SeatExpert seeking FT seat experts
Jan 3, 2013, 12:38 pm
#1
Company Representative - SeatExpert
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 8
SeatExpert seeking FT seat experts
First time poster, loooooooooooong time lurker 
Many of you are probably familiar with SeatExpert so we won’t bore you with our backstory. Long story short, we’re owned by the same company that founded FT and so are extremely familiar with the wealth of knowledge possessed by the members of this community.
And we’re excited to begin our participation here, particularly in the Travel Tools forum.
We’ve been working very hard to improve and grow SeatExpert and we’re ready to take it to the next level. As of the time of this writing SeatExpert features more than 750 seat maps, and we’re adding more all the time. One of the big things we need to focus on going forward though isn’t just growing the number of seat maps we have, but also improving the quality of each of those maps.
Toward this end, we’ve completely redeveloped the SeatExpert seat mapping process so that we can rapidly update our maps to implement feedback from travelers such as you.
So please, tell us where we have it wrong. Does a configuration need to be updated? Are we missing a map that we absolutely shouldn’t be missing? Do we have a seat colored green when it should be red (or orange, or yellow)? You let us know and we’ll update the maps as appropriate.
And if you have any other suggestions as to how to improve SeatExpert we’d love to hear those as well.
Looking forward to learning from everyone and participating here on FT. If you have yet to do so, please check us out at www.seatexpert.com and tell us what you think
Many of you are probably familiar with SeatExpert so we won’t bore you with our backstory. Long story short, we’re owned by the same company that founded FT and so are extremely familiar with the wealth of knowledge possessed by the members of this community.
And we’re excited to begin our participation here, particularly in the Travel Tools forum.
We’ve been working very hard to improve and grow SeatExpert and we’re ready to take it to the next level. As of the time of this writing SeatExpert features more than 750 seat maps, and we’re adding more all the time. One of the big things we need to focus on going forward though isn’t just growing the number of seat maps we have, but also improving the quality of each of those maps.
Toward this end, we’ve completely redeveloped the SeatExpert seat mapping process so that we can rapidly update our maps to implement feedback from travelers such as you.
So please, tell us where we have it wrong. Does a configuration need to be updated? Are we missing a map that we absolutely shouldn’t be missing? Do we have a seat colored green when it should be red (or orange, or yellow)? You let us know and we’ll update the maps as appropriate.
And if you have any other suggestions as to how to improve SeatExpert we’d love to hear those as well.
Looking forward to learning from everyone and participating here on FT. If you have yet to do so, please check us out at www.seatexpert.com and tell us what you think
Last edited by SeatExpert; Jan 3, 2013 at 5:02 pm
Jan 3, 2013, 12:52 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 1,389
I think crowd sourcing is the way to go for something like this. The other main seat site has been getting less and less traffic from me because it's becoming out of date and they don't update the maps even after several suggestions by knowledgeable travelers. It's a bit frustrating and seems as if they don't care.
On a more specific note, I noticed there are no seat maps for TAM Airlines.
On a more specific note, I noticed there are no seat maps for TAM Airlines.
Jan 3, 2013, 1:03 pm
#3
Company Representative - SeatExpert
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 8
Thanks for the quick feedback!
For quite some time we have been helping those who email us with requests or changes they find, but as our map count grows we want to be proactive in gaining feedback from those who fly all the time - specifically those here on FT.
As for TAM Airlines, we have their maps in the list to be added and I'd be happy to bump them to the top. As a matter of fact, I'll try to get one or two planes done by the end of the day.
Thanks again infamousdx
Edit: TAM is now enabled on SeatExpert with the 773 finished and added. The rest of their fleet is soon to follow.
For quite some time we have been helping those who email us with requests or changes they find, but as our map count grows we want to be proactive in gaining feedback from those who fly all the time - specifically those here on FT.
As for TAM Airlines, we have their maps in the list to be added and I'd be happy to bump them to the top. As a matter of fact, I'll try to get one or two planes done by the end of the day.
Thanks again infamousdx
Edit: TAM is now enabled on SeatExpert with the 773 finished and added. The rest of their fleet is soon to follow.
Last edited by SeatExpert; Jan 3, 2013 at 3:11 pm
Jan 3, 2013, 4:30 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Good to know that you folks are interested in input, as I agree with infamousdx that your main competitor has gone downhill. OTOH, you should do some basic prep work and homework of your own in connection with asking for information:
1. Put a link in your first post for FTers to most easily access your home page.
2. Much more importantly, put a prominent link in your home page and all of your other pages for users to offer corrections and additions to the information you have.
3. More work intensive, but still worthwhile, would be for junior personnel to peruse the many useful FT threads that discuss good and bad seats. Plug in that info to your site.
4. Go to the sites of many airlines to get basic info on seat pitch, width, etc.
5. Correct what should be obvious glitches in the info you currently have.
Re points 3-5: I just checked your site re the CX 777ER 4-class, and found that the pitch and width for all of the seats are "unknown." Come on, that info is easily accessed and plugged into your site. Also, for seat 1A in F you note that the seat is a bulkhead and that the one in front of it doesn't recline. Those descriptions are irrelevant and even misleading for any of the newer and better international F cabins.
I suspect that the better you make the site to start with, the more people will go there and provide the valuable, nuanced info you seek. Good luck!
1. Put a link in your first post for FTers to most easily access your home page.
2. Much more importantly, put a prominent link in your home page and all of your other pages for users to offer corrections and additions to the information you have.
3. More work intensive, but still worthwhile, would be for junior personnel to peruse the many useful FT threads that discuss good and bad seats. Plug in that info to your site.
4. Go to the sites of many airlines to get basic info on seat pitch, width, etc.
5. Correct what should be obvious glitches in the info you currently have.
Re points 3-5: I just checked your site re the CX 777ER 4-class, and found that the pitch and width for all of the seats are "unknown." Come on, that info is easily accessed and plugged into your site. Also, for seat 1A in F you note that the seat is a bulkhead and that the one in front of it doesn't recline. Those descriptions are irrelevant and even misleading for any of the newer and better international F cabins.
I suspect that the better you make the site to start with, the more people will go there and provide the valuable, nuanced info you seek. Good luck!
Jan 3, 2013, 5:14 pm
#5
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Welcome!
I agree with my fellow members - SeatGuru, to name names, has slid down a very slippery slope , particularly since being taken over by Trip Advisor (I believe they don't really know what to do with it). Their graphics are OK, but their information is often significantly out of date and remains so even when people communicate corrective information to them.
SeatExpert's renderings (graphics) seem a bit less crisp, but they do work, there is more information generally in the text and I like the smart move of hooking up with TripIt for "seat recommendations" - nice move!
(Soon it will be time to load the new AA777-300ER... and the 777-200ER will be losing First, and 777 as well. 767-300ER and others will be / are already adding Main Cabin Extra (e.g. 763 goes from a minicabin with four rows of usual coach to three rows of MCE. Good luck keeping up - but as infamousdx, putting all of us passengers to work will make it easier, IMO.)
I agree with my fellow members - SeatGuru, to name names, has slid down a very slippery slope , particularly since being taken over by Trip Advisor (I believe they don't really know what to do with it). Their graphics are OK, but their information is often significantly out of date and remains so even when people communicate corrective information to them.
SeatExpert's renderings (graphics) seem a bit less crisp, but they do work, there is more information generally in the text and I like the smart move of hooking up with TripIt for "seat recommendations" - nice move!
(Soon it will be time to load the new AA777-300ER... and the 777-200ER will be losing First, and 777 as well. 767-300ER and others will be / are already adding Main Cabin Extra (e.g. 763 goes from a minicabin with four rows of usual coach to three rows of MCE. Good luck keeping up - but as infamousdx, putting all of us passengers to work will make it easier, IMO.)
Jan 4, 2013, 2:41 pm
#8
Company Representative - SeatExpert
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 8
Thank you all for the great feedback. Some of the recommendations match what we have on our to-do list, and you’ve given us several more terrific ideas for improvement that we’ve added to the list.
While we’ve redesigned the process for building and updating seat maps, larger site functionality and design changes still require a bit of time so we hope you’ll understand if some of these bigger changes aren’t implemented immediately. The targets are there though, and we’re certainly aiming for them.
Completely agree with you Thunderroad, this is precisely the kind of info we need to have. Despite our best efforts though, we just can't seem to find the seat pitch/width info on the Cathay site. It's probably staring us in the face 
If you could point us to it we would be forever grateful.
When you click on an airline name a list of seat maps for that airline will drop down, and each seat map is a link.
Your question caused us to realize that we had neglected to change the cursor image to a pointing finger when hovering over the airline names - the universal indication that you're hovering over a link. That has been corrected now. We'll likely also change the text color on hover.
Thanks for the question!
While we’ve redesigned the process for building and updating seat maps, larger site functionality and design changes still require a bit of time so we hope you’ll understand if some of these bigger changes aren’t implemented immediately. The targets are there though, and we’re certainly aiming for them.
If you could point us to it we would be forever grateful.
Your question caused us to realize that we had neglected to change the cursor image to a pointing finger when hovering over the airline names - the universal indication that you're hovering over a link. That has been corrected now. We'll likely also change the text color on hover.
Thanks for the question!
Last edited by l etoile; Jan 5, 2013 at 8:02 am Reason: merge
Jan 4, 2013, 9:30 pm
#9
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: YVR
Programs: Aeroplan, AAdvantage
Posts: 2,100
Completely agree with you Thunderroad, this is precisely the kind of info we need to have. Despite our best efforts though, we just can't seem to find the seat pitch/width info on the Cathay site. It's probably staring us in the face
If you could point us to it we would be forever grateful.
If you could point us to it we would be forever grateful.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...0007d21c39____
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...0007d21c39____
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...0007d21c39____
Jan 7, 2013, 12:43 pm
#12
Company Representative - SeatExpert
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 8
Thank you for the links. We occasionally have to search press releases for pitch and width, but we will use those links and do some additional searching for CX to try and get those filled out.
You're absolutely right and I've disabled those seat maps to clean up their plane listing. Thanks William!
We couldn't agree more. For now the Ask A Seat Expert link at the top of our page is a good place for plane/seat feedback as well as for asking general seat advise. Before any update to the current feedback system, we thought a good place to start is right here with the helpful people at FT.
So far the feedback here has been great and I hope it only continues to grow.
So far the feedback here has been great and I hope it only continues to grow.
Jan 18, 2013, 1:36 am
#13
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BKK
Programs: TG/ROP*P; CX OW/G; LH M&M; UN Privilege; KC Nomad; IT Kingclub; SPG Platinum
Posts: 403
SeatExpert seeking FT seat experts
hi seat expert
in general: why not using the manufacturers info as an add on info to the seat? Eads solstys or evolys, etc...the ZIM economy seats on TG's latest planes, or the BAe seats, etc etc
seat makers websites have pounds of information to each seat; a combined/compounded info at seatexpert would be great asset!
airline specific: your TG maps are a bit out of date. you have some ac types missing, and hv some wrong input. see TG homepage, or better. their current inflight-magazine for correct data
tg is flying (you want to update your data re. numbers of AC)
ATR-72
300-600 ver.1
300-600 ver.2
330-300 ver.1 (c-class cradle seats, no avod but individual screens)
330-300 ver.2 (c-class eads evolys, but only 2 settings)
330-300 ver.3 (added usb-plugs in c- evolys, zim seats in Y
340-500 (only one ac left active)
340-600
380-800
737-400 (missing in your files)
747-400 7442 (14F config)
747-400 7443 (10F config)
747-400 7444 (missing in your files; 9F config)
777-200
777-200ER
777-300
777-300ER leased from jet airways (with 8F config)
777-300ER (HS-TKK, TKL, missing in your files)
in general: why not using the manufacturers info as an add on info to the seat? Eads solstys or evolys, etc...the ZIM economy seats on TG's latest planes, or the BAe seats, etc etc
seat makers websites have pounds of information to each seat; a combined/compounded info at seatexpert would be great asset!
airline specific: your TG maps are a bit out of date. you have some ac types missing, and hv some wrong input. see TG homepage, or better. their current inflight-magazine for correct data
tg is flying (you want to update your data re. numbers of AC)
ATR-72
300-600 ver.1
300-600 ver.2
330-300 ver.1 (c-class cradle seats, no avod but individual screens)
330-300 ver.2 (c-class eads evolys, but only 2 settings)
330-300 ver.3 (added usb-plugs in c- evolys, zim seats in Y
340-500 (only one ac left active)
340-600
380-800
737-400 (missing in your files)
747-400 7442 (14F config)
747-400 7443 (10F config)
747-400 7444 (missing in your files; 9F config)
777-200
777-200ER
777-300
777-300ER leased from jet airways (with 8F config)
777-300ER (HS-TKK, TKL, missing in your files)
Jan 19, 2013, 8:24 am
#15
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
Since the previous posters started on Asian airlines, I have some links for Asian *Alliance airlines
EVA Air (soon to be a member):
http://www.evaair.com/en-us/flying-w...cts/passenger/
You'll have to go through the individual aircraft and expand the graphics manually as the seat maps are hard to read. But the detail is there, including seat pitch.
Asiana:
http://www.flyasiana.com/english/
Click on About Aisana -> Fleet
Each aircraft type has a nice detailed seat map, but no details as to width and pitch.
ANA:
https://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/asw_c...light/seatmap/
Like OZ, each aircraft has a detailed set of seat maps, no width or pitch information.
Air China:
http://www.airchina.us/en/managemytr...maps/b737.html
The seat map links seems to default to the 737(or maybe it is a cookie issue). In any event, there are detailed seat maps including width/pitch.
Singapore Airlines:
http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/fl...s/ouraircraft/
EVA Air (soon to be a member):
http://www.evaair.com/en-us/flying-w...cts/passenger/
You'll have to go through the individual aircraft and expand the graphics manually as the seat maps are hard to read. But the detail is there, including seat pitch.
Asiana:
http://www.flyasiana.com/english/
Click on About Aisana -> Fleet
Each aircraft type has a nice detailed seat map, but no details as to width and pitch.
ANA:
https://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/asw_c...light/seatmap/
Like OZ, each aircraft has a detailed set of seat maps, no width or pitch information.
Air China:
http://www.airchina.us/en/managemytr...maps/b737.html
The seat map links seems to default to the 737(or maybe it is a cookie issue). In any event, there are detailed seat maps including width/pitch.
Singapore Airlines:
http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/fl...s/ouraircraft/