy the seat for the entirety of the flight. Why not have let us use it to watch movies, on the proviso that we move if/when a crew member needed the seat? Common sense didn’t prevail and one of us ended-up eating dinner with a laptop perched on the footstool. To add insult, BA’s response to our feedback about this was to question “why on earth, we didn’t move to one of the 2 vacant seats on the aircraft” (!!?) – and to offer a paltry 500 Avios (£5). More on that one in the weeks to come!
Sitting in the other seat, my screen worked, technically. But the responsiveness was poor, the display dim, and the BA logo was ghosted into the corner from years of screen burn. Honestly, it would’ve been less tragic to hand out iPads with content already downloaded onto them. Something that BA should consider as a back-up on aircraft with this ageing Club World product.
BG1 Verdict
The flight got us to KL non-stop and we slept, so it met the brief. The crew were great, and breakfast was better than expected.
But British Airways 787 Business Class is hanging on by a thread. This cabin is long past retirement age, and passengers are paying a premium for a product that hasn’t kept up with the market. BA have the Club Suite. They’ve had it for five years. But on the 787-9, it’s still roulette – and on this flight, we lost.
If you value privacy, direct aisle access, or basic storage… book Qatar Airways via Doha. It’s longer, but light-years better.
BG1 Tip
Check your seat map before booking. If your BA 787-9 flight still shows 2-3-2 in business, you’re on the old cabin. Unless you’re burning Avios or desperate for a direct flight, give it a miss.
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