Very private. Not ideal if your spouse/partner/companion wants to talk your ear off all the way to London or expects to hold hands with you while watching the movie. As someone who only travel in J on business, without the wife, this doesn't bother me - I'd rather sleep - and if the wife was with me in J, she'd just as soon immerse herself in a book or a flick or also sleep, but others lament the loss of intimacy for even a few hours that comes with these seats and the way they are arranged.