UNITED959

Having flown UA's reverse J (2008 vintage), I actually never found any difference between facing forward or backward. The train experience is different in that you have fixed points outside the window that allow one to gauge the direction of travel; this doesn't happen on a plane.

I'm going to be flying this 77D for the first time, and I'm not looking forward to it at all. (1) I'm a stomach sleeper, so shoulder/head space is highly valued and (2) I'm a light sleeper, so the movement of whomever's seat is connected to mine should be fun. Great job on this seat, AA.

Note: I'm hoping to SDC onto a 77W - that J seat is perfect, IMHO.

Anyway, for the most head/shoulder space in bed mode, it sounds like a forward-facing seat is optimal. Fair assessment?

bosman

[QUOTE=UNITED959;26082671] and (2) I'm a light sleeper, so the movement of whomever's seat is connected to mine should be fun.QUOTE]

I believe the following seats are not connected to any other, so eliminates the "neighbor movement" concern:

1 A, D, H
7 A, D, H, L
12 A, D, H, L

UNITED959

Thanks for that -- just nabbed 12L. I realize it's close to Y, but the plane is really empty so shouldn't be bad. On the return, I'm trying out a backwards facing seat -- sleep is less important to me then, but at least I can evaluate.

bhomburg

Flew the 45J configuration in J (JFK-GIG), and initially selected 6L, as this was supposedly the most private seat in the cabin.
Worst seat on the plane, and should be avoided at all costs. Anyone sitting there looks directly into the main galley (and anyone in the galley looks directly in the face of the passengers in that seat).
There is a curtain between the galley and the aisle that gets drawn closed after meal service, but that does nothing to prevent noise, smell and light (the lights in the galley stay on at all times) emanating from there. Sleeping will be short of impossible for all but the most insensitive of passengers, even with earbuds and eye mask deployed.
Combined with the lavatory this seat borders on, plus the seat moving around whenever the passengers in 5L operate their seat controls, anyone seated in 6L is in for a decidedly un-premium flight experience.
I knew something was wrong right as we boarded - the crew member asking which seat we were in at the door approached me right at boarding and offered to find another seat even though we weren't even seated there yet.

Passengers with animals should beware of these seats as well (not limited to 6L, they all are the same, including the bulkheads).
I do fly with a service dog, and these seats are not well suited for her to comfortably lie on the floor as well. There's a two-inch high 'divider' under the footrest that serves no apparent purpose, making the space under it practically inaccessible (it's also too small to put a carrier there).
Also, reclining the seat requires it moving forward as well, which further diminishes available space. Anyone with an animal larger than the smallest of dog breeds will find it too cramped.

Going forward, I will avoid booking business class on these aircraft and rather buy two MCE seats when traveling with my dog unless the load is so light that she can get her own seat - which we ended up with on this flight (ended up in 8H & L - the flight was very empty, only three other passengers besides us in the rear cabin)
Can't wait for premium economy to arrive.

Djokison

From what I've read, the forward facing seats on the 787 have the divider down (or don't need one due to seat position) whilst the backwards facing seats have them up. Is this the same on the 77D? I've flown it several times, but I've always done window and never really checked.

bhomburg

On the 77D, it's the same in the rear cabin (forward facing:divider up, rear-facing: divider down) and the other way around in the forward cabin: odd-numbered rows (forward-facing) have the divider up, even-numbered (rear-facing) rows have it down. Crew was clueless as to when the moving mechanism would be available.

IWontRegretThis

[QUOTE=bosman;26082775]Ty sir. Have my first 772 refurb flight coming up, snagged 7L (love rear facing seats!)

Djokison

Hope you don't mind the missing window. I've flown 7A/L twice now and though I do like the seat (rear-facing and no seat movement issue) I'm going to avoid it on daytime flights, as it's too strenuous to look outside. When the seat is in upright position, it's almost impossible to look outside.

mmjaysee

Thanks for posting this!! I can't believe it's so complex and not posted anywhere else like aa.com or seatguru. So if we're traveling as a couple, and the forward cabin is full, our best bet is rear-facing seats so the divider is down? Forward facing we wouldn't be able to talk to each other?

supermintyfresh

Also have the same question. Right now have two seats in the rear facing row 1, center seats for March. I never knew the dividers couldn't be easily lowered!

Edit: from this trip report, looks like indeed the rear facing (the seatbacks that are closest to each other) are raised as of 2014. I guess the best bet would be to book in the rear cabin as you will have the divider down in the rear facing (and those seatbacks are the closest in proximity). Anyone have any updates on this situation -- if the divider can be lowered? Thanks.

Duke787

[QUOTE=bosman;26082775]Just took advantage of the wide open availability to change the date/time for 3 of us traveling to EDI via LHR. Was previously on a 77W but now the 77D on AA 104 so trying to optimize seats for the 77D.

Given that it's a redeye I'm hoping that we can all get a couple hours of sleep so it seems like one of those 3 sets would be the best to avoid "neighbor movement" and at least for me the goal is sleep (don't really care about missing window, dinner/breakfast, etc., given the timing).

All 3 sets are available right now, is there a preference? Where is all the activity occurring for breakfast since I imagine that would make either row 1 or row 7 less preferable?

Djokison

Ah, that's the beauty of row 7. It's not adjacent to the lavatory nor the galley. "Behind" the 7A/L (so towards the front, planewise) are exit doors and walk up bar. I found the seats to be quiet, no issues and definitely recommend them for overnight flights (where windows don't really matter.)

thexfactor

Huh?

1) The AA seatmap for the 77D shows the odd-numbered seats in the forward cabin as backward-facing, while the even-numbered seats are forward-facing. Opposite of what you stated.



2) So, all forward-facing seats have divider up and all rear-facing seats have divider down? If that's so, I'm not sure what you meant by it being "the other way around in the forward cabin."



In any event, can someone clarify? I will be flying as a couple on the 77D, and it seems like my best bet is two rear-facing seats in the rear cabin, but would like to clarify.

(As an aside, how the hell did AA release a biz class seat where the dividers can't be put down?)

richarddd

Are you sure?

AA's twitter account claims "the forward facing seats have a sliding divider. The rear facing ones don't, because your angled towards the aisle, and customer heads are much closer together".

dpham4

Are there differences between the high J and low J configurations other than several rows being missing? I'm flying CDG-MIA with my girlfriend and am trying to figure out the best seats in J based on the comments here, which seem mostly about high J