LX Seating-thread

[rorschi]

As agreed on the LH/OS-seating-thread, you can find here the similar LX-seating thread.

A few notices:

-The seating on LX's shorthaul-C isn't as consistent as on LH. On domestic routes (ZRH-GVA and ZRH-BSL) and on some other short-distance flights, all seats can be occupied. Same applies for the AVRO and Fokker-operated flights.

-Equipment-changes can occur any time on any route, except on the "pure" A340-300 longhauls (LAX, GRU/SCL, JNB, HKG, BKK/SIN and NRT -and soon PVG).

-Most informations below are based on my subjective experiences. The planes/cabins which I did not yet try out have a "notice".

-Three regular wetlease-operators for LX are mentioned as well: Darwin, Contact Air and Helvetic. The Privatair-737 is not (yet) on the list, as I have never flown on this bird and have no seatmap. Any help would be appreciated.

Feel free to add your comments on this thread!

[rorschi]

Fokker 100
operated by Helvetic (4 aircraft) and Contact Air (2 aircraft) on several European routes
Layout: Helvetic resp. Contact Air ex-Germania*

*subject to confirmation

Seating is 2+3. Middle seats are not blocked in C-Class

C/Y: 1-20, no cabin divider.

Exit rows:

Helvetic:
12+13 (not yet tried out whether 11+12 are reclinable or not).
Contact Air:
11+12 (not yet tried out whether 10+11 are reclinable or not) (subject to confirmation - source: Airberlin.com)
The seat-layout is different because of the location of the galley.

Best seats:
rows 2-5 extra legspace

Avoid:
20: next to the engines


Saab 2000
operated by Darwin mainly on ZRH-LUG
Layout: Crossair

Seating is 1+2.

C/Y: 1-18, no cabin divider.
Exit row: 10
No recline: rows 9 and 18

Best seats:
any single seat on the left hand side (...A)


Avro RJ100
operated by Swiss European.

Planes with refurbished SWISS-Layout (recaro-seats):

Seating is 2+3. Middle seats are not blocked in C-Class

C/Y: 1-21, cabin divider movable

There is not more legroon in the front rows.

Beware: Rows 8...12 have smaller overhead-bins.

Avoid:
row 1: Limited legroom
row 7: No window
row 20 DEF: No recline, limited legroom
row 21 AB: No recline, limited legroom

A319
with refurbished SWISS-Layout (recaro-seats):

Seating is 3+3. Middle seats are blocked in C-Class on international routes, except LHR

C/Y: 1-16/29-36, cabin divider movable.

Bulkhead-seats (legroom OK): Row 1
Exit-row: 10
No recline: Window-seats in row 9

A320

Planes with refurbished SWISS-Layout (recaro-seats) and "SWISS SUN-charter"-Layout:

Seating is 3+3. Middle seats are blocked in C-Class on international routes, except LHR

C/Y: 1-17/25-36, cabin divider movable.

Bulkhead-seats (legroom OK): Row 1
Exit-rows: 11+12

No recline: Window-seats in rows 10+11

A321
Planes with refurbished SWISS-Layout (recaro-seats):
(Notice: not yet tried out, source: LX-seatmap).

Seating is 3+3. Middle seats are blocked in C-Class on international routes, except LHR

Seats 1B/E, 2B/E, 3B/E and 4E cannot be occupied and have no seatbelts - for not exceeding a number of 200 seats.

C/Y: 1-37, cabin divider movable.

Bulkhead-seats: Row 1
Exit-rows-seats with more legroom: 10BCDE, 11AF, 25BCDE, 26AF

No recline: Rows 9 and 24

Avoid: Rows 9 (no window and no recline) and 37 (next to the lav)



A330-200

3-class-version
Notice: Will be replaced by new A330-300 and leave the fleet until 2011.

F: 1-3, C: 8-15, Y: 22-42

F: Layout 1-2-1
1 passenger can sit on the footrest (ottoman) for a tête-à-tête-dinner.
Avoid: Row 3 (next to the galley)

C: Layout 2-2-2, old style seats
Avoid: Row 15 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

Y: layout 2-4-2
Best seats: 28ABJK (exit-row)
Avoid: Row 22 (limited legroom), Row 25 (next to the lav's).


2-class-version ex-Swissair
Notice: Will be replaced by new A330-300 and leave the fleet until 2011.

C: 7-10, 11-15, Y: 17-42


C: Layout 2-2-2, old style seats

Avoid: Row 10 (in front of the galley), Row 15 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

Y: layout 2-4-2
Best seats: 28ABJK (exit-row)
Avoid: Row 17 (limited legroom), Row 25 (next to the lav's).



2-class-version ex-Sabena/LH
Notice: Will be replaced by new A330-300 and leave the fleet until 2011.

C: 7-10, 11-14, Y: 17-41


C: Layout 2-2-2, old style seats

Avoid: Row 10 (in front of the galley), Row 14 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

Y: layout 2-4-2 (not yet tried out, source: LX-seatmap).
Best seats: 28ABJK (exit-row)
Avoid: 16DFG and 17ABJK (limited legroom), Row 26 (next to the lav's).

A330-300

(not yet tried out, source: LX-seatmap and this thread). Please feel free to add your comments!

F: 1,2 C: 4-5/6-14 Y: 22-45

F: Layout 1-2-1
1 passenger can sit on the footrest (ottoman) for a tête-à-tête-dinner.

C: Layout 1-2-1 (A|DG|K, even rows except row 14) or 2-2-1 (AB|DG|K, odd rows + row 14), full flat seats, horizontal
Single seats with one table (either at left or at right side): All right hand-window-seats (K)
Single seats with one table at each side: All pair left hand-window-seats except row 14 (4A, 6A, 8A, 10A, 12A)
Avoid: Row 5 (next to the galley), row 14 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)


Y: layout 2-4-2
Best seats: 29ABJK (exit-row)




A340-300

F: 1,2 C: 4-5/6-11 Y: 23-45

F: Layout 1-2-1
1 passenger can sit on the footrest (ottoman) for a tête-à-tête-dinner.

C: Layout 2-2-2, full flat seats, angled
Avoid: Row 5 (next to the galley), row 11 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

Y: layout 2-4-2 (not yet tried out, source: LX-seatmap).
Best seats: 30ABJK (exit-row)
Avoid: Row 23 (limited legroom), Row 28 (next to the lav's).



Edit 08-dec-2007: Removed the Avro RJ85, as these aircraft were sold to Transwede.
Edit 28-dec-2007: Corrected the A340 ("C: 4-5/6-11")
Edit 02-jan-2008: Corrected the A340 again (last row is 45).
Edit 31-mar-2008: Fokker 100 Contact Air ex-Germania added
Edit 23-apr-2008: Removed Airbus and AVRO with Swissair and Crossair/BA-Layouts
Edit 02-nov-2008: Finally tried out the last row on the AVRO...
Edit 21-apr-2009: added A330-300

[rorschi]

Archive:


Avro RJ85
operated by Swiss European. Will leave the fleet in 2007 (done...)
Layout: Crossair

Seating is 2+3. Middle seats are not blocked in C-Class

C/Y: 1-18, cabin divider movable

Best seats:
rows 2-6: extra legspace

Beware: Row 5 has one window missing. Slightly limited view. Rows 7...10 have smaller overhead-bins.

Avoid:
row 1: Limited legroom
17 D/E/F: Limited legroom, no recline
18 A/B: Limited legroom, no recline

Avro RJ100operated by Swiss European.
Planes with Crossair-Layout:
Notice: Aircraft interiour is being changed until 2008, see below
Seating is 2+3. Middle seats are not blocked in C-Class

C/Y: 1-21, cabin divider movable

Best seats:
rows 2-6: extra legspace

Beware: Rows 8...12 have smaller overhead-bins.

Bad seats:
row 1: Limited legroom
row 7: No window
20 D/E/F: Limited legroom, no recline
21 A/B: Limited legroom, no recline


Planes with British Airways Layout:
Notice: Aircraft interiour is being changed until 2008, see below
Seating is 3+3.

Cabin divider movable

Notice: Rows 1-12 are converted into 3+2 (ABC D|F). E seats are narrowed and are not usable, while the other seats are broadened. B-seats can be occupied in C-Class.

Beware: Rows 8...12 have smaller overhead-bins.

Worst seats:
row 1: Limited legroom
row 7: No window

Rows in the back: Not yet tried out

A320

Planes with Swissair-Layout:
Notice: Aircraft interiour is being changed until 2008, see below

C/Y: 1-16, Y:23-33, cabin divider movable.

C-Class is converted into 2+3 (A|C DEF) on international routes, except LHR. B seats are narrowed and not usable, while the other seats are broadened.
First row in Y-class: B seats are narrowed and not usable, while A+C are broadened.

Bulkhead-seats (legroom OK): 1ABC, 2DEF
Exit-rows: 10+11
No recline: Window-seats in rows 9+10

A321

Planes with Swissair-Layout:
Notice: Aircraft interiour is being changed until 2008, see below

C/Y: 1-17 Y: 18-33

C-Class is converted into 2+3 (A|C DEF) on international routes, except LHR. B seats are narrowed and not usable, while the other seats are broadened.
First row in Y-class: B seats are narrowed and not usable, while A+C are broadened.

Bulkhead-seats (legroom OK): 1ABC, 2DEF
Exit-rows: 9+23 (row 23 has no windows)
Avoid: Row 8: No windows
No recline: 8AF / 22AF

[behuman]

Great job to list all the LX inconsistencies showing especially their lack of attention towards their C class passengers !

About the Swiss domestic 3+3 layout and the cramped Avros all is clear, BUT where do you have the information concerning the LHR route from ?

I checked seatmaps on www.expertflyer.com and the B and E seats are blocked as usual. Also on the refurbished A321 (often found on this route) it would be impossible to seat 6 abreast as the middle seat of the first three rows of this aircraft have been simply removed and replaced by a hard surface (you can not site there, there are no seat belts too). The reason for this is to limit the maximum passenger capacity in a way to operate the plane with one FA less.

[rorschi]

Originally Posted by behuman

About the Swiss domestic 3+3 layout and the cramped Avros all is clear, BUT where do you have the information concerning the LHR route from ?

This happened to several flyertalkers in the past, and was confirmed at our Q&A-session at ZRH's DO last sunday. On the refurbished A321 it's of course not possible to occupy the middle seats on rows 1-3 (and row 4 on the right side).

[ajamieson]

Very useful thread, thank you

Is it possible to pre-assign seats with LX, by telephone or through a LX ticket desk?

[SmilingBoy]

Originally Posted by ajamieson

Very useful thread, thank you

Is it possible to pre-assign seats with LX, by telephone or through a LX ticket desk?

yes, but you need to be SEN/HON for exit row (and I think for some "premium" seats that are not actually anything special, too).

Thanks, rorschi, for this thread!

SmilingBoy.

[LAX21]

Thanks for the great compilation

One small note - on the 343 C is actually 4-11 with rows 4 and 5 located in the "mini cabin" and usually reserved/blocked just for top elites.

[vienna-resident]

Very nice overview indeed - SWISS' product (especially in C-class) is quite a mess with all those different seating arrangments...

I do hope that they start blocking the middle seat in the AVROs sooner or later. On a side note, a decision regarding the renewal of the Swiss European fleet can be expected in the coming months. More and more internal rumours suggest that the AVROS will indeed be replaced by Embraers.

Regarding the ex-Sabena A330s, (HB-IQQ/IQR), they will actually be phased out in Spring 2008 already, with the introduction of the additional A340s (coming from OS and AC).

Originally Posted by rorschi

2-class-version ex-Sabena/LH
Notice: Will be replaced by new A330-300 and leave the fleet until 2011.

C: 7-10, 11-14, Y: 17-41


C: Layout 2-2-2, old style seats

Avoid: Row 10 (in front of the galley), Row 14 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

Y: layout 2-4-2 (not yet tried out, source: LX-seatmap).
Best seats: 28ABJK (exit-row)
Avoid: 16DFG and 17ABJK (limited legroom), Row 26 (next to the lav's).

[chumbawumba]

Rorschi, good job.

[rorschi]

Hello,

today I got a few PM's with some more comments - thanks! Will "update" the 2nd post later this week.

Concerning the ASR (and the priority-seating for SEN's/HON's), I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure about the exact rule...

AFAIK, all seats in all classes can be preassigned by the Reservation-centre - theoretically. But: Low fare-classes in Economy seem to be excluded for non-status-passengers.

Does somebody know if this applies also for longhauls, and if there are different rules in this topic for FTL's/other *G than for SEN's/HON's?

And just another subjective side-note: While the European C-Class is indeed sometimes "a bit" inconsistent, the recaro-seats were a BIG improvement in Eco - on all planes.

So long for today!

[SmilingBoy]

Originally Posted by rorschi

Does somebody know if this applies also for longhauls, and if there are different rules in this topic for FTL's/other *G than for SEN's/HON's?

The only thing I know for sure that FTL cannot assign exit row in long haul, and SEN can.

SmilingBoy.

[totti]

Great job rorschi! Thanks for your efforts.

Just some comments on prefered seats:
on both 332 and 343 I prefer row two in the F cabin. The cabin feels much more spacious compared to row 1.

[Jetstreamer]

I tried to pre-reserve 7K on the A340 for a ZRH-SCL trip and was told it was not possible as it is a "facility seat". Is this true and what is a facility seat? (pilot rest maybe?)

Another question, the window seats in rows 4-6 are blocked. What kind of status do you need to grab one of these? I guess *G isn't enough? Also I assume the block is lifted once OLCI opens?

[rob_sad]

2-class-version ex-Swissair
Notice: Will be replaced by new A330-300 and leave the fleet until 2011.
C: 7-10, 11-15, Y: 17-42
C: Layout 2-2-2, old style seats
Avoid: Row 10 (in front of the galley), Row 15 (in front of the baby-bassinets in Y)

What is wrong with seating near galley (we have seats 10 J,K (A332 2c) for our next flight) ?
Is it beter to take row10 in front bussiness cabin or somewhere in rear business cabin (A332 2c)?

Also there is missing window in row12 so it's beter to avoid window seats.

Thanks (I'm new here)
Robert