fin 645

I am booked in PE on the 77W in March, but still have some questions.

As a solo traveller, it seems to me that a D or E seat in the middle block would be preferable as those seats face away from each other. The NZ seat selection shows "preferred" seats at extra cost, although it is not clear what is preferred about them. Do the two side preferred seats (23A/B & 23J/K) have a bulkhead in front? The middle preferred seats (24D/E) seem to already have two PE seats in front of them, so what makes them preferred? To further confuse matters, Seat Guru has a yellow caution on "preferred" seat 24D but no reason.

Any explanations and further opinions would be appreciated.

SeaProf

I think 24D/E are preferred because they are closer to the front. Visually, at least in my opinion, it is nicer because there are fewer people to see in front of you.

Yes, 23 A/B/J/K have bulkheads in front of them.

And as a solo traveler I always go for D or E.

AndrewAndDebbie

The center D or E seats face away from each other but don't have anything separating them. A / B & J / K are staggered and the shell separates the two seats.

Air NZ say the a/b & j/k are for solo travelers and D/E are for couples. Really either of them will work. D/E has the advantage of both seats having isle access. That alone may make it worth it if you are on your own.

SeaProf

I've never understood the logic of forcing strangers to accommodate each other needing to "step over" or "be stepped over", while at the same time allowing people who do know each other to both have direct aisle access so they never have to disturb each other. Perhaps it was impossible to put the A/B and J/K seats side by side without the offset and hard shell separation but it seems to me it would have been a more logical choice.

Nash_Andrew

Flew the "spaceseat" premium economy product for the first time on 1/5/15 SFO-AKL and again 1/18/15 AKL-LAX. Several comments:

- Regarding the logic SeaProf mentions above, I agree that the outside pods being for strangers and the inside for couples is exactly backwards. I had a discussion with our flight attendant, Peter, who incidentally served us on both flights, about this and he agreed that the flight crews also find it silly. I was sitting with my dad in an outside "strangers" pod and we were always getting up to step over each other.

- Peter also mentioned that the rollout of the new Zodiac premium economy seats on 777s is proceeding smoothly and the reactions from passengers he's talked to are very positive. He thought that they were overall better-received than the spaceseats.

- That being said, I loved the spaceseat. It's the only time I've ever flown in a non-BusinessPremier/BusinessElite/BusinessFirst type product and gotten a decent night's sleep. The tilt of the seat bottom isn't quite deep enough for my tastes, but even for someone who is 6'3" I overall found it very pleasant. The wine selection, food, two dedicated attendants, LED ambient lighting, upgraded pillow and blanket, and legroom were worth it. The footrest beanbag actually works too, though it needs to be larger.

- Finally, having the handicapped-accesible restroom in premium economy is also a nice benefit. It's a large restroom that allows you to easily change into pajamas to sleep without having to contort yourself like a gymnast at Cirque du Soleil.

evanaggie

Nash, thank you for the detailed comments.

My wife and I hope to catch some sleep, and she is a bit concerned about the amount of "tilt" or "recline". I tried to explain that the seat slides down within its own shell. She is only 5'2" so I imagine she'll find a way to get comfortable.

It is funny you mention the restroom. We were on a 744 for the first time on the top deck in business from SYD to LAX. They gave us pajamas. I went to the restroom thinking I'd be treated to a little more space and freedom for things like changing. I was sorely mistaken. The commode was the same size as any others I've used. I did notice the flight attendants have a changing area. Maybe I could have asked to use that, but I made do sleeping in my clothes.

jawnbc

Actually, she might not without something of a "hack" (see below). I'm 5'6" and I was very uncomfortable to sleep: the beanbag isn't thick enough to take the pressure off my (tiny tot) legs in proportion to the height of the seat. So I kept waking up. I sleep better in a regular NZ Y class seat.

But if you're not in a bulkhead seat, you could use one of you carry-ons as an impromptu foot rest (which I usually do in Y anyways). I was in a bulkhead seat so it wasn't allowed; I was also in the the aisle next to window so my seat mate might've objected (we were strangers).

Can't wait for the new non-space seat--I slept so much better on the 777-200 PE seat!

Leprechaun pride, yo.

pbl22

Agreed - I sleep much better, too, in the 77E PE seat rather than the space-seat.

evanaggie

Uh oh...well, crap. I guess maybe we should bid for J each direction.

Trumpkin

And my experience is the opposite, I sleep much better in the space-seat than the 77E PE seat. For reference I'm 6' tall.

pbl22

For reference, I am nowhere near 6'.

I think we have established several times on here that the Spaceseat is a love/hate seat and it seems to be simply your own personal experience that determines which side of the line you fall on. You may very well love it.

evanaggie

Haha. I'll probably be neutral to negative. I have a hard time sleeping on filghts as it is. Last year I did a trip to HA, NZ, AUS. I flew first/biz on AA 763, HA332, and QF744. Despite the old plane, I actually liked AA on the 763. Their seat cushions were quite plush and they had a 170 deg recline which made it feel like a comfy sofa chair that nearly lays flat. Granted, I didn't sleep on that flight either because it was during the daytime.

The HA332 was an inferior 1st class product compared to the rest. The seat had no automatic controls, the cushion was faux leather and a little stiff. The only positive was that they at least it had a footrest still.

The QF744 had probably the most pitch/space between seats and you were in a shell as well, but it could recline a full 180 with plenty of room to spare. This was an overnight flight and I think it was a poor decision on my part to watch "Captain Philips" right before I attempted to go to sleep.

YYCYYZ

I've been booked by my TA into YVR-AKL on NZ83 in PE. 777-200

I assume from this thread that I'm going to get the "old" PE experience? Is it worth it still? I don't have the option to switch my departure point.

My TA said that I'll have 22cm recline and 108cm pitch. Is that consistent with old vs new PE? The Air NZ website seems vague on the topic.

cavemanzk

Pitch & Recline are pretty much the same on the new vs old, its seat width that is major difference.

Old - http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/seat-map-boeing-777-200
New - http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/boein...200-new-layout

If you run your mouse of the seats, it will display pitch/recline information.

At the moment it an mixed bag what product you will get, only SIN currently is dicated to the new product

evanaggie

I completed the LAX-AKL and AKL-LAX segments in PE on a 773.

My few comments for folks on the fence:

I thought the seats were well worth the cost. Granted, I can afford the tickets. I don't think I would ever fly 11-13 hours in one of their economy seats 10 abreast. To be fair, I didn't sit in the economy seats, but they looked cramped.

I sat in row 27 and booked the two middle seats for my wife and I. I'm about 5'10 190 and she is 5'2. The middle seats provide tons of space to set things down and store your shoes. There are two arm rests in the middle between the seats that form the "wedge". They can be raised and lowered with a level and manual force. They also lift up and have a small compartment for maybe a wallet or pair of glasses. There is space beneath the wedge where you can place your blankets or shoes until needed. On the outside edge is a slim arm rest. There is also space in front of the wedge between passengers on the floor. My wife left he backpack there for most of the trip too.

The outside portion of the seats has a nice wall you can lay your head and pillow against. I took a few sleeping aids during dinner at 11pm and got a full ~6 hours of sleep each direction. I got all of 2 hours of sleep on a QF 744 in J that laid flat...so go figure.

My wife tends to favor resting her head on her right side and switched me seats on the return flight. The one gripe everyone mentions is the lack of a footrest. I completely agree it'd make the experience a little better. However, even without one I was able to extend my legs fully on the ground (plus small bean bag) and get into a comfortable position.

I looked over at the seats against the windows and it sure looked like they head less space per seat dedicated to the passenger. The wedged space is not present. The food was fairly good. I've flown first now on NZ, HA, QF, and AA. I'd say QF had the worst food offering (SYD-LAX 744 J upper deck). NZ, HA, AA all head and shoulders above QF. My two gripes are that NZ doesn't seem to automatically provide ice with your drinks unless you specifically ask for it. I also wish they had diet coke. I realize Coke Zero is the cool thing for Kiwis, but given that the flight is from USA, might as well throw that in. Hell, take out the Sprite, sub in L&P (tasty!), and swap the Zero for Diet Coke.

The seats themselves are all manually adjusted (no electronic motors). My wife is 100 lbs and she actually needed me to help assist her in getting the seat to recline with a bit of force. She also had trouble with the angle of the seat bottom. For folks that are curious: the seat bottom will basically stay level or maybe a few degrees UP as if you are sitting in a normal chair. It'll also tilt downwards a few degrees. You sort of get the feeling like you are going to slip out of your chair and I waffled between leaving my seat back reclined and seat bottom up. It helps to be able to prop yourself up with your legs and bean bag.

That's pretty much all I have for now...