FYI, this is a good picture of US' take on the herringbone layout (not my pic):
http://mytripexpert.com/country/unit...s-envoy-suite/
By inverting the direction of the seats, they've countered two of the oft-heard criticisms of the current AC/NZ/VS layout: difficulty looking out the window and difficulty in conversing with a travel companion.
The layout is very similar to the new business class seats being rolled out by CX:
http://downloads.cathaypacific.com/c...ckgrounder.pdf
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...0007d21c39____
IIRC AC's current pod seats were introduced circa 2006.