salty749

My flight to Chicago next month is operating on the 777 with the new expanded business class section (no premium economy) - anyone have any experience/recommendations on which section and seat to choose? There is more availability in the second/3 row cabin, but I wondered if it might be noisier due to proximity to the economy class section...

Thanks in advance!

LH4116

3K on westbound, 3A on eastbound.

TlvLove

The mini cabin (3 rows, 5, 6 and 7) seemed to me to actually be QUIETER and also - less lit up during the long haul flights, If you are trying to maximize sleeping hours.

Minus of TK's 777 J class mini cabin: you can't make the "left turn" upon entering and, depending on boarding gate configuration you might have the entire Y class boarding parade walk by you as you try to settle in your seat.
Another minus: the mini cabin seems to have less walk through's by cabin crew and meal service, if I am not mistaken, takes longer to complete. if that's a factor for you...

lastly : middle seats in the 2-3-2 configuration are seldom occupied, because who would pay for J class seat and choose middle? but sometimes they are, and then it's not so fun to have all 3 seats taken up. doesn't feel very private, even if you are in the aisle... happened to me once out of 8 legs on the 777 J. If you want to avoid that chance : seems like middle seats in "mini cabin" tend to be left empty most of the time.

RachelG

My husband and I are booked in business class ORD-IST and back next month. I called to get seat assignments, and the only ones that I could get us in together by a window were 5A and B. So that is the first row in the mini cabin as far as I can tell from the seat map. Is there some reason these seats are particularly bad that caused them to be the only ones available?

TPJ

There is nothing wrong with these seats (apart from the fact that during boarding all Coach passengers would be passing through the mini cabin).

TlvLove

Rachel, those are nice seats - nothing wrong with them. from what I can gather, there doesn't seem to be a logic (eg minicabin goes out last/first) to the way TK agents asign J class seats over the phone - unless people ask for specific seats (like you did).
If you wanted to avoid the "Y class boarding parade" just take your time at the ORD lounge (probably UA?) and board last you will still have plenty of room for your luggage and time to get settled in before takeoff. Enjoy!

RachelG

Thanks!

UA1K_no_more

The TK flight leaves from terminal 5, and the only star alliance lounges in that terminal are operated by SAS and Swiss. The Swiss lounge will likely be closed since the last Swiss flight leaves about 3 hours before the TK flight. SAS has two flights at night (one at 9 pm and one at 10 pm), so their lounge will likely be very crowded.
Therefore, the "hang around the lounge and board last" trick may not work.

RachelG

Well, that is not ideal. Any other lounge options? We are flying in on AA (separate ticket) that afternoon, but we will have to go ground-side to reclaim our luggage and check in for the TK flight, so hanging out in the Admiral's Club won't work.
I do have Centurion lounge access with my AmEx card, but there is not one in chicago. And no Delta club in terminal 5.
I just am not that familiar with terminal 5 as far as leaving from there because we fly almost exclusively AA/oneworld. I got a great deal for these tickets though, and have actually opened Miles and Smiles accounts for both of us (and have actually already gotten some miles from a couple of flights we took in South Africa on SA).

(Just added: further research--they apparently use a crappy Swissport contract lounge in ORD. Bummer.)

UA1K_no_more

Yeah, I just realized that, and I was just about to post that info when I saw your update.
You will still have access to the SAS lounge if you prefer that one, but they may not let you in if they're full.

italdesign

Hi, what's the best seat for solo pax in 777 J? Unfortunately, all window seats are taken, so I'm guessing those may be the best (but pls let me know what you think of them for future reference). Some B and J still open, and most of the middle 3 are open. I picked 3G b/c that aisle doesn't lead to the lavatory directly (maybe it will have lighter traffic, not sure?), and hopefully the middle seat won't be taken. Thoughts?

flythemiles

It is all up to personal preference, when I travel the Boeing 777 TK solo I always choose seat 6A, very cosy in my opinion. I would choose the mini cabin over the larger one anytime since most people are sitting there. There are a few routes to/from London and Dubai where TK operates a different kind of Boeing 777, there is no mini cabin in those.

In your case there is no window seat available unfortunately, I would never choose any of the 3 seats in the middle but once again that is all personal preference. In your case I would choose 6B/6J.

If you are on the London/Dubai route without the mini cabin I would choose 4A or 4K.

TPJ

You can ask at check-in, if they have any infants booked in C. 1A and 1K are blocked for infants with bassinets. If there are no infants, they will unblock one of these seats for you (some push might be needed, these Swissport agents would not win the customer service award )

italdesign

Thanks. What about order of service, is mini cabin served after the main cabin (or is less attentive) like on some airlines? Don't want to marginalize the famous catering experience

I generally like mini cabins, but not a fan of the "everyone in Y walks past you" thing.

SK AAR

Board late/last and you will only see 1/2/few Y pax walking by your seat - I'm sure this will not ruin your C experience.