When lying down, both shoulders touch either side of the seat/armrest. Note, these are my shoulders touching, not my waist. Below is where I compare and contrast some seats I recently tried due to my company sending me over the Atlantic an unusual number of times over the past year. I used the opportunity to try all the US Majors.

I am Plat on UAL, and if they can reach a hub on their RJ in time for you to get on one of their newer planes with lie-flat seats, the seat is nicely cushioned, has places for storage so you don't have to get up and retrieve things from overhead, and I didn't seem to have the width issue I have with Delta's lie-flats.

I am also Plat on AA and have really enjoyed their PARTNER airline service across the ATL. USAirway's 330 biz (Envoy Suite) seat was probably the nicest of any domestic carrier, more padded than the Delta high school gym weight beach AND there are nooks for storage that do not exist on DLs biz seat. It is interesting to me how DL touts their biz seat, but it is so uncomfortable both as a seat and as a bed. Now, AA's own TATL biz leaves much to be desired at this point as they still fly a lot of ancient 767s with old style recliner seats that are too close for comfort. I understand they are rectifying that over the next few years.

My real joy came a few weeks ago when I tried Oneworld partner Iberia's TATL biz class on an A330 and LOVED it. Comfortable seat, padded, even more nooks for storage - do not have to get up to retrieve things as on DL - larger screens than DL, and the footwell is not so small as DL nor does it seem so angled. ( Yes, not just the size of the cutout, but it on DL it is not directly straight ahead of you.) Sorry DL, but you are in the process of losing my trans-oceanic biz mainly because of the discomfort of the biz lie-flat. I only enjoyed the DL lie-flats in the upper deck of a 747 from TLV to JFK a year or so ago. That seat was large enough though still not padded enough. It is as though DL never sat a consumer tester in the lie-flats before adopting the design.