Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Pictures of new J seats (Betsy J's)

I am going through my pix (slowly), and ran across the pictures I took of the new business class seats on the 333. I got to play with them for a bit, as the FA's looked at me like I was a mental patient, because the Cathay gods blessed me with a 333 returning from DPS and all the biz people were put in first. Anyway, since a picture is worth a thousand words...

Here (http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man/betsyj1.jpg) is the seat in an upright position. They are spaced 2-2-2, with a nice sized armrest between the seats.

Here (http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man/betsyj2.jpg) is the seat in the fully flat position. There seems to be debate on what constitutes "fully flat". To me, it is when you can stick a pole straight through your body and have it come out your feet. The seat *is* flat, but it isn't perpendicular with the airplane floor. Notice that the foot rest is actually under the seat in front of you. This is not a hole, but rather a wedge. I described before how the feet would be squished if they were left inside, and this is about as well as I could show it.

Finally, Here (http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man/betsyj3.jpg) is the seat in the "Z" position. I don't know why it's called that, since it resembles more of an inverted L to me, but whatever. This is the position the seat is intended to be in while the pax is sleeping. As I said before in another post, if you are short, then the fully flat will be fine. If you are not, then this is how you will be. I didn't find it to be all that comfortable, but that is also relative to the suites in first. Compared to the old F, the old J, and economy, it is a dream come true.

As a side note, I did get to go in an airbus 342 on the way down to dps, so I got to try out the old configuration of the F seats. I also took a picture of that one and of the new suites. If you want me to add them, let me know.

Finally, if you are bored and want to see my pix of the murals in the Mission District in San Francisco, just take off the file name or go Here (http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man). Not so many people take the time to go, and it can be intimidating for some, but I do enjoy the area and the murals are wonderful.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks for the pictures. But why does the seatpitch seem smaller than it has been advertised earlier? Is it because it's a regional aircraft? So the 744 should have even larger pitch?

Well, to be honest, I don't know what was advertised. But I do wonder if they counted the space under the person in front of you as part of the pitch.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Darren:
As a side note, I did get to go in an airbus 342 on the way down to dps, so I got to try out the old configuration of the F seats. I also took a picture of that one and of the new suites. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif</font>

Hi Darren ! CX does not operate 342`s. You probably took one of the older A340-300`s.

Interesting! As far as I can see these are exactly the same seats that Virgin Atlantic has recently introduced to its own Upper Class (J) cabin. See:

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/main.asp?page=4.1.1.4.5

Having tried the Virgin seats myself I would say that they are a big improvement over other exisiting J Class products, but not quite as comfortable as BA's new 'Flat Bed'.

Could've sworn it was listed as a 342. In fact, I am positive. I am wondering if it was either a typo or if it means 340-type 2. In either case, it was the old configuration. Two rows, each 2-2-2.

Excellent pics, Darren, incl. those of SF & Seattle.

Like many people, I had initially assumed that "flat" meant "horizontal." Thanks to your pics, we can clearly see that such assumptions are about 20 or 30 degrees wrong.

Having travelled on Cathay Pacific's new Business Class between Sydney to Hong Kong, I must say it is an excellent product and one of the best J class products in the world.

Having said that and to reply to wideman's response, when the seats are fully extended, the seat incline is at 13 degrees which is a a desirable position.

According to CX, when developing the new J class product, detailed independent research
had shown that in an aircraft environment most passengers will probably prefer to snooze with the seat in an intermediate position, which cradles them like a traditional "lounger" style chair.

The centrepiece of the new cabin is the revolutionary seat design which allows even the tallest passengers to stretch out to a full six feet and three inches at a gentle incline of thirteen degrees inflight. The
seat is infinitely adjustable between the "stretch-flat" mode and the upright takeoff-and-landing position.

Just a thought...

Whats next?

Vertical "flat" seats for passengers in Economy Class (As they are accustomed to "fall asleep" while standing and riding the MTR [subway system in HK]?)

Just flew the airbus with new J seats to Toronto I am not 6'3", in fact 5' 11" and my feet were up against the back of the front seat on full recline Empower and Emport were installed but not connected.