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Is BA's A320 the worst business class seat in the sky?

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Is BA's A320 the worst business class seat in the sky?

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Old Jun 1, 2018, 8:11 am
  #61  
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Originally Posted by ILikePancakes
Air Serbia used to have those seats. They've since replaced all of the seats with the thin Recaro seats (including business), and reduced the pitch. I'd guess it's around 32" for the first 4 rows, then 29" for the rest. So I'd say BA CE is better.
If pitch is 30 for BA and 32 for Air Serbia, what makes BA CE better? I have never tried Air Serbia so I cannot comment. Is the seat thinner and less comfy than on BA despite the difference in pitch? Is it also 3 each side with middle seat blocked?
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Old Jun 1, 2018, 9:16 am
  #62  
 
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Originally Posted by escape4
If pitch is 30 for BA and 32 for Air Serbia, what makes BA CE better? I have never tried Air Serbia so I cannot comment. Is the seat thinner and less comfy than on BA despite the difference in pitch? Is it also 3 each side with middle seat blocked?
Standard 3-3 layout with the blocked middle seat. I guess what makes Air Serbia's product better overall is the reasonably decent food you get served on-board and the lounge at Belgrade, which is far less crowded compared to those at Heathrow On a serious note, it (Air Serbia's business class) probably is [better] strictly speaking but I guess at the very same time we're on a apples versus oranges exercise as BA has a better network by far and so on. Moreover and back to the seat as such, I personally can't see a great deal of difference when it comes to thickness/comfortable seating, especially on a relatively short hop within Europe, they all feel the same if you ask me.

G
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Old Jun 1, 2018, 10:15 am
  #63  
 
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I can't compare it with shorthaul business class in other airlines, as I don't fly enough. But I do know that I've been extremely uncomfortable on BA's A320, to the point where I've experienced extreme pain when I've stood up and my arse started to de-numb. It really was agony, and not something you tend to discuss with fellow passengers to see if they feel the same way.

I'm not particularly large - I don't know why I feel such discomfort. My recent shorthaul flights on other airlines have been in economy; although I've felt a bit claustrophobic I haven't experienced pain or numbness. Ryanair uses B737s which seem fine to me. I'm also fine on BA Cityflyer (economy), which uses Embraer.
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Old Jun 1, 2018, 10:59 am
  #64  
 
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It is awful. Can someone explain why there are 3 seats with one blocked off instead of having two large, wide decent sized, proper business class seats? What's the point of the middle one at all?
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Old Jun 1, 2018, 11:07 am
  #65  
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Originally Posted by france77
Can someone explain why there are 3 seats with one blocked off instead of having two large, wide decent sized, proper business class seats? What's the point of the middle one at all?
To give you extra space as one of the features of business class.

If there are only two seats in a row, they can only be used as business class seats, even if there aren't many business class passengers on board. If there are three seats with the middle one blocked, then the row can be used either for business class or for economy. The cabin sizes are therefore flexible, to match demand. That has been the way that BA short-haul has been set up for very many years now.
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Old Jun 1, 2018, 11:08 am
  #66  
 
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Originally Posted by turkeyRIOO
Would the 767 CE not be worse; no difference in the AB and JK seats from ET and 30 inch pitch?
This gets my vote as the poorest J seat in the fleet.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 3:37 am
  #67  
 
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Originally Posted by escape4
Clearly Better than BA:
...
Swiss 34 3B
...
Not sure about carriers outside Europe, but based on this, BA indeed arguably has the worst J seat in the sky, unless other aircraft types would show differences.
I flew with Swiss just a couple of days ago, between Berlin and Zurich, and disagree that their business product is "clearly better than BA". The seats were marginally less comfortable than BA's, with the middle seat kept free but no table. The meal, on this one-hour flight, was a bit of a joke: a mini-quiche the size of a 5-franc coin, a spoonful of cold chicken curry and a spoonful of mango panna cotta.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 4:38 am
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by ThatT1Feeling
an Economy seat with a shared middle table
*until that is enhanced away.

Flew on G-TTNA to WAW the other day. The missing middle table annoyed me immensely: a miserly removal that has materially devalued CE in my opinion.

It is (was) a great place to keep a couple of drinks and one’s phone without needing the tray.

Frankly a pathetic spec downgrade. I’m sure others will tell me that LH is the same etc but there are reasons why I fly BA over other - often cheaper - EU rivals. They are fast diminishing.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 4:55 am
  #69  
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Originally Posted by escape4
If pitch is 30 for BA and 32 for Air Serbia, what makes BA CE better? I have never tried Air Serbia so I cannot comment. Is the seat thinner and less comfy than on BA despite the difference in pitch? Is it also 3 each side with middle seat blocked?
JU uses the current issue of slimline Recaro seats (similar to the newer generation seating on Lufthansa), so BA's Pinnacle seats would generally be regarded as more comfortable, though it's a subjective view. In terms of actual impression I doubt many people would prefer JU to BA, the spacing between seats looks the same and there's no middle seat table on JU, so it looks like it's available for general seating. There is a materiality point here,JU flies 11 of the A320 series aircraft on a limited network, compared to approximately 127 such aircraft for BA.

Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Jun 2, 2018 at 7:51 am Reason: see below
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 4:56 am
  #70  
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Originally Posted by TheJayHatch
Flew on G-TTNA to WAW the other day. The missing middle table annoyed me immensely: a miserly removal that has materially devalued CE in my opinion.

It is (was) a great place to keep a couple of drinks and one’s phone without needing the tray.
I hope you have sent a complaint in about this.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 7:43 am
  #71  
 
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
SU uses the current issue of slimline Recaro seats (similar to the newer generation seating on Lufthansa), so BA's Pinnacle seats would generally be regarded as more comfortable, though it's a subjective view. In terms of actual impression I doubt many people would prefer SU to BA, the spacing between seats looks the same and there's no middle seat table on SU, so it looks like it's available for general seating. There is a materiality point here, SU flies 11 of the A320 series aircraft on a limited network, compared to approximately 127 such aircraft for BA.
JU (as of Air Serbia) perhaps? Unless you switched to Aeroflot (SU) all of a sudden! Mind you, they both share a somewhat similar alphabet and faith in terms of religion so it’s easy to get confused

G


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Old Jun 2, 2018, 7:50 am
  #72  
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Originally Posted by AlicorporateUK
JU (as of Air Serbia) perhaps? Unless you switched to Aeroflot (SU) all of a sudden! Mind you, they both share a somewhat similar alphabet and faith in terms of religion so it’s easy to get confused
Apologies, I'll correct my previous post, indeed I managed to swap them over in my mind.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 7:55 am
  #73  
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If you board a Club Europe flight with the mindset that flexible seating is rubbish then of course you will have a bad experience. But if you board with an open mind you should find the seat comfortable, the fabric and side table design stylish and elegant, the service friendly and the experience quite a pleasant way to spend a three or four hours.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 7:45 pm
  #74  
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Originally Posted by TheJayHatch

Flew on G-TTNA to WAW the other day. The missing middle table annoyed me immensely: a miserly removal that has materially devalued CE in my opinion.

It is (was) a great place to keep a couple of drinks and one’s phone without needing the tray.
Or, for something more substantial, it enables me to put the drink on the middle table while my laptop occupies my table, enabling me to work.

I will need to choose between a glass of water and my laptop on the aircraft with new interior, which to me is a serious downgrade which may in fact drive me off BA to carriers with a middle table.
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Old Jun 2, 2018, 9:38 pm
  #75  
 
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Originally Posted by Sixth Freedom
But if you board with an open mind you should find the seat comfortable
An open mind doesn't give me enough space to put my knees together. A proper business class does.
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