Originally Posted by
Kacee
The aircraft is assigned several days in advance, and you can check the tail number on Flight Status to see what seat you'll have. I just had a flight (738) circle through three assigned aircraft for SFO-PHX . . . the first two were the old cabins, the last and final one was NEXT, and that's what I flew. It definitely felt like winning the lottery.
To me, NEXT is definitely more comfortable, the seat has better padding than the New F. The biggest downside to me is the seatbacks actually recline a good ways (unlike the hard shell New F seats), so if the pax in front of you does full recline it cuts way into your space.
it is (very) important to point out that - even though plane assignments happen a few days out - fleet
changes can and do happen right until boarding. Even beyond “just” a frame number, but entire types!
I’ve had 757s swapped for A321s and even crazier changes happen. Sometimes a nice up gauge too - 757 to 777 has happened for me, too.
But can’t really book or rely on a particular seat being guaranteed — it changes and frequently.