What are the best seats on a British Airways A350?
This is our guide to helping you pick the best seat on the British Airways A350-1000.
With BA nearing the end of its Club Suite refurbishment program at Heathrow we thought we should update our guides to the best seats on British Airways long haul aircraft.
We are now using more detailed seat plans from Aerolopa which show not just cabin layouts but also where you’ll find the toilets, galleys and even how many windows each seat has.
We will run a new article in this series every week until we have covered the entire long haul fleet. This is the first one.
The good news is that the A350 is one of the newest aircraft types in the British Airways fleet and is an excellent plane to be on.
It is one of the most fuel-efficient aircraft in the sky and the quietest twin-aisle aircraft available. It also has a lower cabin pressurisation altitude which, in plain English, means that it should reduce the effects of jetlag. The increased humidity levels will also reduce dehydration.
British Airways A350-1000 seat map
Here is the full seat plan for a British Airways A350.
We will look at each cabin in detail as we go on.
Click on any image to enlarge on desktop. If you are reading on a mobile you may prefer the vertical version on Aerolopa here.
How do you select a seat on British Airways?
Before we go on, let’s recap the BA rules on seat selection.
British Airways permits seat selection from the time of booking.
British Airways Club members get free seat selection if they have Silver or Gold status (or oneworld equivalent). Bronze members get free seat selection from seven days before departure. However, for everyone else, you have to pay a fee.
This includes passengers in Club World or Club Suite business class, which is very unusual. Most airlines which charge for seat selection only charge in their Economy cabins, but not British Airways. The only cabin where seat selection is free for all is First Class.
You can read the British Airways seat selection rules in our article here. This guide will help you choose the best seats on BA’s A350-1000.
Best First Class seats on a British Airways A350
British Airways chose not to install a First Class cabin on its A350 fleet. We’ll skip straight to the best business class seats ….
Best Club World / Club Suite (business class) seats on a British Airways A350
The British Airways A350 fleet was the first to get the new Club Suite business class seat back in 2019. It made BA the first European airline to have a business class suite with a fully closing door, a feature that’s now pretty much standard worldwide.
It also signalled the end of BA’s much-maligned yin-yang seating, which forced you to stare at a stranger during take-off and landing and potentially climb over their legs as well!
As of April 2026, Club Suite has been rolled out across the majority of BA’s long haul Heathrow fleet (sorry Gatwick) with just the Boeing 787-9s and A380s to be completed.
You can read more about British Airways Club Suite here in our comprehensive guide. Our review of Club Suite is here.
Should you pay to select a Club Suite seat?
The good news is that there are no truly bad seats in Club Suite. We do not recommend that you pay for seat selection because it isn’t worth it.
In the window seats, it is difficult to speak to people sat directly in front or behind you so if your partner ends up elsewhere it doesn’t make much difference. It is certainly not enough to justify paying what can be £100+ per person, each way.
If you want a middle pair to make it easier to talk to your partner, these are usually the last seats to be booked – and so available for free at check-in – because solo travellers and those who want a window seat avoid them.
Some seats are better aligned with the windows than others
Whilst all Club Suite seats are nominally identical the seats are not perfectly aligned with the windows in the A350-1000. This means that, depending on which row you are seated in, you have between one and two windows:
- Rows 3, 4, 7 and 17 all have one window only
- Rows 2, 5, 6, 8 and 16 have one and a half windows each
- Rows 1, 9, 10 and 15 all have two windows
This is not a massive variance but might factor into your choice if you are particularly picky.
The mini-cabin at the back is not as good as it appears
Club World is split into two cabins on the A350. Rows 1 to 11 are in the large forward cabin (44 seats in total), whilst rows 15 to 17 are in a considerably smaller cabin of just 12 seats. Dividing the two are two lavatories and the self-service ‘Club Kitchen’ and galley area.
Whilst the second mini cabin is likely to feel significantly more private you are also likely to be last for meal service and not receive your first choice.
All the seats in this cabin are no more than two rows away from the two bassinet seats for infants in 15A and 15K. If you are sensitive to crying babies you may wish to move to the front cabin where you can be seated further away from the bassinet seat in 1K.
Our conclusions
Couples may prefer the middle pairs which have a removable partition so that you can see and talk to each other.
Rows 1, 11 and 15 are close to the galleys and lavatories. This may mean slightly more disruption from the crew as they prepare meals and other passengers.
We feel that the best rows are 3 to 8. These are furthest from the galleys, lavatories and the baby bassinet seats. The trade-off is that you will not be first for food as the front cabin is served from both ends converging in the middle.
Best World Traveller Plus (premium economy) seats on a British Airways A350
There are 56 World Traveller Plus seats on a British Airways A350. Which one is the best?
The premium economy seats are situated in a single cabin behind Club World in rows 20 to 26. There are eight seats per row in a 2-4-2 layout.
Each seat is 18.7″ wide with a 38″ seat pitch (the gap between the back of the seat in front and yours) and comes with a 12″ screen in the seatback in front of you and USB charging.
Couples are likely to enjoy the window seats where you can have two together. It makes no sense to take two seats in the middle block. You might be tempted to pay for a seat reservation in order to guarantee a window pair.
The best row is 20 which is the first in the World Traveller Plus cabin. This row has the most legroom as there is nobody sitting in front of you. There are also no lavatories or galleys between the Club World and World Traveller Plus cabins to be concerned about.
The snag is that 20A, 20E, 20F and 20K are bassinet seats and may feature a baby! (Babies sleep a lot though and are generally less disruptive than you might imagine, except during take off and landing when the change in pressure can distress them.)
You will also be the first to receive food if you are in Row 20. Note that your in-flight entertainment screen and tray table will be stored in your armrest.
Best World Traveller (economy) seats on a British Airways A350
There are 219 economy seats on BA’s A350 fleet in a 3-3-3 configuration, between rows 30 and 59.
World Traveller (economy) is spread over two cabins, both of which are situated at the back of the plane behind the World Traveller Plus cabin.
The forward cabin has 49 seats in total whilst the rear has 170. They are divided by four lavatories (the galleys for the economy cabin are at the very rear).
Each seat has a 17.6″ width, 31″ seat pitch, a 10″ screen in the seat-back in front as well as USB charging.
The best seats are in the forward cabin, between rows 30 and 34. These are closest to the exit, meaning you would be amongst the first economy passengers to disembark. These are also likely to be the quietest as there is no galley or lavatory between the premium economy and economy cabins.
Seats 30A, B, J and K as well as 31C, D, E, F, H should have additional leg room, as should rows 40 and 41.
Seats 35 A, B, C, H, J, K are some of the worst seats – they have limited or no recline and are right in front of the lavatories.
If you are sat in the larger economy cabin you should avoid the front and rear, as these are closest to the galleys and lavatories and are likely to be most frequented by other passengers and crew.
Conclusion
The A350 is the newest and most technologically advanced aircraft in the British Airways fleet, and one where you are guaranteed to get Club Suite in Business Class. Wherever you end up sitting, you should hopefully have a pleasant flight.