Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > American Airlines | AAdvantage
Reload this Page >

Dreamliner 787-8 / 788 Zodiac Business Seats & Reviews (master thd)

Old Apr 9, 2016, 5:10 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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.

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.
Due to the modifications AA required of Zodiac for these seats, there are some peculiarities reported:
  • 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.
Print Wikipost

Dreamliner 787-8 / 788 Zodiac Business Seats & Reviews (master thd)

Old Mar 3, 2019, 4:23 am
  #661  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 789
Originally Posted by NWplatinum
My (empty) PEK-DFW Flight tomorrow has the mini cabin still assigned to the aircraft. I went from 5A to 6A.

Is there any chance it’s an aircraft that does in fact have the old configuration?
look up the flight details in flightstats(gives you tail number which as Peking us not a hub will likely not change). Then check in list above
flyertalker54234 is offline  
Old Mar 3, 2019, 5:12 am
  #662  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,212
Originally Posted by rjlon

look up the flight details in flightstats(gives you tail number which as Peking us not a hub will likely not change). Then check in list above

I got the tail number of the incoming aircraft (which I assume is coming from DFW) so it’s not a reconfigured one. 6A here we come....
econometrics likes this.

Last edited by NWplatinum; Mar 3, 2019 at 5:17 am
NWplatinum is offline  
Old Mar 3, 2019, 9:39 am
  #663  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: UA 1K and PP, AA PPro (3MM, former CK), Marriott Ambassador and LTT, Uber One
Posts: 1,342
Originally Posted by econometrics
There's no report on if the motion issue on the 788 Zodiac seats has been fixed after the PE refit.
I've flown on a refitted plane, and the motion issue is definitely there. Sorry, not sure of tail number.
ikwia is offline  
Old Mar 3, 2019, 1:39 pm
  #664  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, LT Gold
Posts: 3,143
Originally Posted by ikwia
I've flown on a refitted plane, and the motion issue is definitely there. Sorry, not sure of tail number.
Frustrating. Thanks for the feedback.
econometrics is offline  
Old Mar 3, 2019, 6:35 pm
  #665  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: UA 1K and PP, AA PPro (3MM, former CK), Marriott Ambassador and LTT, Uber One
Posts: 1,342
Originally Posted by econometrics


Frustrating. Thanks for the feedback.
Wish I had better news. I remarked on another thread that there is now no seat on this plane that I really like, since there are no seats that are single seats (window), rear facing, and disconnected.
ikwia is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 1:58 am
  #666  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,212
Had the old seats PEK-DFW on the 788 and actually enjoyed 6A a lot. Personally I never felt the shaking or thought it was a problem but that’s just my opinion.

My DFW-LAX connection was a 787-9 with the new seats and I liked them a lot. They seem a lot roomier than the J product on the 777.
NWplatinum is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 2:37 am
  #667  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 789
Originally Posted by NWplatinum
Had the old seats PEK-DFW on the 788 and actually enjoyed 6A a lot. Personally I never felt the shaking or thought it was a problem but that’s just my opinion.

My DFW-LAX connection was a 787-9 with the new seats and I liked them a lot. They seem a lot roomier than the J product on the 777.
Are you comparing to old or new 772 or 773 j?
flyertalker54234 is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 2:44 am
  #668  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,212
Originally Posted by rjlon

Are you comparing to old or new 772 or 773 j?
The new 773 J. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great product, but I liked the 78-9 seats better. they felt roomier, and more storage space.
NWplatinum is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 6:02 am
  #669  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 449
Originally Posted by NWplatinum
Had the old seats PEK-DFW on the 788 and actually enjoyed 6A a lot. Personally I never felt the shaking or thought it was a problem but that’s just my opinion.

My DFW-LAX connection was a 787-9 with the new seats and I liked them a lot. They seem a lot roomier than the J product on the 777.
6A on the 788 is not a “connected seat” so it is one of the few seats in J that do not experience the movement issue. Sad to see it go for this reason. 6A/L were the best J seats for solo travelers.
JDiver likes this.
AlwaysSunnyInORD is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 6:28 am
  #670  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 789
Originally Posted by AlwaysSunnyInORD


6A on the 788 is not a “connected seat” so it is one of the few seats in J that do not experience the movement issue. Sad to see it go for this reason. 6A/L were the best J seats for solo travelers.
the motion over the ocean effect does depend on the courtesy and bladder/bowel/ nasal habits of one's neighbor. I have found many flight where it is no issue and one or two where my neighbor seemed to want to be as a big a nuisance as possible. More courtesy for others in flight like elsewhere makes life better for all. Still whoever signed off these seats is suspect. The BA reverse seating is far from universally liked and its inclusion on AA fleet was a backward step. The wobble is just the icing on the cake. (Though there are some out there who do prefer to fly backwards). I wonder why rear facing coach seats were removed in the 50's and 60's?
flyertalker54234 is offline  
Old Mar 6, 2019, 8:10 am
  #671  
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,041
Originally Posted by rjlon
the motion over the ocean effect does depend on the courtesy and bladder/bowel/ nasal habits of one's neighbor. I have found many flight where it is no issue and one or two where my neighbor seemed to want to be as a big a nuisance as possible. More courtesy for others in flight like elsewhere makes life better for all. Still whoever signed off these seats is suspect. The BA reverse seating is far from universally liked and its inclusion on AA fleet was a backward step. The wobble is just the icing on the cake. (Though there are some out there who do prefer to fly backwards). I wonder why rear facing coach seats were removed in the 50's and 60's?
absolutely it depends on your neighbor’s “habits”! There is also a huge variability in “tightness” of seats. I’ve sat in some that you can feel click back and forth as you sit and transmit every little thing and some that transmit nothing. Most are some where in between those extremes.
JDiver and flyertalker54234 like this.
BlatheringPenguin is offline  
Old Mar 7, 2019, 5:08 am
  #672  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Seattle
Programs: AS MVP100K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 3,212
Originally Posted by AlwaysSunnyInORD


6A on the 788 is not a “connected seat” so it is one of the few seats in J that do not experience the movement issue. Sad to see it go for this reason. 6A/L were the best J seats for solo travelers.
Yes but I’ve sat in the supposed “connected” 788 seats and I never had any issues. Maybe I’m just lucky, I don’t know? My flights I’ve been on “connected” seats were LAX-HND-LAX, ORD-PVG-ORD, and twice from LAX-PEK-LAX . I would often sit in the middle traveling with someone, and I never had any issues with the seats moving.

The 787-9 seats are definitely better and seem roomier (at least to me) but the old seats have never been an issue for me for whatever reason.
NWplatinum is offline  
Old Mar 7, 2019, 9:17 am
  #673  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Originally Posted by NWplatinum


Yes but I’ve sat in the supposed “connected” 788 seats and I never had any issues. Maybe I’m just lucky, I don’t know? My flights I’ve been on “connected” seats were LAX-HND-LAX, ORD-PVG-ORD, and twice from LAX-PEK-LAX . I would often sit in the middle traveling with someone, and I never had any issues with the seats moving.

The 787-9 seats are definitely better and seem roomier (at least to me) but the old seats have never been an issue for me for whatever reason.
Your seat mates had no ants in their pants or you lucked out by having better adjusted seats, which seem to vary in “motion over the ocean” susceptibility.
jcatman likes this.
JDiver is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2019, 12:57 pm
  #674  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 277
Will be flying on this bird for the first time this summer, family of 4. Late night flight, goal and plan is to recline seats ASAP and go straight to sleep, hopefully wake up 20 minutes before landing. Based on all the comments I think I am going to go with rows 4 and 5, middle seats. Figure the "motion over the ocean" will be limited for the adults as the kids are pretty deep sleepers and neither one weighs more than 75 pounds, so only so much force they can apply to the seats. Picked rows 4 and 5 because it seems to be the best option to avoid noise and light. Row 2 middle seats are taken, otherwise would have taken 2 and 3. Figure doing 3 and 4 is a bad idea since they aren't attached to each other, putting all 4 of us at the potential mercy of a seatmate who moves around a lot.

Anything else to consider?
DCJoe1 is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2019, 1:04 pm
  #675  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Diamond, AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Explorist, HHonors Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 7,344
Do we know if they actually fixed the rocking seat issue while they were so busy ripping out 8J seats? Guessing not but one can hope.
AANYC1981 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.