my trip british airways

British Airways 4+

British airways plc.

• #15 in Travel
• 4.5 • 719.3K Ratings

Screenshots

Description.

To Fly. To Serve. The British Airways app makes booking, boarding and accessing everything about your flights easier than ever before. Personalised to you, the app gives you instant access to the information you need, when you need it. Features: - Personalised home screen Your home screen is your personal gateway into the BA app. Themed around your next destination, it will give you easy access to important information surrounding your flight, including your mobile boarding pass. You will also have quick access to flights you track, your most recent search and our best return fares to our most popular destinations. - Book flights Booking a flight with British Airways has never been easier. Browse our cheapest fares or quickly access your recent flight searches made from any device, and book a flight from over 130 countries. - Manage your flights Access and purchase upgrade offers from your phone, book seats in advance, add flights to your calendar or send them via email and get up-to-date arrival and departure times for all of your flights. Additionally, lounge users can access the British Airways Lounge Wi-Fi password. - Apple Watch The British Airways app on Apple Watch provides easy access to the most important flight information while you’re on the move. You can quickly view the flight number, route, departure time, flight status, a countdown to the departure time and the weather at your destination. - Flight status and schedules Search and track all British Airways flights for the latest arrival and departure times. - Exclusive features for Executive Club Members If you’re an Executive Club Member, you can check your Avios and Tier Points as well as view your full transaction history on your device. Optional enhanced services available for our Executive Club customers travelling with baggage to check in at the airport. Anyone can join the Executive Club for free on ba.com - Siri Shortcuts Add Siri Shortcuts to quickly check your next flight and Avios points Please refer to the 'Application Licence Agreement', linked on this page, to view the terms of use of this application and use of mobile boarding passes. By downloading the BA application, you agree to the terms of the Application Licence Agreement. British Airways Plc Web Site British Airways Support Application Licence Agreement.

Version 6.3.1

We’re always working behind the scenes to make improvements to your experience. Our tweaks improve the British Airways app by making it faster, safer and easier to navigate.

Ratings and Reviews

719.3K Ratings

Editors’ Notes

No more frantic inbox searches before leaving for the airport. No more desperate bag-rustling at the departure gate. This app puts every piece of our essential information (outside reminding us to pack a toothbrush) in one beautifully clean place. Pro tip: adding the widget to your Notification Centre serves up details on your flight number, departure time and flight status.

Mr D Ritchie

48 before our flight I tried to take advantage of booking our seats for upcoming flight. Unfortunately we had already been allocated seats and when I tried to change our seats this option was not available to us. 24 hours before our flight I again tried to check in online and was again informed that this service was unavailable. On my arrival at FCO I was refused admission to the airport as I did not have a boarding pass. I do not possess a “smart phone” so the situation became very difficult but was resolved by the very understanding and professional local police on duty. I ask you to provide information on this process, as you do with your excellent advice on Covid compliance, in the future. Many thanks for your time in this matter and I can assure you it will not change my preference in choice of airline as you are far above and beyond the best airline on offer. Kind regards Derek Ritchie

The worst website and flight app I’ve ever used

Complicated, convoluted, unclear - particle when it comes to cancelling the second part of a booking if you decide to change the first and not tell them. No warnings, no notification of a cancellation - even now it does not tell me my flight was cancelled and o still had to pay £260 for two tickets on a flight I ALREADY HAD A SEAT ON AND HAD PAID FOR. I have to go to a funeral tomorrow morning and had to cancel BOTH LEGS of that flight despite the fact I wanted to keep one leg and the price for the individual legs were the same. I’m out of pocket by about another £100. They don’t answer phones, I tried for several hours, they give no discretion in sensitive situations and the executive family links do not work, despite asking three times for email links. I was just now given a single boarding pass instead of two and had to find the other one in a maze of nonsense. When you click a link to your booking from the app it opens the webpage to a broken link because you have to sign in there separately - but don’t tell you that… it’s all a guessing game with BA. the budget airlines are at least clear with charges, concise, and their apps and websites work. It’s like BA can do what they like because of the name. Well I’m out.i never thought I’d say it but I’ll never fly with them again. A disaster and a disgrace.

App Privacy

The developer, British Airways Plc , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Financial Info
• Contact Info
• User Content
• Search History
• Identifiers
• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, French

• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

Get all of your passes, tickets, cards, and more in one place.

Get things done within this app using just your voice.

You might also like.

Heathrow Express

Eurostar Trains

Addison Lee: Taxis & Couriers

Seatfrog: Book Train Tickets

South Western Railway

• Remember me remcheck
• Forgotten PIN/Password?
• Register now

Frequently asked questions

How do i benefit from using manage my booking, what can i do through manage my booking, how do i access manage my booking, if my booking contains flights, which are not with british airways, can i still access manage my booking, if i made my booking with a travel agent, can i use manage my booking, are there any restrictions to which bookings i can access with manage my booking, if i make changes to my booking, how do i know that my changes have been stored in my booking, if i make seat and meal requests, are they guaranteed, why can't i request a special meal on my flight, can you tell me about the service where customers are able to print their own boarding pass.

As a British Airways customer, Manage My Booking is a self-service online initiative designed to assist you by:

• Giving you reassurance about your booking by being able to view booking details 24 hours a day at any time up to when you travel for each flight.
• Eliminating the need for you to check your booking details and request booking services by phone.
• Reducing time spent in airport check-in queues.
• Providing travel information relevant to your booking to help you plan and prepare for your travel.

Manage my booking allows you to:

• View details of your travel itinerary.
• View your seat and meal requests.
• Make seat requests from an interactive seating plan.
• Make meal requests from a list of available special dietary meals.
• Provide Advance Passenger Information (e.g. passport and other details).
• Apply for an ESTA if you're travelling to the USA or Puerto Rico.
• Add an Executive Club or partner frequent flyer number to ensure receipt of Tier Points and Avios.
• Email your itinerary to colleagues, friends and family.
• View check-in times and information about Online Check-in and Self-Service Check-in kiosks.
• Check in for your flight online and print your boarding pass before going to the airport.
• Obtain baggage information including allowances or restrictions.
• View city guides and other useful links.
• Access real-time departures and arrivals information.
• Change your flights, upgrade your cabin class and claim refunds.

To access Manage My Booking, you just need your booking reference and last name. Regardless of where you made your reservation, your booking reference can be found on your ticket (in an area called 'PNR code' or 'Locator') or on your e-ticket itinerary receipt. The reference is a series of six characters containing letters and numbers. If you are an Executive Club member and you are logged in to ba.com, you will be able to automatically list your booking references, which contain your Executive Club number. If you are unable to see this reference on any of your documentation, please contact the company from where you purchased your ticket who will have a record of it.

You can access Manage My Booking to view any flights on your booking, provided there is at least one flight with a British Airways flight number. Seat and meal request services, the Advance Passenger Information service, Online Check-in, if available, can only be used on flights with a British Airways flight number.

If you have booked through a travel agent and your booking contains at least one flight with a British Airways flight number, then simply use your travel agent's booking reference to access the Manage My Booking service. There are two key service limitations, which may apply to a travel agent booking: 

• You may not be able to view all of your flights in Manage My Booking. If this is the case, then this is because British Airways does not own the booking and is normally allowed to view it's own flights plus with preceding and succeeding connecting flights (regardless of airline). 
• Changes made through Manage My Booking to British Airways flights will normally not be passed back to your travel agent booking.

You will be unable to access Manage My Booking for any bookings that:

• were made through our Group Bookings team or via a travel agent for a group, which includes any booking for 10 or more passengers
• are for flights that have been flown or cancelled
• include hotels, cars, experiences or transfers booked on iberia.com

Please contact us instead.

You will be notified of any change to your booking by email, where an email address has been provided.

Whilst we will do all we can to satisfy your request, the delivery of seat and meal requests cannot be guaranteed.

Special meal requests cannot be made for travel on any UK Domestic flight. Special meals requests cannot be made on some Euro Traveller flights.

Check where you can request a special meal

If you are travelling on a standby or waitlist ticket you will be unable to request special meals on any route.

Kosher meal requests are not available on all services. Please check here to see where kosher meals are available . Special meal requests are unavailable on all other routes if your flight is due to depart within 24 hours.

Please note: Special meal requests on British Airways flights operated by our partner airlines may differ from above. Flights operated to/from London City airport have complimentary catering.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

From selected locations, customers using Online Check-in can print their own boarding pass at home or in the office and go straight to the central search security area on arrival. This then saves the customer visiting a Self-Service Check-in kiosk at the airport to collect their boarding pass. The Online boarding pass needs to be printed on plain white A4 or letter paper and includes a unique 2D barcode, which will be scanned by airport security staff and checked off against information already in the system. When travelling from the UK, customers will need to provide photographic ID in the form of a passport, identity card or driving licence, along with their Online boarding pass, before they will be allowed to pass through security. At all other airport locations, the passport/identity card check will be carried out before boarding the aircraft. The technology that is being used, along with the requirement for an approved type of photographic ID, means that customers can be reassured that security is in no way being compromised. Customers with onward flights If the Online boarding pass service is not available from the location that your onward journey or return journey departs, customers will need to collect their boarding passes for their onward/return journeys from a check-in or a Self-Service Check-in kiosk where available.

Advertiser Disclosure

Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology .

How to Upgrade to Business and First Class on British Airways Flights

Senior Content Contributor

486 Published Articles

Countries Visited: 24 U.S. States Visited: 22

Director of Operations & Compliance

1 Published Article 1172 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 10 U.S. States Visited: 20

Types of BA Upgrades

How to find out if upgrade space is available, the importance of elite status, the value of a british airways visa credit card, upgrading with executive club gold upgrade vouchers, how to upgrade an existing booking, how to upgrade a new flight / booking, upgrading on partner airlines, with british airways elite status, without british airways elite status, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

Upgrading your flights on British Airways could be an excellent way to redeem Avios and enhance your in-flight experience.

Unlike upgrading with United Airlines , for example, upgrading with British Airways is a simpler process. Generally, there are two major ways to get upgraded with British Airways.

• Upgrading using British Airways Executive Club Gold Upgrade Vouchers
• Upgrading an existing booking with Avios
• Upgrading a new flight with Avios

While it’s impossible to always guarantee upgrades on every flight with British Airlines, our knowledge can give you a leg up on the competition. A better understanding of the entire process will increase your chances of securing upgrades.

This guide explains the types of British Airways upgrades, availability options, and how elite status can help. Additionally, we’ll discuss how the Chase British Airways Visa can help you with your upgrades.

All in all, British Airways offers some great ways to upgrade your flights, so let’s begin.

Unlike most airlines, having elite status with British Airways actually doesn’t afford you priority for upgrades, though you do get a companion upgrade voucher after reaching key thresholds.

As we mentioned earlier, British Airways has a few avenues of confirming an upgrade.

• Upgrading using British Airways Executive Club Gold Upgrade Vouchers : Upon meeting certain elite status requirements, upgrade you and a companion to the next highest cabin
• Upgrade an existing booking: Upgrade using miles on flights paid for in cash
• Upgrade a new booking: Upgrade using miles and cash to confirm upgraded seats at the time of booking
• Upgrade using American Airlines systemwide upgrades: You can upgrade using AA systemwide upgrades if you purchased your ticket through American Airlines and at least 1 segment is on American.

We’ll cover these in detail in the later sections, but let’s first discuss upgrade availability.

British Airways treats award and upgrade space the same. This means that if an award is available for redemption with miles, it’s also available for upgrades with miles.

British Airways has one of the most robust award search engines out there, which makes our search much easier. Keep in mind that the process to upgrade is slightly different from the process to search. Here’s how to search for award availability.

First, create a British Airways Executive Club account . Type in your email address, create a password, and input the remaining information as requested on the registration page.

To complete your account registration, you’ll need to confirm your email by following instructions from British Airways.

Find the button that says Book on the top banner. Hover over it, and click  Book a flight with Avios . Type in your origin and destination cities. Choose your departure and return dates.

If you’re booking one-way flights, check the box that says One way only . Type in the class you want to upgrade to, type in the number of passengers, and click Get flights .

When you’re upgrading with points, there’s one rule you must know. Q, O, and G class fares cannot be upgraded. Though you’ll be seated in the economy cabin, upgrading from these fares to premium economy would be considered a 2-fare increase, which isn’t allowed. 

That being said, those are pretty much the only rules, which makes this one of the simplest ways to upgrade flights.

Upgrade Priority: Who Gets the Upgrade First?

Contrary to popular belief, having elite status does not always entitle you to upgrade priority over other people. We talk a lot about the tiers of British Airways elite status in our review of British Airways Executive Club , but the short answer is that having elite status with British Airways doesn’t entitle you to ongoing upgrade priority.

When you achieve 2,500 Tier Points (British Airways’ elite-qualifying currency system), you’ll receive one companion upgrade voucher. Note that this is different from a Travel Together Ticket , which is essentially a buy-one-get-one-free award ticket.

When you achieve 3,500 Tier Points, you’ll receive two companion upgrade vouchers, which you can use for you and a companion to upgrade both passengers from a single reservation.

Besides the companion upgrade vouchers, which are given as a one-time benefit upon meeting certain criteria, having elite status doesn’t give you upgrade priority.

This actually diminishes the value of the Executive Club program, but having the companion upgrade vouchers can still be valuable.

Unlike United Airlines , which offers additional upgrade availability for holding their co-branded credit cards, British Airways does not.

Besides bonus categories for earning Avios , the main draw of the British Airways Visa credit card from Chase is the   Travel Together Ticket . As we explained above, this perk allows you to bring a companion in the same cabin as you on award tickets . 

You cannot book cash fares using the Travel Together Ticket, nor upgrades.

Bottom Line: Having the Chase British Airways Visa credit card opens up the door to earn the  Travel Together Ticket  after spending $30,000 over the course of a year, which may be useful for award tickets, but not so much for upgrades.

When it comes to elite status with British Airways, there’s a metric called  Tier Points . With each flight you take either on British Airways or one of their partners, you will earn a certain number of Tier Points. This is dependent on your existing elite status, fare class, and route.

For example, if you’re flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to London-Heathrow (LHR) on British Airways as a Executive Club Blue member, you will earn the following number of Tier Points depending on your fare class booked:

For example, if you booked an economy ticket in booking class V, you would earn 2,721 Avios and 35 Tier Points each way.

After attaining 2,500 Tier Points within a calendar year, you will receive a Gold Upgrade Voucher, which you can use to upgrade you and one companion on a flight of your choice. Of course, the flight will need to have the award/upgrade space available, which you can easily find out with British Airways’ online search engine.

If you hit 3,500 Tier Points in a calendar year, you’ll receive 2 Gold Upgrade Vouchers for you and a companion, which is fantastic.

Upgrading With Miles

It’s absolutely possible to upgrade flights using British Airways Avios. In fact, it’s a little-known secret that upgrading British Airways flights with Avios is a sweet spot.

If you book an award ticket outright with Avios, you’ll still need to pay for fuel surcharges. On a cheaper economy or premium economy ticket, these fuel surcharges can make up the bulk of the ticket price, which means that you’ll end up saving a ton of Avios by leveraging this fact.

It’s important to note that to upgrade a ticket using Avios, the original purchase must have been made in cash. It’s not possible to upgrade a ticket with Avios that was originally purchased with Avios.

Upgrades are made better by the fact that British Airways doesn’t charge a co-pay like many other airlines. This will save you a bundle of cash. Let’s talk about the two main ways to upgrade bookings with British Airways Avios.

Let’s say that you purchased one of the cheaper tickets on British Airways with cash. Let’s also say that you want to fly in premium economy instead of economy, which is what you booked your ticket in.

Well, you’ll be pleased to know that you can upgrade your flight simply for the fare difference between economy and premium economy.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Follow this link to get to the Manage My Booking page.
• Type in your booking reference number and the last name of the passenger.
• Click Upgrade this flight with Avios . (You may not be able to upgrade due to the absence of award availability.)
• Pay the Avios and any new taxes and fees, and your upgrade is confirmed.

Hot Tip: British Airways frequently sells round-trip business class tickets for approximately $1,800 to $2,500. Be sure to give these deeply discounted fares a thought prior to upgrading with your Avios.

With this method, let’s illustrate a scenario. You haven’t booked any tickets yet. You have a healthy balance of Avios, but not enough to book your desired ticket class outright. You want a confirmed upgrade right now, and you’re willing to purchase a cash ticket in order to upgrade with your Avios.

Using Avios to upgrade a new flight is perfect for someone in the above situation. Here’s how you can confirm an upgrade completely online in minutes:

• Go to the Book and Upgrade section of British Airways.
• Upgrade either your outbound or inbound flights by toggling the appropriate checkbox.
• Type in your destination and origin airport codes.
• Input your departure and return dates. Check off  One way only if applicable.
• Choose the class you want to upgrade from . If you want to upgrade from premium economy to business, you’ll need to select premium economy.
• Choose the ticket type that meets your needs.
• Select the number of passengers. Click  Get flights .
• Choose your desired flight and click  Continue.
• Complete the booking and confirm your upgraded ticket.

Bottom Line: You don’t need fancy elite status to upgrade a British Airways flight. In fact, any travelers can maximize their Avios by upgrading existing or new reservations with miles. It’s super easy, so there’s no reason not to do it.

Upgrades on Iberia and American Airlines are also allowed. Keep in mind that the ticket must be issued by British Airways in order to qualify. To upgrade on partner flights with Iberia or American Airlines, you’ll follow the exact same process as shown above.

However, you can’t book a ticket on AA.com and upgrade using British Airways Avios. You must upgrade on a ticket that’s issued and sold by British Airways.

When you book your ticket through AA.com you can use American Airlines systemwide upgrades as long as at least 1 segment is an American Airlines flight and upgrade space is available.

7 Ways to Secure an Upgrade or Increase Your Chances of an Upgrade with British Airways

• Earn companion upgrade certificates . Once you’ve met certain criteria, British Airways will provide you with companion upgrade certificates. With this, you won’t even need Avios. You’ll just need to find availability and purchase a cash ticket that meets their terms and conditions. Your companion will then be upgraded!
• Search for availability early . Since inventory is identical for upgrades and awards, you’ll want to start your search early, particularly on competitive routes like Los Angeles (LAX) to London-Heathrow (LHR).
• Double check the fare class you’re booked in. You’ll want to make sure you’re booked in an upgrade-eligible fare class. If you’re not, no matter how much award availability you find, you won’t be able to upgrade.
• Be on the lookout for discounted premium cabin fares.  As we mentioned above, there are quite a few fare sales every year. Oftentimes, it costs only $2,000 to book a round-trip business class ticket. Plus, you’ll earn a lot of elite-qualifying miles and regular miles like a normal cash ticket.
• Let’s take two examples: If you paid with Avios for the Madrid – Sao Paulo via London-Heathrow flight in business class, it would cost you 87,750 Avios + $235.10 in taxes and fees.
• Compare this to upgrading a paid premium economy ticket , which would cost ~$1,000-$1,500 for the premium economy ticket alone. Upgrading the premium economy ticket would cost a minimum of 39,250 Avios, bringing your total to 39,250 Avios plus $1,000-$1,500 .
• Comparing the two situations of 87,750 Avios + $235.10 to 39,250 Avios + ~$1,500 means that you’re “paying 2.6 cents per Avio” , which is not a good deal at all. As such, this is an example situation to use Avios to book awards as opposed to upgrading paid tickets.
• Use the Travel Together Ticket to score 2-for-1 awards.  Although the Travel Together Ticket doesn’t increase award availability, it allows you to get 2 award tickets for the price of 1. Keep in mind you’ll have to pay taxes and fees, in addition to locating award availability for 2 passengers.
• Ask for paid upgrades at the airport. The last resort would be to ask the ticketing agent for upgrades available for cash when checking in for your international flight. Oftentimes, they offer upgrades for approximately $1,500 one-way. Payment typically must be done with a credit card, so use this as a chance to maximize your points and miles with a card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve ® .

Finding an upgrade may be difficult, but British Airways makes it easy to search and to understand the process. They don’t have complicated terms like co-pays and restrictions that make upgrading a headache.

British Airways has a robust online system for confirming upgrades, so you don’t have to pick up the phone. Interestingly, their elite status doesn’t increase upgrade priority , which is a departure from the norm compared to airlines like United or American.

As long as you have some patience, you’ll be able to secure upgrades on British Airways, American Airlines, or Iberia flights.

You must conform with their ticket restrictions as we discussed above. Otherwise, it’s extremely attractive to upgrade fares when using British Airways.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i know if my upgraded ticket allows a free checked bag.

An award or upgraded ticket is subject to the same baggage rules as regular paid tickets. This means that you can visit the British Airways’ website to find out about checked baggage allowance.

How can I get upgraded on an international ticket if I don't have status with British Airways?

The process is the same regardless of your status level with British Airways. Keep in mind that seat upgrades are subject to availability.

You’ll want to follow the directions for upgrading an existing or new reservation we laid out in this article.

Can I upgrade an award ticket I purchased with Avios?

No, you cannot upgrade an award ticket with miles. You can only upgrade paid fares with miles.

If you do want to upgrade a cash ticket using Avios, the cost is only the difference in Avios, which is the same cost as redeeming Avios for the award ticket outright.

You might be able to pay cash for an upgrade when you’re at the ticketing kiosk on the travel date in the airport.

When will the Avios be deducted for an upgrade request?

When you confirm the upgrade, the Avios will be deducted immediately from your British Airways Executive Club frequent flyer account.

Additionally, your credit card will be charged for any changes in taxes and fees when you confirm your reservation.

Which fare class should I buy to make sure I get an upgrade?

All fares classes besides Q, G, O are eligible for upgrades. These tickets are the cheapest economy tickets and aren’t eligible for upgrades.

Additionally, you can only upgrade one class of service. This means that for long-haul flights, you can upgrade from economy to premium economy, premium economy to business, or business to first class.

You can also use companion upgrade vouchers attained from British Airways elite status to upgrade your flights.

What's the difference between economy and economy plus seats?

The major differentiator is that premium economy has a lot more legroom and recline than a regular economy seat. While it might not sound great, it actually makes a big difference on a long-haul flight.

You’ll also be sitting closer to the exit, which means you’ll deplane before the economy passengers. You may also enjoy enhanced amenities such as better food.

Was this page helpful?

About Stephen Au

Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.

INSIDERS ONLY: UP PULSE ™

Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts...

Plus — expert strategies to maximize your points & miles by joining our (free) newsletter.

We respect your privacy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google's privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Related Posts

UP's Bonus Valuation

This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.

• Credit cards
• View all credit cards
• Banking guide
• Loans guide
• Insurance guide
• Personal finance
• View all personal finance
• Small business
• Small business guide
• View all taxes

You’re our first priority. Every time.

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners .

The Guide to British Airways Premium Economy

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

Table of Contents

What is premium economy on British Airways?

British airways premium economy seats, food and drink in british airways premium economy, amenities and other perks of british airways premium economy, how much is premium economy on british airways, 4 ways to save money on british airways premium economy, use avios to book a premium economy ticket on british airways, is british airways premium economy worth it.

Flying in economy just isn't what it used to be. Over the decades, many airlines have reduced legroom, squeezed more seats into each row and cut back on services. Many travelers can't afford to pay for business class, but there is a Goldilocks middle ground: premium economy. Arguably, one of the better premium economy products available is British Airways premium economy, also known as World Traveller Plus.

Let's take a look at British Airways' premium economy, including what you'll find onboard, how the experience differs from economy and how you can save money on these seats.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

British Airways’s premium economy class is called World Traveller Plus. The other classes on its flights include economy (Euro Traveller and World Traveller) , business class and first class.

World Traveller Plus is situated in its own separate cabin, which is closer to the front of the plane than economy. The seats are wider and offer more legroom than the seats in economy. In addition, passengers receive priority boarding, a more generous baggage allowance, two meals, complimentary alcoholic beverages, noise-canceling headphones for the personal entertainment system and an amenity kit.

» Learn more: The guide to British Airways classes

For many passengers, the main reason to book premium economy instead of economy is the larger seats. And British Airways certainly delivers in this regard.

Compared with economy, British Airways World Traveller Plus gives you more space in all directions — more seat width, legroom and recline. Tall passengers can rejoice: British Airways premium economy provides 7 inches of additional legroom — measuring 38 inches of pitch vs. just 31 inches of pitch in economy.

(Photo courtesy of JT Genter)

In addition to a substantial recline, British Airways premium economy seats offer a fold-out leg rest and a fold-down footrest.

Throughout the cabin, you'll find a large, fixed armrest between each seat. Although this slightly reduces seat width, it means that you shouldn't need to battle your neighbor for control of the armrest. At the front of each armrest, a cup tray provides enough space for two glasses. And you'll find a water bottle holder between the footrests in each seat pairing.

Depending on the aircraft type, the British Airways premium economy cabin is either arranged 2-3-2 or 2-4-2. This means there are two seats by the windows and three or four seats in the middle column of seats. This arrangement makes British Airways premium economy a great option for couples traveling together who prefer to have their own two-seat row.

Each British Airways premium economy seat has a large, bright 12-inch touchscreen with seemingly endless entertainment options. This is a substantial upgrade from what British Airways offered prior to a recent cabin refresh.

Below the in-flight entertainment screen, British Airways installed a storage tray. This provides a convenient place to store your phone, passport, boarding pass or other items you want nearby — but not in your pockets — while in-flight.

» Learn more: Basic economy vs. main cabin

In addition to bigger and better seats, British Airways provides notably better food and drink service in premium economy compared to economy.

This elevated service starts before the wheels even leave the ground. Flight attendants pass through the cabin offering pre-departure beverages of orange juice or water, served in real glassware. Although sparkling wine is available in-flight, it's not available on the ground in the World Traveller Plus cabin.

In-flight, British Airways advertises that World Traveller Plus passengers get "two delicious meals, complimentary bar service including signature cocktails (or mocktail)."

Here's what that looks like in practice.

Flight attendants pass through the cabin shortly after takeoff to provide a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. In my experience, flight attendants proactively provide doubles of alcoholic beverages. Plus, you'll get a choice of wine to go with your dinner.

For meal choices, menus aren't provided to passengers. Instead, flight attendants note the meal options as they pass through the cabin. British Airways offers two options — typically one vegetarian and one meat-based meal. Meals are generally served with a salad, a packaged roll, a dessert and a choice between several types of wines — typically two reds and two whites.

While the first meal is hot and meets premium economy standards, the second is generally a cold, packaged meal served in a brown paper bag. Although perfectly adequate, I haven't found this meal to be particularly "delicious" — falling short of what British Airways advertises.

British Airways premium economy doesn't just provide bigger seats and better meals. British Airways World Traveller Plus passengers also get better amenities and additional perks like priority boarding.

British Airways premium economy amenity kit, pillow and blanket

At boarding, World Traveller Plus seats are typically stocked with a small pillow, blanket and a plastic-wrapped package including noise-canceling headphones and an amenity kit.

The British Airways premium economy amenity kit includes socks, an eye mask, lip balm, a pen, a toothbrush and toothpaste. Earplugs are available on request.

Other perks of British Airways premium economy

Extra baggage allowance: British Airways premium economy typically allows two free checked bags at no additional cost. Comparatively, some British Airways economy fares are "hand baggage only" and charge up to $175 each way for two checked bags.

Priority boarding: British Airways World Traveller Plus passengers board no later than Group 3 boarding. Meanwhile, economy boarding groups stretch to Group 9.

Universal power outlets: The recent refresh to British Airways economy cabins only provides USB power outlets in economy. However, you'll still find two universal power outlets between each pairing of World Traveller Plus seats in addition to a USB outlet.

Unsurprisingly, you can expect to pay more than economy — but less than business class — if you want to fly in the premium economy cabin on British Airways.

We did a fare search for a roundtrip flight from New York-John F. Kennedy to London and found that on the 7:35 p.m. flight, premium economy ($1,162) is more than double the cost of economy ($532) and only slightly cheaper than business class ($1,222).

A flight departing just 30 minutes later (and landing in London-Gatwick) was an even worse deal, offering a $608 premium economy seat, which was nearly triple the cost of economy ($233). Business class was significantly more expensive at nearly $3,000.

On the return leg, premium economy was $851, compared to $504 in economy and $1,540 in business class.

If you chose the more affordable outgoing option in premium economy, you’d be looking at $1,459 total for the round-trip flight, compared to $737 in economy. The cheapest round-trip business class option would cost $2,762.

There are a few ways to save money when booking the Traveller Plus cabin on British Airways.

1. Get $65-$200 off as an AARP member

If you’re a member of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), when you book a roundtrip transatlantic flight on British Airways, you can save $65 off economy or premium economy seats and $200 off business class. Although $65 isn’t a huge discount, it could help offset the difference between economy and premium economy.

Although AARP is a nonprofit organization that offers money-saving benefits for Americans over 50, you do not need to be 50 to join. You just need to sign up and the benefits are yours to enjoy. The standard cost of the membership ranges is $16 per year, but the price could be lower depending on how long you want to commit.

Check Cashback Monitor to see if there are any shopping portals offering bonus points for signing up for an AARP membership.

2. Book a British Airways flight through a shopping portal

Another way to save money on your premium economy fare on British Airways is to purchase the ticket through a shopping portal. Browse through Cashback Monitor to see what the current savings are.

The search result shows that Top Cashback is offering up to 1.51% cash back on British Airways. However, you need to look at the details to make sure that the flight qualifies for the discount.

Clicking on the Top Cashback link shows that the discount on long-haul flights is only 1.01%. So, if you were to book a $1,000 premium economy ticket and click through Top Cashback, you would earn $10.10 in cash, which isn’t much but still provides some savings.

» Learn more: How to earn extra points & miles shopping online

3. Use a British Airways credit card to save 10% and statement credits

The British Airways Visa Signature® Card offers several money saving perks on purchase of British Airways flights.

Cardholders get a 10% discount on all British Airways flights originating in the U.S. You would need to book the flight on ba.com/chase10 and use the promotion code CHASEBA10. Assuming you book a $1,000 premium economy ticket, you’d save $100 off that flight.

Cardholders who book award flights to London can earn statement credits of $100 in economy and premium economy and $200 in first and business class. The statement credits can be earned three times per year, maxing out at $600. To earn the credits, cardholders will need to use the British Airways Visa Signature® Card to pay for award taxes, fees and carrier surcharges on the award flight.

This is a useful benefit, especially since taxes and fuel surcharges on British Airways award tickets can be extraordinarily high.

If you have British Airways Avios, you can also use those points to book an award flight. Here’s an example flight search from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow showing three available classes:

If we compare the pricing, in economy, the ticket costs 25,000 Avios + $100 in taxes. Premium economy costs 42,500 Avios + $280 in taxes. British Airways adds on high taxes and fuel surcharges so you’ll need to weigh the price in miles (+ taxes) against a cash ticket.

Using our $608 premium economy flight example from above, if you were to pay for this seat in Avios, you’d extract 0.8 cent per mile ($608 - $280 / 42,500). NerdWallet values British Airways Avios at 0.8 cent per mile when redeemed for economy fares. This probably isn’t the highest value per point you’ll find at the premium economy level, but it’s about the same number of points that you would expect to pay in economy. If the flight in cash was more expensive, using Avios for the award ticket would be much more justifiable.

Another factor to consider is that British Airways used a distance based award chart , so the cost of the flight in Avios will depend on how far away your origin is from your destination.

» Learn more: The guide to British Airways Executive Club

British Airways premium economy is found on all long-haul international aircraft. This includes British Airways:

Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.

Airbus A380-800 aircraft.

Boeing 777-200 and 777-300 aircraft.

Boeing 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft.

British Airways passengers can upgrade to premium economy using cash or Avios — either in advance or at the airport. However, you cannot purchase an upgrade once onboard. The cash upgrade price generally depends on the route and availability. However, Avios upgrade prices are set based on the Avios award price difference between the two cabins.

» Learn more: How (and why) to upgrade your British Airways flight using Avios

Thanks to a recent cabin refresh, the British Airways cabin now appears fresh and sharp. British Airways premium economy consists of four to nine rows of seating — depending on the aircraft — and is found between the business class and economy cabins. Each row is configured with two window seats on each side and either three or four seats in the middle section.

Yes, British Airways premium economy earns more British Airways Avios — or miles if you credit flights to another mileage program. When crediting flights to the British Airways Executive Club, you'll earn Avios at a rate of 100% or 150% of the flight miles, depending on the fare you book. Comparatively, you earn as few as 25% of flight miles when booking economy fares.

Likewise, American Airlines flyers earn up to four times more base AAdvantage miles when booking premium economy than economy. Since Loyalty Points are based on mileage earnings, you'll also earn quadruple the elite status credits. These extra miles and elite status credits can help justify the increased cost of premium economy for those debating if it's worth upgrading.

» Learn more: How to choose which airline miles to earn from your flights

» Learn more:

How (and why) to upgrade your British Airways flight using Avios

How to choose which airline miles to earn from your flights

British Airways premium economy represents a significant step up from economy. You'll get a bigger seat with extra legroom and recline. Plus, passengers get better food and drink options along with extra perks like priority boarding and extra baggage allowance. And mileage collectors and elite status members will appreciate earning extra miles and elite-status credits.

(Top photo courtesy of British Airways)

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

On a similar note...

France's DGAC warns of flight disruptions at French airports due to April 25 strike

• Medium Text
• Company Aeroports de Paris SA Follow
• Company Air France KLM SA Follow

Sign up here.

Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

The French industry minister Roland Lescure on Friday launched a call for interest for carbon capture at various sites to help carbon-intense industries abate emissions.

World Chevron

Germany needs an economic turnaround, says finance minister Lindner

Germany needs an economic turnaround in order to secure its geopolitical position, German Finance Minister and head of the Free Democrats FDP Christian Lindner said on Saturday.