bullroot

I don't think her sample size of 1, appended by a question mark, adds much statistically to the discussion.

IMHO stepping over is a clumsy and unwelcome thing to have to do. Nowhere near the pain you would have of going to the bathroom from a window seat in economy on a 747...but feels clumsy nonetheless. A challenge better managed on EK or Delta for example. But conversely, QF's J on new 380's is stepping over too plus you don't have the ying/yang BA privacy

But I would take a CW window seat over an aisle seat any day.

orbitmic

To me that's the main thing - with the window seats, a really nice sense of privacy compensates much of what is not nice about CW. The other 6 seats in each row are sub-par IMHO.

LonghornSF

In the past 6 months I have flown Qatar, JAL, BA, and AA in business class on various aircraft (737, 757, 767, 777, 787, A319, A320). BA in 777 was my favorite simply because their seat was TRUE lay flat. To be fair, AA's 767 product was lay flat too and a pretty good option, although it was a domestic flight and the service and IFE wasn't as great.

I cannot put in words how uncomfortable Qatar and JAL's "angled flat" seats were, even though their aircraft were newer and JAL's aircraft was a 787. Also, when traveling with my wife, I enjoy the middle two seats on BA's 777 format, which are quite private. Admittedly, I wouldn't want to be seated next to a stranger in that format though.

For the money, BA's business club world product offers the best value, even though it isn't necessarily the best product out there.

nyc6035

Having done a dozen segments between NYC & LON in the last 3 months I would say this: BA do have a lock on the NYC-LON market....if you want to stay in the OW alliance - it's quite hard now to fly AA in spite of the better hard product. AA have given up the morning JFK-LHR flight and the last flight on AA metal leaves at 1700 from LHR.

Of the dozen or so segments - AA has only worked about 3-4 times due to schedule. In terms of equipment preference in J it's clearly AA's 77W; then the BA A318 (especially with lower loads if you can grab an empty seat next to you); followed by the UD of the 747. Of all of BA's equipment the 787 is probably the worst....how in the world do they think they should fit 7 across when others are doing 4 (in some cases). It's is just crazy. The 777 isn't much fun either.

I wouldn't fool myself into thinking CW is good because it's full. It's full I believe based upon two factors (at least from NY): a lock on schedule - and oversells in the back causing cabin rolls.

The granting of anti-trust immunity has been a double edged sword. It has pushed AA finally to upgrade to a flat product (at BA's insistence I understand)....with the result now that AA have the superior hard product. The downside is AA have apparently decided to cede the NYC/LON market to BA.

henners

True, but irrelevant to what Fiona said... 62 A/K (and 64 A/K) are window seats with unrestricted access (and 60/63 B/J are aisle seats without hulks like me hoiking over you).

Basic consequence of the yin-yan design - ever window seat at the back of a section will have free access; every aisle seat at the front of a section will avoid people vaulting you midflight.

[I know, it's slightly different for the 767s/787s, before anyone points this out...]

Cap'n Benj

When are the AA 777-200 and remaining Long haul 757s being converted?

BerksFlyer

Do you think making more money might have something to do with the CW layout? You might think that's crazy but providing a flat bed product and making a profit doesn't sound crazy to me.

Fitting angle flat business class seats to brand new planes in 2014 ..... now that's crazy!

Flexible preferences

That isn't really a fair comparison, because BA's 7 across format will have over 6 feet between seat backs going down the plane, whereas the 4 across will be angled and have less than that. So where BA may fit 5 rows of seats, perhaps the other airlines would fit 7 rows. However, it would probably be true to say that the CW seat has a lesser footprint (except perhaps for the middle rear-facing single seat) which comes down to BA's hugely space-efficient, patented, yin-yang design.

Personally I love the privacy and rear-facing aspect of a CW window seat, with 2 or three windows to myself, and having to step over someone to get out is a minor inconvenience for me (and hopefully for the stepee too!). One time I was in a CW aisle seat and it wasn't so good. I felt exposed and indeed even had wine spilt on me by the cabin crew.

Calchas

Not a downside for AA because of the revenue sharing agreement on transatlantic flights between AA, BA, IB, AY and US.

zkzkz

Obviously a "every seat an aisle seat" is better for most flyers bit I'm not sure I would pay much more for it so BA is probably making the right decision in opting for density. Except that it might buy be the brand identity they're going for -- "almost as good for less ££" would be a better fit for Openskies or Norwegian, not BA.

But the poor catering and lack of storage wouldn't really cost much to fix and really let the product down.

golfmad

I'm genuinely interested in this. How wide does one have to be to feel claustrophobic when seated upright in CW?

I'm assuming we have to be talking about the rearward facing windows seats as the aisle seats can't be considered enclosed by any stretch of the imagination.

Isn't one persons fear of claustrophobia, another persons definition of a quiet enclosed space? I don't have claustrophobia so I really don't understand and would like to be enlightened.

Sixth Freedom

Agreed. For nonstop journeys purchased a month or more in advance BA is probably one of the cheapest flat-bed operators in the world.

When you buy a more expensive ticket every Pound over the I fare is for flexibility rather than comfort and within a month ahead of travel there are always cheaper ways of getting there than BA.

You pay your money and you take your choice!

shorthauldad

So BA came up with a world-beating design in which 2 seats in every row of J are great, and the other 6 aren't?

I bet the other airlines are really gnashing their teeth about that patent

BAflyer2007

I would like to see a quality mattress, duvet and bigger pillow.

However that is not going to happen as it would take away from the First product.

I think they could be more imaginative with the food and introduce lighter options such as soup as a choice of starter. Again - only offered in First. I think the wines are ok but the soft drinks could do with a change i. e more diet options and please get rid of the 19p per carton Sunpride.

HIDDY

I would say 6 seats in every row are pretty good seats and it's just the middle two which are the least favourite although even those are favoured by some people.

I wouldn't go overboard when praising the CW seat but it was certainly amongst the best for many years.