From October, British Airways Will Be the Only Airline Flying Between the UK and Japan With Business Class Suites On All Flights

From October 31, British Airways will become the only airline flying non-stop between the UK and Japan with Business Class suites that have privacy doors on every service.

The Heathrow-based carrier will be increasing capacity on its London to Tokyo Haneda service by swapping out the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that currently serves the route with a larger Boeing 777-300.

The number of First Class seats will remain the same at eight after the aircraft swap, but the number of Business Class seats will increase dramatically from 42 on the Dreamliner to 76 Club Suites on the stretched 777-300.

Capacity in other cabins will remain broadly the same, with the number of World Traveller Plus seats increasing by just one to 40 and World Traveller capacity increasing by five to 132 seats.

BA’s chief commercial officer, Colm Lacy, said the airline was making a number of improvements to its Haneda service to commemorate the 75th anniversary of operating flights between the UK and Japan.

“It all started with a flying boat and now Tokyo is one of our longest-served and most valued destinations,” commented Lacy on Wednesday.

“We’re incredibly proud of our heritage – it’s been our pleasure to connect British travellers with Japan since 1948 – and we look forward to serving them for the next 75 years and beyond as we continue our investment into new products, customer experience and technology,” Lacy continued.

Along with the improved First suite and Club Suite, British Airways has also been working on a number of ‘celebratory dishes’ to mark the occasion and which will be served on Heathrow to Haneda flights from 1 September to 31 October.

British Airways has taken inspiration from menus that were served on the route back in 1969, including beef stroganoff and beef cheek okaribayaki, along with a cherry meringue gateau.

The airline traces its history with Japan back to 1948 when its predecessor, BOAC, operated a flying boat service from Poole to the Japanese city of Iwakuni. The flight took seven days and stopped in several cities en route, including Augusta, Alexandria, Karachi, Calcutta, Bangkok, and Hong Kong.