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

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

Old May 30, 2018, 7:56 pm
  #1  
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Is BA's A320 the worst business class seat in the sky?

I've flying Business class to Greece from the US and I was astonished to see that one of the flights is an A320 in which every seats in the plane appear to have the exact same width and pitch with the only difference for "Club Europe" being that the middle seat is blocked out.

Am I missing something or is this the worst business class seat in the sky?
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Old May 30, 2018, 7:58 pm
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Originally Posted by MrAOK
Am I missing something or is this the worst business class seat in the sky?
Yes, you are missing something.

The fact that this is pretty much the standard for intra-Europe J.
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Old May 30, 2018, 8:36 pm
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Try SAS - its 3 across - they dont block the middle seat...
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Old May 30, 2018, 8:39 pm
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You're not missing anything, it's horrific.

If you think the seat looks bad, just wait for the lovely meal they'll be serving.
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Last edited by Prospero; May 31, 2018 at 1:29 am Reason: to comply with Rule 12.1
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Old May 30, 2018, 8:45 pm
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Originally Posted by Calum
You're not missing anything, it's horrific.


OP asked if BA's A320 business seat was the worst seat in the sky - implying that it was somehow unusual. It's not unusual - it is bad - but it is not the worst seat in the sky as all the A319s, 737s, A321s, etc.. flying around Europe with essentially the same product would attest to.

Last edited by Prospero; May 31, 2018 at 1:30 am Reason: remove response to deleted content
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Old May 30, 2018, 9:01 pm
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Originally Posted by JIMBOLIGUY
Try SAS - its 3 across - they dont block the middle seat...
To be fair, SAS removed business class for intra-European flights a long time ago. What you are referring to here is SAS Plus (and yes, you can argue that calling it Minus would be more fitting), which is a Premium Economy product only.

On topic of BA, I actually find the seat more comfortable than eg. its LH/LX/OS counterparts - that is, if you have row 1 or at least nobody reclining the seat in front of you.
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Old May 30, 2018, 9:09 pm
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Originally Posted by SKT-DK
To be fair, SAS removed business class for intra-European flights a long time ago. What you are referring to here is SAS Plus (and yes, you can argue that calling it Minus would be more fitting), which is a Premium Economy product only.
The issue with SAS is that it is still called "Business" when booked as a codeshare/connecting flight when booked via other carriers.
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Old May 30, 2018, 9:16 pm
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Would the 767 CE not be worse; no difference in the AB and JK seats from ET and 30 inch pitch?
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Old May 30, 2018, 9:19 pm
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In my case it's just an add on to a CW or F TATL. In most cases reducing the fare to LHR if that had been my destination, For that I'll take the empty middle seat and space underneath the middle seat and just sit there for 2 hours. No big deal. I don't expect NA transcontinental business class seating nor do I have to put up with a 4+hr transcontinental unless you are going to Greece ,Cyprus from LHR etc. Cheap TP's too

Last edited by Prospero; May 31, 2018 at 1:32 am Reason: remove quotation of deleted content
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Old May 30, 2018, 9:27 pm
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Originally Posted by Crampedin13A
In my case it's just an add on to a CW or F TATL. In most cases reducing the fare to LHR if that had been my destination, For that I'll take the empty middle seat and space underneath the middle seat and just sit there for 2 hours. No big deal. I don't expect NA transcontinental business class seating nor do I have to put up with a 4+hr transcontinental unless you are going to Greece ,Cyprus from LHR etc. Cheap TP's too
I am guilty of this just like anyone else. Nothing quite says welcome back to the UK after a First or CW flight and cramming yourself in to a CE seat for the short hop home.

I nearly booked it the other day going to LIS too, the flights I wanted were Ł310 in ET and Ł420 in CE... Decided I liked having Ł110 more.
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Old May 30, 2018, 11:16 pm
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Originally Posted by Calum
You're not missing anything, it's horrific.

If you think the seat looks bad, just wait for the lovely meal they'll be serving.
Which is usually much better than what is available on the US flights I have flown on. That is when you are lucky enough to get a meal rather a packet of crisps.

Although I will concede that I do like that AA serve a drink whilst boarding.

Last edited by Prospero; May 31, 2018 at 1:33 am Reason: Amend quotation
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Old May 31, 2018, 12:24 am
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To the OP - if you're used to the Domestic First configuration on carriers such as AA, then you will be surprised and disappointed by most European carriers' offerings in Business Class. BA used to provide more width on their CE product by reducing the width of the middle seat with some clever armrest configuration, but that has gone now and you're left with an Economy seat with a shared middle table.

I've more than once heard visitors from the US be surprised that this is all they get for the money at the front of the plane. It's pretty standard across Europe as others have said, and the US and East Asian carriers tend to provide a better hard product at the front on shorthaul.
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Old May 31, 2018, 12:29 am
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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?
The 767’s have 34in pitch in CE as they still have the old style converter seats.
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Old May 31, 2018, 12:42 am
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Originally Posted by Calum
If you think the seat looks bad, just wait for the lovely meal they'll be serving.
It's a Long flight, we don't tend to get many complaints about the catering, moreover I would suggest it is a somewhat better meal than some USA airlines would provide (if they provide any at all), albeit this is a subjective perspective.

OP - if you want to avoid this, your only likely realistic alternative is to fly via IST or beyond. TK has wider seating and is one of the few in this part of the world to have dedicated premium seating. That said you need to be careful since ATH-IST is one of the few routes which can occasionally have similar (or worse!) seating to BA. Alternatively arrive into Greece on a longhaul service, such as Delta's JFK service to ATH.
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Old May 31, 2018, 1:05 am
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Originally Posted by MrAOK
I've flying Business class to Greece from the US and I was astonished to see that one of the flights is an A320 in which every seats in the plane appear to have the exact same width and pitch with the only difference for "Club Europe" being that the middle seat is blocked out.

Am I missing something or is this the worst business class seat in the sky?
Check out KLM - I can't say for all flights but for AMS-TXL we had extra legroom in addition to nobody in the middle seat.
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