I thought I'd run the numbers on this just for excrements and giggles. I've uploaded the spreadsheet, but for those who don't feel like looking at an Excel file, the numbers do bear out the 223 having a far lower proportion of premium seats (J + preferred) than the 7M8, 319, 320 , as well as the E-Jets and CR9. What did catch me off guard is how few premium seats there are on the 321. I knew they had cut the J cabin from to 20 to 16 a couple of years ago, but didn't realize there were so few preferred seats in the back. So if you compare the 223 to the 321, it doesn't look out of line, but compared to the most recently introduced type (7M8), or the aircraft it's most directly replacing (E90 and 319), it's pretty low.

A few more details:

• The 223 is a touch light on J seats, but not really out of line with the rest
• It has fewer preferred seats (in absolute terms) than the E90 and 319, despite more overall seats
• In relative terms, the gap is quite large - the E90 has 46% more premium seats than the 223, as a percentage of total capacity (34% vs the 223's 23%), while the 319 has 28% more, and the 7M8 has 77% more

I wonder how much this is just a question of math (i.e. how many preferred rows can they fit between J and the emergency exit) vs AC's results in getting (or not) the revenue premium they want out of the preferred seats.

Sadly, most 223 operators don't have J seats (not counting fake Euro J like LX, BT, etc have), so it's hard to compare AC's layout to other 223 operators. Air Tanzania does have a proper J cabin (12J 120Y), but I can't find a seat map anywhere. It will be interesting to see how DL configures its 223s when they announce the layout.