BA to remove Club Europe middle seat table in new Airbus A320neo jets

To be picky - and they haven't said that they will do it(!) - but to sell the middle seat increases capacity from four to six seats per row, a 50% increase in capacity.

The cost of the spare middle seat for Business Class for airlines like BA, Air NZ, etc on single aisle aircraft, is incorporated into the cost of the other two seats. BA wont sell that middle seat, as the cost of that middle is covered.

I can see why BA is removing the centre table, it gives them flexibility in charter, leasing or selling their A320's to other carriers as 'one' class configuration.

BA is a joke...no extra legroom, no extra width and no extra storage. The best euro J I know of is Aegean who give extra 6 inches extra legroom, the arm rest next to the middle seat actually folds to the side to give an extra 2 inches width and I've food them sometimes cheaper than BA Y on the same route. Even in Y they still serve hot meals for free.

Agree that BA Business Club Europe is a joke. Have flown them many times, and the only reason is due to the One World Alliance, otherwise I would give it a complete miss. I have got smart, and always pick row 1, at least there is some leg room and no one pushing back. The service, food and wines are reasonable, but I have found that the staff are embarrassed by this so called business product.

Australians should be careful what they wish for, and stop complaining about our domestic business. I have travelled domestically on many world airlines and Qantas is streets ahead.

If the centre tray is removed, it really then becomes economy, as at least the tray does give you somewhere to put your drink and tray when working. If this happens I will have to forget BA.

As for BA international business, lets not go there.

@krisdude - BA already has this flexibility because the centre table is easily inserted and removed. The ‘business cabin’ on any given short haul flight can range from 3 rows to 12, depending on how many business seats they sell. They just move the curtain divider forward and remove centre tables when they need less rows.

@MHG - I don’t disagree with your complaints re: BA short haul business, but who else are you going to fly? All short haul euro carriers have the same set up, except for maybe Aeroflot and a Turkish on some planes (useful only if you are travelling to Russia or Turkey!). Air France, Lufthansa, KLM are all the same.

I'm not sure what is a bigger joke, removing it, or keeping it?! BA certainly on a par, if not, below the standards of the US3 now. And I'm really not sure how they get away with it - must be a very naive frequent flyer base.

@Chris_PER - they ‘get away with it’ because they are by far the dominant carrier at Heathrow, and their short haul competition is no better (long haul is another story). As a frequent BA flyer I’m certainly not naive - more often than not BA is the most convenient option with more direct flights to European and North American destinations at competitive prices. For example, you can fly direct to many cities in the US on BA that you’d otherwise have to connect via a major hub if on a US3 carrier. course, it’s another story flying to the Middle East, Asia and Australia (hello Qatar Q Suites!).

Better than the 5 abreast that BA used to have on their A320 family aircraft, but still what is the point of even having 'Club Europe"

Just another cost cutting exercise by an airline an embarrassing shadow of its former self (a bit like the UK in general). Having said that I've booked 1A both ways between LHR and Dusseldorf in August/Sep because it's Oneworld and has the best schedule on that route. It will be an interesting experience...

Have they dropped the pre-departure drink or are you just supposed to hold the glass?

BA know that they have an almost inelastic base load from UK domestic shuttles, corporate booked J (and F) travel and a cleverly worked executive club card programme. They are not competitive in any class, but perpetuate the mystique of a world class airline with grand labels for actually hollowed out products. This A32oneo news fits into this mindset of an enterprise driven by cost rather than differentiation or customer service. Fortunately US competitors are now improving and anything eastbound is already in another league.

The european short haul sector is very different to the oz domestic sector. The dominant carriers in europe are the loco's, Ryanair, Easyjet etc. Unlike in OZ where the dominant carriers are the full service airlines.

Genuinely a poor decision.