JeremyAO

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've travelled down the back. I've got an upcoming trans Atlantic in Y on a 747 (70J) and I'm debating the merits of whether to use OLCI to swap what I've currently got (an A & a B in the penultimate row (i.e. the 2-across seats)) for a bulkhead at rows 33 or 40. I'm travelling in a couple and so the 2-across seats would be perfect… were it not for that nagging doubt that the extra pitch in a bulkhead might be worth it.

Can any of you recall what the seat pitch for a bulkhead might be like? In all my years the only times that I've ever travelled in a bulkhead seat is in C on UA or whilst wearing nappies (and in each case I try not to do too much of that nowadays).

BTW, I've checked the Ultimate Guide & Search (and I apologise in advance for what is a not-so-subtle twist on the perennial "What's The Best Seat" bugbear…).

Cheers all,

jbb1003

I got a bulkhead a couple of years ago (by helping the nanny sitting there, who was upgraded later in the flight), and there was significantly more leg space. However that was on a flight to Denver - I don't remember, but that suggests it was a 777.

I'm off to NZ (in Y ) in the 2 across seats in December - and there's no way I'd swap for a bulkhead - since it's on ANZ with 34" seat pitch. On BA, I'd probably take the bulkhead. But then, I've never had a 2 across.

PhilH

There is no "pitch" in the classic sense of the word in the bulkhead, as pitch is the distance between the same point on the seat in front of you.

But enough of the pedantry, there is not that much more room in the bulkheads. In fact, there is less room for your feet as you cannot extend them all the way under the seat in front, as the wall comes down to the floor, however there is much more space for you upper body and head as you don't have anyone reclining into you.

Another consideration is that the TV's are in the armrests and the armrests are correspondingly larger, which means the seat is narrower in the bulkead rows. Having said that, the engine noise in row 33 will be significantly less than back in the last rows of the plane, this is important for being able to properly hear the IFE (unless you've got NC headphones) or sleeping.

Personally I would always try to get row 33.

leaveamessage

The only long haul econ flight Ive ever taken was in 33A on a BA 747.
That was bad enough- my legs and ankles were sore for hours afterwards as I couldnt extend them properly due to the wall. I am around the 6' ish mark so that didnt help I am sure.
It was nice though not to have someones seat leaning back into my face (much the same as having 28b/J or 29A/K in WT+) as it felt less claustrophobic

Fraser

My last WT experience was in 33H, almost 3yrs back. Bulkhead beside the galley. To be honest I think the other seats in WT must be better. There was no room to stretch my feet out, whereas it might be possible in other seats. Also the galley noise was pretty intruding, as were the small children and babies in the bulkhead seats in the middle section.

I gave up trying to sleep and watched movies and crashed in a hospital (unrelated to the the flight ) later that morning. Not fun. Probably made worse by the bulkhead.

JeremyAO

Cheers all. V kind. In the end I think I might stick with the 2-across that we've got in the back of the van. My worry now is that it will take about a year to clear US immigration, what with 300+ people being ahead of us.

MacExtreme

Jeremy,
I flew back from JFK to LHR in the first row of the "double seats" back in April. I chose the seats after careful examination of my options; the front row of doubles has the most space between the window seat and the window, and I found it quite comfortable. However, I am 5' 10", and I had noise cancelling headphones. My only quandry was whether to go for the row behind, because I had read that it is possible for the pax in the window seat of the second double row to stretch his legs into the space between the seat infront and the window. The downside is that you are one row closer to the queue for the toilets. In the event, the space between the window seat and the window in the first row of doubles was taken up by bags, pillows, books, etc, so there wasn't any legroom advantage to the second row. The only disadvantage to being in the window seat of the first double row is that you are about 2 feet from the window and so cannot "lean" against the wall/window with your pillow to sleep, if that is what you like to do.
I would fly in those seats again, if I had to do the same flight.