New 'Main Cabin Extra Seats' on AA
 

AA is introducing new 'Main Cabin Extra Seats' in Economy at the front of the Economy Cabin. Four to six inches of extra legroom and it's complimentary to oneworld emerald and sapphire. Also, oneworld ruby can get it free until 31/12/13. Just one person who qualifies for the free Main Cabin Extra Seats can get them free for up to eight travelling companions who would not qualify by their own status. Otherwise, it costs between $8 and $108 per segment: depending on the length of the flight. It also gets Priority Boarding (not Priority AAccess but guaranteed Group 1). How will BA react to that? The AA Y product for status holders will take some beating.

Yes it will be don't forget that the higher tiers tend not to travel in Y but J or F (or else you really struggle to qualify) so it might be as generous as initially seems.

FD.

I don't think they're worried. Currently, there is good demand on transatlantic routes, and presumably in order to offer this extra space, AA will be cutting capacity. Someone will have to pick that capacity up and I imagine BA will do so.

It seems odd as a revenue maximising scheme given that they probably won't end up selling many of these extra legroom seats if they give them away to everyone.

This sounds a lot like what UA has and is introducing to the previous CO planes. Regarding the "giveaway" - I believe - certainly so far on UA/CO - if you do not qualify by status or pay extra to sit there, you do not get op-up to them (just to J) and you cannot self op-up once on board. They will remain empty even if other rows within the 3-3-3 (777) config are full.

Personally I think it is a good option to add to Y sections - if you don't fly full enough that you need as many rows as possible. However, on BA it is achieved by Y+ (WT+) but at a higher cost because you get more than just a few inches of legroom. Doubt BA will want or need to do anything - especially as quite often the front row is the bassinet preferred area and so extra legroom in row immediately behind that might be negated by potential infant suffering ear pressure issues but with very healthy lungs!

Not for some, I did silver the hard way! (and have the dvt to prove it ;) )

I don't believe AA will be cutting capacity - the other, and probably more important part to this story is that AA seems to be moving to a 10-wide configuration for their 777 economy services which easily recovers any capacity lost through a couple of rows of MCE seats. The bigger fear is that BA will see AA, EK, AF etc. and follow.

FWIW the modified AA 777's will have:

- most services won't have an F cabin - it's being removed from the 777-200ER's

- flat to the floor business class with a lower density than today

- a few rows of MCE which will be 9-wide with slightly better legroom but not apparently much of a competitor to WT+

- lots of 3-4-3 configured economy / coach seats in the back

BA and AA do not compete. They share the revenue on all of their transatlantic flights, whoever is the operator. That is the whole point in the joint venture.

Those new seats sound great, hope BA do decide to offer something similar on short hauls :)

Well if you have a shiny exec. club card then you can usually get the good seats on BA anyway.
BA also had a number of 777's configd 3-4-3 running from LGW to TPA, MCO, MBJ, TAB a few years ago and the complaints were huge.....

Having travelled with CO / AA a couple of times and been searched, scanned, interrogated and not enjoyed the complete lack of service, I just avoid now...
YMMV.

They will also be available to AA Gold (OW Ruby) until the end of 2013.

How do you fit 10 seats across in a 777? :confused:

According to Boeing.com a 747's cabin is 6.1m wide whereas a 777 is 5.86m wide. That's a 24cm difference. Would that mean that the aisles on a 10-abreast 777 are each 12cm narrower? I'm assuming the actual seats are the same in each aircraft - they're narrow enough as it is!

No the seats and aisle are narrower. As mentioned above, Emirates and some AF and KL aircraft have this seating arrangement. It always surprises me that people speak so highly of EK, when a very large proportion of their fleet have seats narrower than the industry average. I suppose what extra they make they can use to give hot towels and menus :eek: But, if I have to fly Y I would rather take BA than a EK 777.

One concern is, as your post implies, that everyone assumes Y seats are all the same, which is quite an obstacle to airlines wanting to maintain the more comfortable 9 across 777 seating arrangement.

Emirates are 3-4-3 in Y on a 777. Seat width is 17" instead of 17.5" on BA.

Agreed EK on a 777 in Y is not comfortable! Exit row seats even worse because the ife remote thing is at the side. - didn't much like EK in F so Y would be impossible ....
I believe EY have also changed to 343 ....

No they're not, they're the current Y product with a few extra inches of legroom. Which you already get in ET if you book the front of the cabin with the 34" pitch.

For elites, nothing changes. The rest of pax will see 3-4-3 which, believe me, is horrible. Especially for long flights and if next to large people.

As said above BA tried it and the reverted because people hated it so much.