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What’s the best seat in British Airways Club World Business Class?
Here’s the thing…British Airways isn’t THE BEST business class in the sky, but you can find quite a bit of award availability on it, AND you can find great deals to fly it from places like Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, or Oslo to route back through London to the States. I just finished a trip back from Stockholm through London to Los Angeles on British Airways Club World Business Class. This trip was on an A380 and on the main deck, whereas last year I flew Club World on the upper deck. What’s the difference between sitting upstairs/downstairs and what’s the best seat in British Airways Club World Business Class to make your flight most enjoyable?
The big difference between upstairs and downstairs is 2-4-2 vs 2-3-2. The upstairs isn’t as wide and therefore has a smaller cabin.
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Here’s the seat map of the A380 downstairs
- How awkward would those middle seats be if you didn’t know the person? Oh hello stranger, let’s snuggle for half a day.
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Here’s the upstairs on the A380
- I sat on the aisle, in the middle upstairs. There is far more privacy for all middle seat passengers, but still no direct aisle access for all. AND VERY LITTLE STORAGE.
Upstairs on British Airways Club World 
British Airways A380 Club World Downstairs
- I sat on the aisle, in the middle upstairs. There is far more privacy for all middle seat passengers, but still no direct aisle access for all. AND VERY LITTLE STORAGE.
The biggest complaint I have is you’re either STEPPING OVER somone or being STEPPED OVER by someone.
Biz ain’t cheap people…there should be easy peasy, gliding out into the aisle to stretch, snack, or go to pee 15 times cause you had too much champagne without having to mount your neighbor.
The annoying and awkward aisle climb is what makes Club World inferior to competitors. Here was my seat downstairs from London to Los Angles. Notice the foot stool that pulls down. Whomever is sitting on the inside has to step OVER it to get out. This means if you’re sleeping, you’re probably going to get bumped by someone stepping over you.
My seat, 14J
But here’s the secret sauce…look at the window seat that is rear facing, one behind my seat, 15k. The seat behind me, 15J actually blocks the aisle from the person sitting in 14K ( the window seat next to me), who has to step over 15J to get into the aisle. So who does 15k have to step over? That leads me to my next point.
Where do you sit if you want privacy and aisle access?
Upstairs
If we look at Row 59… Those sitting in A and K are up against a bulkhead and exit their seat BEHIND B and J seats. This means no stepping over anyone to exit.
The prices in SEK are the quotes for pre-selecting my seats on my return to Europe later in the year. Another complaint I have with BA Biz. No seat selection until 24 hours ahead. Cahmon.
Downstairs
You also have the setup where those in A and K are on the window, face a bulkhead ( but near the galley) and exit their seats behind B and J seats. 
To get a visual as to what this looks like…
I value privacy and aisle access the most.
Do you lose a few windows vs other window seats on the plane? Probably. Are you closer to the galley so it could be noisier? Yeah. But you don’t have to worry about stepping over someone nor do you have to stepped over. That’s huge to me.
I didn’t go over every single cabin on every single plane within BA’s fleet, but the same configurations can be found on those planes as well, AND the concept remains the same. Find a rear facing window seat, near a bulkhead, and you’ll find a secret little seat that gives privacy and aisle access.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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