Foofighter69

Just trying to be careful about seating in legacy CW to avoid facing strangers. It’s two people on the booking, 32J Gatwick 777.

Options are A/B, J/K (window/aisle) or E/F (middle 2). Currently I have selected:

1J/K on the way out (to reduce risk of transmission on way to destination with low infection rates - Antigua)

2 E/F on way back for better more private space to sleep but away from the edges of the cabin and galley noise - but carrying risk of transmission from passengers in D/G seats (lower risk than way out given people generally will be return passengers from Antigua rather than connecting?)

Basically I’m trying to trade transmission risk for privacy. I know it’s not an exact science but wondered what everyone else is doing/thinking of doing when in legacy CW.

What would you do?

BrianDromey

Its an interesting question as most suggestions or recommendations are not to face towards people. On planes the fore/aft configuration is almost exclusive to BA. That said there are screens, but the crew are in the habit of moving them up and down.

It's a small cabin, so for a couple I would suggest A/B or J/K pairs - assuming you live in the same household. Other passengers should be wearing masks when not eating and certainly when moving about the cabin, so I wouldn't be hugely worried about that. Its also worth remembering that COVID-19 transmission from surfaces has not been reported in the literature. While it is theoretically possible in highly-controlled lab-based environments in the real world it is so unlikely as to be considered impossible.

mikeyfly

I'm (currently!) in and out of LGW on 32J end of June. I've booked 1E/F both ways. I think screens straight up this offers most privacy.

If you're worried about transmission, probably best to give flying a miss... Fifty-two passengers on one flight from Delhi to Hong Kong test positive for Covid-19 after landing | Daily Mail Online !

LCY8737

There is a very good article on Head for Points about on-board transmission during SARS, outlining how the virus managed to infect 7 rows in front and 5 row behind an infected passenger. Given some Covid strains are more infectious than SARS I don't think it makes any difference whether OP sits in an aisle, window or center seat.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/0...na-flight-112/

Speedbirdsouth

I would select myJ seats exactly the same now as I did pre covid based on the seats I prefer not to do with covid, but others may be more willing to compromise on preference post covid, I guess based on their perception of risk.

tc69

I sat in 7k on a 787 (900 I think)- it was the mini cabin behind 1st class. This was one of the last flights out of Delhi recently. I was told by NHS track and trace yesterday that I was in close proximity to someone who had tested positive and I needed to self-isolate. Thankfully, I am on day 9 and all my previous PCR tests have been negative. I selected 7k because it is easy to get out of the window seat. Perhaps the mini cabin is not such a good idea, but then again, I am not sure if choosing the larger CW cabin makes a difference. It probably does not make a difference to infection chances, but may make a small difference to being contacted by track and trace.

shefgab

1K is a nice seat, 1J is an awful seat, right next to the curtain, which will be opened and closed throughout the flight. People will (from time to time) stand in your legroom to try and get past, especially during boarding.

Maybe try for the centre pair in the last row, so you can both get out, and the crew and serve around the side rather than have to open the divider? I think that's a bassinet position though.

747-800i

With the 744's gone and UD CW off the table, I hope to never have to endure legacy CW again.

mikeyfly

It'll be here for quite a while longer on the 787-8 787-9 and A380s ...

1Aturnleft

Historically row 15AC / 15HK have been my preferred CW seats on a 4 class 777-200 or the equivalent on the 777-300, 3 class triples and on 788's and 789's. Basically the last row of 2 in Club in the cabin where the window seat has an unobstructed route out to the aisle. Although on the 4 class triples these are the basinette position so there's no certainty these will be selectable until OLCI opens. The 3 class triples (non Gatwick version) plus the dreamliners have double the amount of my favourite seats as the club cabin stretches beyond a set of exits which forms a natural partition for galley and services etc. Interestingly not all are designated infant basinette positions so it's possible to secure some of these at time of booking.

Muckus

I chose seats in the mini-cabin for an upcoming flight based on the reasoning that by turning left upon boarding you don't have to sit through 30+ minutes of people walking by you (and thus breathing on you). One question I have is whether the curtaina are open or closed these days? Is the mini cabin curtained off for hours during the flight, or are they leaving all privacy curtaina open to promote circulation? I haven't flown since March 2020, so perhaps a recent J flyer can fill us in on this....

T8191

Yup ... same here. iWife in the aisle-accessable window seat to be as far as possible from other pax ... nothing to do with Covid-19!

HIDDY

Indeed....and probably best to give BA CW a miss for ever if you can't hack being in certain seats.

JessicaB

Surely it's also worth remembering that everyone on that flight will have had a test within 3 days of flying and you will have had the vaccine. I'm pretty sure you are more likely to get Covid in Antigua than on the plane on this basis.

Bohinjska Bistrica

Everyone arriving in the UK from India needed to present similar, but the variant still made it here. It is of course very difficult to day for sure whether some of these cases were caught on the plane or whether the virus was incubating when the negative test was returned.
​​​​​​
There is no risk free option. If catching Covid is a serious concern based on one's own risk profiles, the only option (IMO) is not to fly.
​​​
​​​​​