New Club World. BA = Blinking Amazing

BA is one of the stories
in the WTS? book, used to illustrate how product and service innovation
(e.g. valet parking, exclusive Club World Check-in) is more powerful than any amount of advertising in driving brand
perceptions.

Well, BA just got a whole lot better. I flew BA the other day on the way back from Cape Town, and got to try out the new Club World cabin. And boy, it is pretty damn cool. The $100 million they have invested really has made a huge difference. And it has really closed the gap between Club and First Class. Since flying I have told a bunch of people about how good it was, demonstrating the word-of-mouth generating potential of great product innovation.

Here are a few highlights:
– Fully flat bed, not one of those slightly sloping ones where
you slide down..including a clever little feature of the arm-rests
disappearing down into the chair so they don’t stick in your side
– On-demand video, that you can pause, rewind, forward. Prevents
you missing the start of the movie while you’re getting stuck in to
your apertifs
– A helpful little storage box that pulls out for storing shoes, books and stuff
– Standard US type plug that only needs a UK/US adapter to work

You can take a full tour here. I like the way they use the "Club" concept in the website as a navigation device and overall theme.