FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Trip report: ‘A New First!’, LHR – DEN CW NF mix…8/3/11
Old Mar 9, 2011, 11:20 pm
  #3  
BotB
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad Plat
Posts: 5,352
The window seats also have a much smaller ‘shelf’ area that is raised up over the leather and for me this was fine but for those that like to lay out their goods then the centre seats seem to have more raised surface area to do so…(I should mention that there is plenty of leather covered space to place items in front of the shelf at a window)

The new style seat adjustment controller works okay but I would suggest getting to grips with it before you get too tired as the symbols are very small on the buttons and hard to see (even with my glasses on!) There is a button for the headrest which leans it towards your head or away from you, a button to adjust the lumbar support and of course the main knob to twist to extend the seat into a bed or back to a seat. The colour of the LED around the knob changes from green to blue when you move away from the ‘take off and landing’ position so the crew can quickly check if the seat is correctly positioned. The seat moves more smoothly than an OF seat (but this may be because it is still very new!) and the speed at which the seat moves seems to be on an accelerated curve if you hold it for longer than two seconds.

The famous window blind is a button that is near the seat controller (at a window seat) and the blind moves very quickly. The design of the two windows at each seat is quite pleasing but I do miss having three windows personally as I like to look at the clouds.

Below the window blind control is the headphone jack and it is similar to most BA premium cabin plugs with one being a single mini plug for the sound and the other being a noise cancelling connection.

The TV monitor is very large for the seat space and reminds me of being in a house with a whopping big 50 inch over the fireplace screaming ‘look at me’…if that is your thing then you’ll love this. The screen seems to be about 15” and pivots from the main panel out to be in the middle of the seat area. The USB and RCA Video in are below the monitor. I did find my monitor took a large amount of force to secure back against the wall…I had to whack it as the catch mechanism seems to be too far recessed. (you move the knob horizontally to release the monitor) Luckily no one was sitting in front of me so this wasn’t a problem. Mr. 4K didn’t seem to have any problems with his so assume this was only an issue at my seat.

The personal closet is a nice feature and especially in the window seats in my opinion as the door is wider and easier to get to when seated, compared to the middle row seats. The space has a hanger for a jacket and there are two mesh pockets to store small items such as keys, wallet, phone, etc…Below this is a space to store shoes or a laptop. I especially liked this feature over OF as it leaves your area uncluttered and still within easy grasp if needed.

Finally, there are three! (yes, three) lights if you are in a window seat. One is a wide angle (or general light for the seat), one is a narrow focussed beam to read by and quite intense, and finally the fixed ambient light mounted in the suite above the shelf. I think if you are in the centre seats you can alter the one ceiling mounted light per seat to be wide or narrow beam but didn’t try this. On the window seat you get two lamps mounted on the ceiling so you have different lamps for each and can have both on if you wished at the same time.

The table is a folding table instead of the big one piece design I remember from OF on a 747. The new table is also far more stable and can tolerate quite a bit of weight or pressure if needed when working or eating so this is a definite improvement over CW or even OF. The design of the table is a shiny black surface with no lip (soft rounded edges) and an embedded design with white weave. (the opposite is on the shelf that is white with a black weaved pattern). The table slides forward and backwards over quite a range and is accessed by lifting the silver lid on the white shelf area. You no longer have to worry about the TV monitor getting in the way when you want to get or put away the table as was the case in OF.
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