The Lev

One of my colleagues had booked YYZ-MUC-YYZ. Originally scheduled as 77W one way and 77H returning, but turned out to be the same H fin in both directions. I tried to upgrade him both directinos but his upgrade didn't clear (no surprise as he had no status). At check-in he politely mentioned that he was on the upgrade list but it didn't clear, so could they put him in PE. The check-in agent phoned someone and he got it in both directions.

He was one of three people in the cabin outbound and six on the return. There was one very irate customer who appently tried to self-upgrade while the aircraft was taxiing. The FA's told him in no uncertain terms that he could not do so and it turned into quite a vocal discussion.

antirealist

This would be even more of an issue on the HKG route. Why would any solo paid J class passenger now choose AC over CX on that route, given the possibility of being trapped like that in a window seat?

flyquiet

I wish this thread would stop. It is filling me with dread. ... I am likely going to be on this aircraft next week. It's the regular aircraft for my flight CDG to YUL. I will try for eUp but J=4 already and of course R=0, and pessimistic. At least I am in PE. If it covers YYZ to CDG on the way there as well, I'm in front row of economy in a non-upgradeable fare (and J=1 so may not even get a LMU).

mkjr

person was tied to AP and thought it was the best program since sliced bread and has not noticed that benefits have been eroded to squat piss in the last several years....

canadiancow

Some people...

painintheuk

That surprises me. Unless there were 0 people with any status at all with AC/AP, why not try to introduce them to the great luxury of the new AC PE? This seems like an easy way to win friends by providing free upgrades, especially since they weren't even trying to sell them the seats in the first place. If I DID try to fly one of these routes, I might pay for PE, so why not show me how great it is?

Heck - offer free upgrades from Y to Y+ for E50k and up (no self-interest there) for the first 3 months. People who naturally buy J in any case aren't going to stop all of a sudden!

Seems like poor marketing to me.

Dr. PITUK

sp4294

Yeah, but...that would actually make sense...What are you? Some kinda marketing whizzzz?

antirealist

But they may switch to another airline.

CloudsBelow

So you give PE seat to someone who tries to poach it without asking permission ahead of the 375 people in the back sitting in the cabin they purchased?

Can you imagine the chaos of Y pax trying to snag PE seats going forward if this was successful?

AC should have offered LMU at a reasonable price to fill PE thereby increasing Y comfort with empty middle Y seats

painintheuk

I wasn't suggesting allowing anyone to 'poach' the seats. I was suggesting that as soon as they knew that the plane had changed, they could have moved people from Y to Y+ by order of status or fare or something.

Leaving an entire section of better seats empty seems crazy, and not in the 'DYKWIA, I should get upgraded to J rather than leave it empty' way. In the 2nd case, they want to encourage people to buy J - I get it. In this case, there was no way to buy Y+ on this flight in advance even if people wanted to. Why not turn it in to a marketing opportunity?

Dr. PITUK.

SensFan

AC marketing is too busy trying to finish up the Earn your Wings promo on time so they are unable to devote any time to new ventures such as this.

canadiancow

Lol. Two more days!

yqtyyz

Definitely some kind of gate upgrade into PE would be nice, if a regular 773 goes mechanical, and they have to sub in The Beast for that plane.

Perhaps they could start calling people up to the podium and exchange boarding passes. That will also free up some economy section seats and spread people out.

yyznomad

I figured it would be similar to LO Dreamliner in C... yep, selected the single seat. I am also on AC846 on Oct 9 and selected another single.

cooleddie

Has anyone flown the new AC Boeing 777-300ER business class?

I just did recently and I was not very impressed.

Cons:
1. Seats are narrower. Not much room to move around.

2. Bed is shorter and you are unable to stretch completely. You need to be less than 5'9 in order to be in a comfortable lie-flat position. If taller than 5'9, both your head and foot will be touching both ends of your compartment. The "pitch" on AC's website is misleading in this regard, as really the "available" space is much smaller.

3. Because your legs are going into the "compartment" / "box" space in front of you, you are unable to bend your legs or sleep sideways very comfortably. If you have long legs, you will not be able to bend your legs without hitting the top part of the "box" / "compartment". The box makes you feel like you are in a half-coffin.

4. The space between seats is actually very small and it can be difficult to get in and out of your seat. Definitely more difficult than the old AC business class seats.

5. Tables difficult to operate - take out or stow. Even the flight attendants had problems.

Pros:
1. There is plenty of ports for charging, with a space to put your phone.

2. MUCH BETTER and amazing IFE system. The IFE system makes full use of the screen (woot) and also has HD. It also responds instantly and tells you how much time you have in your flight pretty much in all menus. Super responsive system. Good job on the IFE.

3. One nice large washroom between business class and premium economy - with plenty of room to move around and change clothes in, etc.

4. Built in TV screens and supplied ear-bud headphones allowing you to watch movies from gate to gate.

Overall, however, I will be avoiding these new B777s in favour of the old B777 from now on because the business class product is no-where as good as the old ones in terms of space and comfort.

If I was to fly in one of these again, I would personally choose seats 1D, 3D, 5D, 7D or 2G, 4G, 6G as they are aisle seats and the "leg compartment" opens up into the aisle, allowing more room to bend your legs and move around while you are lying down. You are not restricted into a box like the other seats.


Here are some pics:

BUSINESS CLASS: