spongenotbob

+1. It is truly one of the worst, most uncomfortable, travel experiences in commercial aviation today.

I recently had the chance to fly MCE 788 on the outbound and regular, plain ole' coach on a "vintage" 777-200 on the return. 11 hrs each way.

Honestly I felt much more comfortable on the "aging" non-MCE 777 than on the brand-new ultra-fancy 788 MCE.

The bean-counters have won - but I will not be seeking out any 787 flights any time soon.

spongenotbob

As an aside, I do not buy the "17-18 inches" claim for seat width in coach. Every other carrier that offers this 3-3-3 arrangement in coach on a 787 reports either 17.2" or 17.3". Nowhere near 18". AA didn't magically expand the fuselage so I'm quite sure it's the same 17.2-17.3" for AA.

swy

(sorry for the long and somewhat disorganized rant)

I had 19A (window) and 19J (aisle) in my last two flights. Like what everyone here have said, the seat is pretty narrow, much more so than 772's. At the window seat, the fuselage juts out and really impeded on my space. I am not a big guy but the seat was really uncomfortable. The fuselage also takes up my leg space, such that I had to move my feet slightly to the right if I wanted to stretch them out. The wall-mounted magazine rack was also somewhat in the way. I ended up spending a significant amount of time standing and stretching in the space in front of row 19. The area where my left foot was at (if not stretched out) had some stuff underneath the carpet (maybe cables?) that made me think that I dropped something and was stepping on it, and made me look a few times.

19C didn't have the fuselage problem, but since it was the aisle seat outside the bathroom area lots of people were walking in front of me. I wonder if the middle seats (19B and K) might actually be the best seats on row 19.

In one of the flights that I was on the air was very dry, much worse than previous flights on other 787's. I have taken 787 on AA, JL, and NH but I don't think I have ever really felt significantly more humid in any of my flights on 787's, compared to other planes. But this flight was particularly dry.

The in-flight wifi used T-mobile. It's somewhat slow (~100KB/s down) but does the job. However, the tightness of the seat made it pretty uncomfortable to use a laptop. Pricing scheme was also weird: $15 for 2 hours, $17 for 4 hours, $19 for the whole flight. I imagine it's just to make people pay for the whole flight.

I don't understand why AA/t-mobile needs separate a "validation" and "log in" when using their site.

The icon for entertainment on the IFE looks like a trash can. Live TV (NFL games) was nice.

IWontRegretThis

Have a flight booked on this in Y (stil wait listed, crossing fingers, cabin only half full 2 days out) on Monday DFW-PEK. Lots of empty MCE right now, so grabbed 12C, with 13 ABC also all empty currently. hoping if upgrade to J doesn't clear maybe I will at least get a row to myself.

dcaiadflyer

So I just flew ORD-NRT on AA's 788 and then NRT-HAN on JL's 789. There was much to like about the 788 in MCE (good seat recline, nice AVOD and outlets everywhere, decent service, and I love how they can darken the entire plane after lunch). I felt noticeably more rested than after a normal longhaul in Y. That being said, 3-3-3 feels tight (I'm not a big guy, and I also had a tiny grandma next to me, and it still felt tight). This was especially noticeable compared to JL's 2-4-2 config on the 789, which I took on the next flight. Even in regular Y it felt much roomier.

Excited to try JAL's 77W to JFK on the way home.

The colleague I met up with in NRT had flown DFW-NRT on the unrefurbished AA 772 and had absolutely nothing positive to say about it--I suggested some FT research before booking her next trip

bhomburg

I just flew GRU-LAX on the AA 788 in MCE, followed by LAX-KIX in JL 788 economy and totally concur with this assessment.
Thanks to an awesome crew, I had a whole row to myself on the AA flight, which may skew my perception somewhat, though The armrests on AA go up all the way, so I could stretch across all three seats and get some really decent sleep.
However, the seats ARE tight, and with a seatmate in the middle seat I would definitely prefer JLs economy over AAs MCE, although I`m tall and skinny.

E55

This is a good thread.

I'd go JAL Y if no specific probability of a systemwide upgrade on AA.

corncob

Emphasis mine. I'm a pretty warm traveler and generally never use a blanket. Some of the JAL flights I've taken haven't been too bad, but I've overheated on a few. If you're traveling to/from cold climates, just make sure you dress in layers. I take shorts along to change into now, even when going from cold climate to cold climate.

zarkov505

THANK YOU for bringing this to my attention!!!

supermintyfresh

Wondering if anyone with experience of row 8 MCE (bulkhead) versus row 9 MCE can chime in. From the looks of it row 8 has more legroom, but row 9 has a slightly wider seat as the tray table is not embedded in the arm rests?

Also does the fuselage impede on the window seats in any way or is that only for exit row 19?

Right now, I'm thinking row 8, window seat is probably my best bet for an overnight flight to try to get some sleep. Did you have to disturb seat mates when exiting for the lavatory or is there sufficient space in the bulkhead row to exit easily?

Thanks in advance!

mikelat

I searched for a thread about best seats in MCE or Y on a 787 but couldn't find it. (Hope I didn't miss it)

Have a flight coming up where its not looking like the SWU will clear. I see 8C open, couple aisles open in 10/11/12/13, and one aisle seat on 19C exit row. is the Exit row the best option? Anything like 31 on the 777-200?

JDiver

Advanced search: search thread titles, results as threads, key word "787" (the "..." forces search on very common terms (e.g. "changes") and those containing fewer than four characters.

777Brian

Hi all, saw a great thread on C seats on the 787 but nothing for Y. I don't think my SWU upgrade is going to clear and I'm dreading the LAX -> PVG flight. I have 19C but am curious about 8D. Is the bulkhead on the 787 like the old 737s or the new video equipped 737s? I generally like bulkheads and exit row so I can open my laptop and get work done. Thanks.

Microwave

The esteemed FWAAA has found the right thread, so I'll merge this query in.

~Moderator

masonp123

Anybody know if the IFE in Y bulkheads/exit rows is in the armrest and required to be stowed during takeoff and landings?

Thanks-