Seat selection (Business Cradle)

Old Jan 28, 2012, 5:33 am
  #1  
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Seat selection (Business Cradle)

Hello,

I am flying NH 911 (NRT-HKG) on Feb. 5. Looks like it is operated by a 763 and has the Business Cradle type seating.

Are there any recommended seats or seats to avoid?

I have currently selected 3A and 3C.

Thanks.
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Old Feb 1, 2012, 6:43 am
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Not that I have taken it before but I am also waiting for a recommendation. I am currently booked in 7A for my business cradle for BKK-NRT in May.
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Old Feb 1, 2012, 7:14 am
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Originally Posted by sagorion
Not that I have taken it before but I am also waiting for a recommendation. I am currently booked in 7A for my business cradle for BKK-NRT in May.
If you are travelling by yourself then I think you will prefer the middle (D) row, because there is an extra storage cubby on the side of the seat.

However I just took a look at the ANA website and it looks like the 763 used for that route has the Business-II seats? Maybe the seat map hasn't been updated yet- the NRT-HKG seat map only updated two weeks ago.
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Old Feb 2, 2012, 7:11 am
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Originally Posted by MrFlyer
If you are travelling by yourself then I think you will prefer the middle (D) row, because there is an extra storage cubby on the side of the seat.

However I just took a look at the ANA website and it looks like the 763 used for that route has the Business-II seats? Maybe the seat map hasn't been updated yet- the NRT-HKG seat map only updated two weeks ago.
If you are travelling alone, the D seats are the ones to go for. Extra storage at the side of the seat, and overhead bins on either side. Travelling two, I can only say that the leg room in row one is a bit better than in the others, but apart from that (and it is not really that much better), the only thing should be preference around sitting in the front of the cabin.
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Old Feb 2, 2012, 7:29 am
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
If you are travelling alone, the D seats are the ones to go for. Extra storage at the side of the seat, and overhead bins on either side. Travelling two, I can only say that the leg room in row one is a bit better than in the others, but apart from that (and it is not really that much better), the only thing should be preference around sitting in the front of the cabin.
Gotcha. I'm traveling with a companion this time so I'm going to stick with my current selection- the only pair of seats left are in the last row (and I generally prefer sitting near the front).

Thanks for the advice.
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Old Feb 2, 2012, 8:30 am
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Originally Posted by MrFlyer
If you are travelling by yourself then I think you will prefer the middle (D) row, because there is an extra storage cubby on the side of the seat.

However I just took a look at the ANA website and it looks like the 763 used for that route has the Business-II seats? Maybe the seat map hasn't been updated yet- the NRT-HKG seat map only updated two weeks ago.

I might have made an error. It could have been the Business-II. My bad. Apologies.
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Old Feb 4, 2012, 8:05 am
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Originally Posted by sagorion
I might have made an error. It could have been the Business-II. My bad. Apologies.
Either way, if you're travelling alone the D (center) seats are still the ones to take because of the extra storage bin next to the seat ^
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 12:42 am
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Flew on the Business Cradle as expected on 2/5.

Seats reclined much more than the Business-II seating that I took last August on the same route. It looks like there's less legroom than previously, probably due to the shell design of the seats, but there's a cutout in the seat in front so no worries there. Legrest doesn't go as high as I'd have liked it to though.

The screen in the shell in front is a good idea- no more bumping into the screen when eating or trying to get out of the seat. It's a touchscreen but a bit far from you (probably a better idea in economy) so you'll still want to use the tethered remote.

If you have an iPod or iPhone (no iPad love for now) then you can plug in your iPhone or iPod into the system. For that you'll need to ask your cabin attendant for the cable and then after you plug it in you can use the in-seat monitor as a TV. It basically outputs anything that can be output using the Apple component cable- videos, some apps, and your entire UI if you're jailbroken. There's a little storage pocket for your iPhone placed right next to the port too.

If you're a pair travelling then any of the window & aisle combos are pretty much the same. The last few rows might be a bit noisy due to proximity to Economy and the first few rows due to proximity to the galley though.

They display the inflight map on the screens in the bulkhead so if you're in the first row or two you'll need to stretch your neck a bit to see it.

Lots of little storage areas for things (love the flat seat pocket idea- no more wrinkling books when stuffing them in), even if you're not in the center (D) seat.

Food was good, but it was a one-tray service. That's to be expected on a short flight like this though. Mackerel was warm and tender and the food that should be cold (e.g. sushi) was of the appropriate temperature.

Service was excellent as expected, even from this Air Japan crew. The captain was British, which made for a funny Japanese announcement (it sounded like he was reading off a romaji transliteration of the Japanese announcent)

However, there's one thing- the center seat is very exposed. If you don't like people looking at what you're doing when you're working or thumping sounds from both sides of you when you're sleeping, you may actually prefer a window seat.

That's about it. If you have any questions about the Business Cradle let me know and I'll try to answer them.
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 8:55 am
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My very first post here.
I will be flying SFO-NRT and back (NH 7&8) with my wife and son (10) next month in business class. Which seats do you recommend?
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 11:56 am
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If you could get me the exact date(s) of travel that would be best, but I've just taken a look at the seatmap for a random day in March (in this case, 3/21) and it looks like NH7&8 are operated by a four-class 773ER aircraft.

Looks like the regular ANA Business cabin (https://www.ana.co.jp/int/svc/w_en/c/seat/777_300er_01/) with 2-3-2 seating.

Straight off the bat you'll want to choose the center seats (D/F/G) if you want to sit together (as a family I assume you do).

There are three business cabins- the first mini cabin of two rows, the main business cabin of 8 rows and the last mini cabin of 2 rows.

The first 2-row mini cabin (rows 3 & 5) is directly behind the First Class cabin. You might like the mini cabin as it tends to be quieter and feels more private. There are three lavatories and the galley behind this cabin. No windows for row 5 (5A & 5K).

The main cabin (rows 6 ~ 14) is behind the lavatories and galley mentioned above. Avoid the first row of this cabin (row 6) as it might be a bit noisy due to proximity to the lavatory and galley. Other than that, all the seats are pretty much the same. Right behind this cabin is another lavatory and the self serve bar. There is a selection of packaged snacks and packaged (non chilled) drinks placed here- nothing special, you'll probably want to order the a la carte hot food instead

The last mini cabin (rows 15 & 16) is right behind above-mentioned bar and lavatory. Like the first mini cabin, it is likely to be quieter and will feel more private. Right behind this cabin is the Premium Economy cabin.

You'll need to give me the date of travel before I can tell you which seats I'd personally choose though
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 3:25 pm
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Originally Posted by MrFlyer
If you could get me the exact date(s) of travel that would be best, but I've just taken a look at the seatmap for a random day in March (in this case, 3/21) and it looks like NH7&8 are operated by a four-class 773ER aircraft.
SFO-NRT is operated by the 3-class 77W with very few exceptions. (If you do a search on the ANA site, it will say "77W" and "ANA Business Staggered" for each of NH7 and NH8.) This means that the staggered business class seats will be available. With three travelers, any of the window + middle two seats would be fine, in my opinion.
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Old Feb 9, 2012, 10:04 pm
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Thumbs up

Thanks for the quick replies. We are actually traveling at the of April and the web site dose state "77W" so we are looking forward to trying the new staggered seats. MrFlyer's description of 3 separate cabins was very helpful.
Thanks again for your advise^
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Old Feb 11, 2012, 7:27 am
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Originally Posted by MrFlyer
If you could get me the exact date(s) of travel that would be best, but I've just taken a look at the seatmap for a random day in March (in this case, 3/21) and it looks like NH7&8 are operated by a four-class 773ER aircraft.

Looks like the regular ANA Business cabin (https://www.ana.co.jp/int/svc/w_en/c/seat/777_300er_01/) with 2-3-2 seating.

Straight off the bat you'll want to choose the center seats (D/F/G) if you want to sit together (as a family I assume you do).

There are three business cabins- the first mini cabin of two rows, the main business cabin of 8 rows and the last mini cabin of 2 rows.

The first 2-row mini cabin (rows 3 & 5) is directly behind the First Class cabin. You might like the mini cabin as it tends to be quieter and feels more private. There are three lavatories and the galley behind this cabin. No windows for row 5 (5A & 5K).

The main cabin (rows 6 ~ 14) is behind the lavatories and galley mentioned above. Avoid the first row of this cabin (row 6) as it might be a bit noisy due to proximity to the lavatory and galley. Other than that, all the seats are pretty much the same. Right behind this cabin is another lavatory and the self serve bar. There is a selection of packaged snacks and packaged (non chilled) drinks placed here- nothing special, you'll probably want to order the a la carte hot food instead

The last mini cabin (rows 15 & 16) is right behind above-mentioned bar and lavatory. Like the first mini cabin, it is likely to be quieter and will feel more private. Right behind this cabin is the Premium Economy cabin.

You'll need to give me the date of travel before I can tell you which seats I'd personally choose though
I am doing NH 7 and NH 8 in May but on the ANA seat map, the mini cabin is designated rows 5 and 6. Does this mean that row 6 has no windows?
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Old Feb 13, 2012, 12:41 am
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Originally Posted by armagebedar
SFO-NRT is operated by the 3-class 77W with very few exceptions. (If you do a search on the ANA site, it will say "77W" and "ANA Business Staggered" for each of NH7 and NH8.) This means that the staggered business class seats will be available. With three travelers, any of the window + middle two seats would be fine, in my opinion.
It did state 77W on the random date I chose, but I compared the seat map to one on SeatGuru and it matched up to the 4-class 777-300ER and did not show Business Staggered under the aircraft designation. "ANA Business" was shown when I clicked into the seat map.

Perhaps it differs by date.

If you are indeed lucky enough to get the Business Staggered seating, then armagebedar's suggestion of the window + two center seats would be fine.

Originally Posted by no654me
Thanks for the quick replies. We are actually traveling at the of April and the web site dose state "77W" so we are looking forward to trying the new staggered seats. MrFlyer's description of 3 separate cabins was very helpful.
Thanks again for your advise^
No problem- hopefully you do indeed get the staggered seating

Originally Posted by sagorion
I am doing NH 7 and NH 8 in May but on the ANA seat map, the mini cabin is designated rows 5 and 6. Does this mean that row 6 has no windows?
I cannot be sure as I don't see a seat map on seatguru that matches up your description, but you can take a look at ANA's Flash seating map and see if there is a red X next to the window seat. If there is a red X then there is either no window or the window is misaligned.
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Old Feb 14, 2012, 11:54 am
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NH7/8 is operated by 77W with Business Staggered everyday.
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