Thunderroad

I might be flying on an AY 330 international flight in business class next year. A few questions:

1. Am I correct in assuming that all of the 330s now have the fully lie-flat seats in the 2-2-1/1-2-1 configurations?
2. If so, am I also correct in assuming that getting one of the stand-alone seats is simply a matter of booking far enough in advance to secure it? (I.e., no extra fee, not status-dependent.)
3. Any advice about which window seats and seat locations are best? That is: a) the mini-cabin (for those planes that have a mini-cabin) versus the main cabin, b) whether seats by the galley are too close to be desirable, and c) whether the window seat that seems to have storage on both sides of it (e.g., 2A) versus the one right by the window (e.g., 2L)?

Thanks for any advice!

lkrt

1. Yes.

2. Yes. Seat selection is free in the business class cabin, regardless of your status with oneworld.

3. These are personal preferences of course. Many prefer the main cabin over the minicabin due to the proximity of the economy class infants behind the curtain for example. On the other hand many like the somewhat "cozy" minicabin.

Seats 2A, 4A and so on are what we on the AY forum usually call throne seats. Having tables on both sides of you might be nice on a dayflight, but on a red-eye many find the foot space in these seats insufficient.

On the other hand, the L seats, especially the ones opening to the aisle (1L, 3L and so on) have more foot space and many tend to prefer these on a night flight.

Purjelentaja

1. You are right. All 330s and all new A340s have fully lie-flat seats. Only 2 old A340s (that hopefully will retire very soon) have angled-flat seats
2. Right as well
3. It is a matter of personal preference. I prefer 2A, 4A or 6A as those seats have plenty of space on both sides of the seat. On the other hand, the seat itself is further away from the window, as well as further away from the aisle. If you prefer having your seat right by the window, better take seat on the right hand side of the plane (2L, 4L, 6L etc), as in my opinion all those single seats are fine.

StuckinITH

My wife was recently in seat 4L because she likes being close to the window to look outside. She wished that she had chosen seat 2L because the food service was painfully slow. It was about a 20 minutes difference between the time 2L was served and the time she received her meal. She was a frequent traveler in Envoy Class on the A330 on US Airways (in a 1-2-1 configuration) and there they manage to expedite the meal service).

Thunderroad

Thanks for the quick and useful replies, folks!

intuition

This.

The more forwardly seated, the quicker service. Preferably a seat in the FD section...

One needn't feel worried about disturbances in row 1. At least I have never had an issue on row1 on A333

Thunderroad

Thanks again to you (and the others) for your help. But what do you mean about the difference in foot space between the A seats and the L seats? Is there some kind of tight well you have to squeeze your feet into in A, but that isn't there in L?

BadgerBoi

The foot space in A is a bit more narrow than in L - the space where your feet fit when the seat is in the flat position.

It doesn't bother me, and I like the throne seats on the A side because of the extra shelf space on both sides that you don't get on the L side, but many people comment that they don't like it when sleeping.

Thunderroad

Having now flown (and been pleased by) the A330 in J, I thought I'd just post my own preferences for any who might face similar First World choices in selecting the stand-alone A versus L seats down the line.

For what it's worth, I liked both, but preferred the A "throne" seats for the superior sense of roominess and the actual greater amount of space for my stuff on top of the tables on either side of the seat, along with one additional small storage nook for wallet-sized stuff.

I'm about 1.89 m tall and found the beds long enough (albeit barely).

As for BadgerBoi's good point above, the only reason I might suggest the L seat is if you sleep mainly on your back, with your toes facing straight up. The A seat doesn't really permit your toes that kind of room. Aside from that, it's a bit of a tight but manageable fit for feet in either A or L.

WilcoRoger

My preference is the 8A - bulkhead in the minicabin. Throne seat with no footwell.

BadgerBoi

Oh, that never occurred to me, sounds like the best seat on Finnair. Im fine with no floor stowage, and there's not really much of that in the other single seats anyway.