Apr 9, 2016, 5:10 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Boeing 787-8 (788) Zodiac Concept D Business Suite Business Class Seats Selection Guide & Reviews
There were 20 787-8 Dreamliners at the end of 2018, now gradually expanding to 42 total 788s in the AA fleet.
This thread is dedicated to discussion of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with Zodiac Concept D Business Suite Business class seating and service
For the 787-9, see Boeing 787-9 / 789: Business (Rockwell Collins (née B/E) Super Diamond Seat, Service (master thd)
The 787-8 offers 20 modified Zodiac "Concept D" Business Suite all aisle access "podded" seats in 1-2-1 with back to back seating in the center pairs, and alternating front and rear facing window seats. They are said to be 21-26" wide, and have 60-61" pitch upright in pods with full aisle access and 77" in the horizontal "bed" position. True AVOD offering up to 250 movies, 160 TV shows, 13 radio channels, 375 albums and 20 games, is offered via cabled handset controllers to large flat touch screens. Power offered is 110 VAC via universal plugs and 5 VDC USB. Bose QuietComfort headsets with noise reduction are provided (picked up about one hour prior to arrival). Ku-Band satellite WiFi is offered for sale.
The Dreamliner "big sister" model (22 787-9, first in service September 2016, has Collins (née B/E Aerospace) Super Diamond Solo seats that largely avoid the Zodiac problems, is the "big sister"). The second batch of 787-8s (787T) differ from the first batch and are fitted with Collins Super Diamond seats.
Zodiac "Concept D Business Suite" seats connected "at the head" are affected by movement from the seat they are connected to, often referred to on FT as "motion over the ocean". The Business seats that are unconnected and stable in 787-8 J are 1D&H, 5A&L.
Due to the modifications AA required of Zodiac for these seats, there are some peculiarities reported:
Link to photos taken by SFO777 here, from his trip on AA2320 DFW-ORD 07:10 - 09:36 Inaugural flight, shared with 68 FlyerTalkers.
There were 20 787-8 Dreamliners at the end of 2018, now gradually expanding to 42 total 788s in the AA fleet.
This thread is dedicated to discussion of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with Zodiac Concept D Business Suite Business class seating and service
For the 787-9, see Boeing 787-9 / 789: Business (Rockwell Collins (née B/E) Super Diamond Seat, Service (master thd)
The 787-8 offers 20 modified Zodiac "Concept D" Business Suite all aisle access "podded" seats in 1-2-1 with back to back seating in the center pairs, and alternating front and rear facing window seats. They are said to be 21-26" wide, and have 60-61" pitch upright in pods with full aisle access and 77" in the horizontal "bed" position. True AVOD offering up to 250 movies, 160 TV shows, 13 radio channels, 375 albums and 20 games, is offered via cabled handset controllers to large flat touch screens. Power offered is 110 VAC via universal plugs and 5 VDC USB. Bose QuietComfort headsets with noise reduction are provided (picked up about one hour prior to arrival). Ku-Band satellite WiFi is offered for sale.
The Dreamliner "big sister" model (22 787-9, first in service September 2016, has Collins (née B/E Aerospace) Super Diamond Solo seats that largely avoid the Zodiac problems, is the "big sister"). The second batch of 787-8s (787T) differ from the first batch and are fitted with Collins Super Diamond seats.
Zodiac "Concept D Business Suite" seats connected "at the head" are affected by movement from the seat they are connected to, often referred to on FT as "motion over the ocean". The Business seats that are unconnected and stable in 787-8 J are 1D&H, 5A&L.
Remedial seat stability fix announced 9 Oct 2016 by John Walton, Runway Girl Network (link)
"Jay Mapston, American’s manager of onboard products, cabin design, spoke to Runway Girl Network with praiseworthy candor about the airline’s current situation and plans. To start, Mapston explains the 787-8 fleet’s (Zodiac) Concept D (Business Suite) will see remedial stability work to fix the much-discussed issue where the seats shake when an adjoining passenger moves."
As of July 2019, no such fix has been put in place. The seat modification has to be designed, submitted to the FAA for certification (STC) and approved, the parts manufactured and seats modified. Normally, the seat manufacturer would do this, but as AA terminated the Zodiac contract for failure to perform. It’s anyone’s guess when and if a fix is forthcoming.
AA canceled the contract with Zodiac for inability to comply with scheduled delivery times, causing seatless Dreamliners to sit out availability idled in the desert and causing considerable delay for the 777-200ER refurbishment. The seats were NOT used for the 787-9 nor more than half the 47 aircraft 772 fleet, and it is likely the newly ordered 788s will be equipped with Super Diamond Seats.
"Jay Mapston, American’s manager of onboard products, cabin design, spoke to Runway Girl Network with praiseworthy candor about the airline’s current situation and plans. To start, Mapston explains the 787-8 fleet’s (Zodiac) Concept D (Business Suite) will see remedial stability work to fix the much-discussed issue where the seats shake when an adjoining passenger moves."
As of July 2019, no such fix has been put in place. The seat modification has to be designed, submitted to the FAA for certification (STC) and approved, the parts manufactured and seats modified. Normally, the seat manufacturer would do this, but as AA terminated the Zodiac contract for failure to perform. It’s anyone’s guess when and if a fix is forthcoming.
AA canceled the contract with Zodiac for inability to comply with scheduled delivery times, causing seatless Dreamliners to sit out availability idled in the desert and causing considerable delay for the 777-200ER refurbishment. The seats were NOT used for the 787-9 nor more than half the 47 aircraft 772 fleet, and it is likely the newly ordered 788s will be equipped with Super Diamond Seats.
- Many seats are interlaced with others - passenger in one moves, the linked seat moves. "Motion over the ocean" is induced by the partner seat attached at the head,
- Forward facing seats may have more restricted shoulder room / width when flat than aft facing
- Middle seat privacy dividers were balky and continually slipped into the retracted position, so they were "fixed" in place so they are not passenger operable. Apparently crew fixes them in several configurations: all up, making them great for privacy but nearly impossible for couples wanting to share conversation; all down, making for lower privacy; facing forward up, facing aft down. Some aircraft have them repaired and passenger operable, some not.
- Rows 1 and 2 center seats have no overhead bins; they were displaced by the crew rest area in the fore fuselage crown.
- 1A and L are close to lav and galley.
- Many prefer seats 5A or L as they are unaffected by other seats / passenger movement in seats.
- 5A and 5L have one window, rather than two.
Link to photos taken by SFO777 here, from his trip on AA2320 DFW-ORD 07:10 - 09:36 Inaugural flight, shared with 68 FlyerTalkers.
Dreamliner 787-8 / 788 Zodiac Business Seats & Reviews (master thd)
Nov 29, 2018, 9:36 pm
#571
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Today, 6A/L are the gems as they offer a tick more privacy and are not connected to another seat. That will change in January as the 788’s are refitted for PE and the mini cabin is removed. If booking flights in February or later, don’t pick a seat in the mini cabin.
Nov 29, 2018, 11:20 pm
#572
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
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Today, 6A/L are the gems as they offer a tick more privacy and are not connected to another seat. That will change in January as the 788’s are refitted for PE and the mini cabin is removed. If booking flights in February or later, don’t pick a seat in the mini cabin.
Nov 30, 2018, 12:50 am
#573
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,698
Nov 30, 2018, 1:38 am
#574
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Got it. Thank you. Too bad because 6A is really the best seat in the house. What does it matter if you book in the mini cabin and they change the configuration?
Nov 30, 2018, 7:14 am
#575
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 1,107
Yes, change it to something in the forward cabin while you still can. What happens could be one of several things.
A) If seats are available in the forward cabin, they will be happy to assign you one of those. (Note that it may not be one you would have preferred.)
B) No seats available in the forward cabin, and they downgrade you.
C) They involuntarily bump you to another flight.
D) They offer compensation to anyone willing/able to move to another flight, and you get their seat.
E) Nothing happens as you end up with one of the few remaining frames that hasn’t been converted by that time.
Nov 30, 2018, 11:26 pm
#576
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Dec 1, 2018, 7:44 pm
#578
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Well, looks like we won the 1/20 lottery. 12/04 NRT-ORD. Just got two calls (one for each of us) to move to another flight for being oversold. We are sitting in mini-cabin and no longer have seat assignments. Our schedules are quite inflexible, so not sure what to do now. The rep did not offer to downgrade us or move us to the front cabin.
Dec 1, 2018, 9:55 pm
#579
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Well, looks like we won the 1/20 lottery. 12/04 NRT-ORD. Just got two calls (one for each of us) to move to another flight for being oversold. We are sitting in mini-cabin and no longer have seat assignments. Our schedules are quite inflexible, so not sure what to do now. The rep did not offer to downgrade us or move us to the front cabin.
Dec 2, 2018, 1:39 am
#580
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Nope. We were shot down for that. They can only reaccomodate on AA metal as they are not forcing a change - we were still in J on the same flight, just with no seats. They said basically we can take our chances at the gate as they are only asking for voluntary changes currently. We called AA and got reaccomodated through DFW (NRT was a connection for us), so we are avoiding NRT altogether now. I would be more upset if JL wasn’t restricting access to their First lounge.
Dec 2, 2018, 2:19 pm
#581
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Well after all that hassle, I forgotten I had set EF alerts and the mini cabin appears to be back on the flight after an alert that the seats we wanted were available. I think we are just staying on our reroute in case they do any more swaps.
Dec 6, 2018, 8:13 pm
#582
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
Is N808AN also retrofitted with premium economy? I’m seeing that it will fly ORD to LHR on Dec 7 flight AA 86 and seat map showing 20J and 28 PE. Anyone had any info? I thought only N800AA was retrofitted and the rest wont start until Jan 2019
Dec 6, 2018, 8:20 pm
#583
Join Date: May 2011
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N808AN does not have PE or 20J. So I think you have the tail # confused here.
Dec 6, 2018, 8:26 pm
#584
Join Date: Nov 2018
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Dec 6, 2018, 8:41 pm
#585
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As the final two 777-223ERs went into the shop at the end of November for retrofitting with Premium Economy, and an AA spokesperson recently announced it, the 19 remaining 788s should be refitted during the first half of 2019.
That portends for a very dynamic half year with potential for seat scrambles. I’d avoid booking C seats in rows 6 or 7 as “insurance“.
Several sources have reported that the plan involves installing 28 Premium Economy seats on a few Boeing 787-8s made up of four rows of seats in a comfortable 2-3-2 configuration with 38 inches of pitch. This comes at the expense of eight business class seats as the cabin will be reduced from 28 to 20 seats, maintaining the same seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.
At the same time, Main Cabin Extra seats will be reduced from 55 to 42, while the standard economy will be increased by one seat, to a total of 144 seats. In total, the aircraft configuration will increase from 226 to 234 seats, something which had not happened in previous retrofits. Installations are slated to begin some time in 2019. airlinegeeks.com
At the same time, Main Cabin Extra seats will be reduced from 55 to 42, while the standard economy will be increased by one seat, to a total of 144 seats. In total, the aircraft configuration will increase from 226 to 234 seats, something which had not happened in previous retrofits. Installations are slated to begin some time in 2019. airlinegeeks.com