BA first-class designers announced

British Airways has brought together two of Britain's leading design consultancies, forpeople and tangerine, to take their First class cabins to new heights of customer luxury and service.

In an example of industry partnership, tangerine and forpeople are working together with BA's in-house design experts on every aspect of the First class experience.

BA was the first commercial airline to develop and introduce fully flat beds in 1995 for its flagship cabin. The rest of the aviation industry quickly followed.

Forpeople have an impressive legacy in the luxury travel sector including work for Aston Martin and Jaguar. Working with BA's design management team, they have responsibility for the overall creative direction of the project including the key aspects of the brand, product and service elements.

intelligent design

Tangerine, the agency that British Airways used to develop their award-winning fully flat bed in business class, are once again bringing their intelligent design approach and past experience to bear on the First cabin layout and seat design.

Neal Stone, British Airways' design manager, said: "We're very excited to be redeveloping our flagship brand and wanted to work with the design industry's top minds to produce the best cabin possible.

"We chose forpeople based on their pedigree in developing luxury products. They understand this high-end audience and design with their needs and wants in mind. Their attention to detail is second to none, and we felt they could bring creative ideas to all aspects of the First class travel experience.

"Tangerine's innovative and open-minded view of how to make the best use of space and create comfortable and clever seating solutions meant we turned to them again to make the most of our First class cabin."

Richard Stevens, creative director at forpeople, said: "We are extremely proud to be working on the First cabin redevelopment. Forpeople's experience helps us understand what's in the minds of elite consumers like British Airways' first-class passengers. That understanding lets us answer their needs by interweaving the very best in product and service design.

new onboard experience

We are aiming to create a new onboard experience of a style and quality that customers expect from a world-class brand like British Airways."

Professor Martin Darbyshire, managing director of tangerine, said: "We are thrilled to continue our long association with BA and delighted to be collaborating with forpeople on this exciting project.