skywardhunter

The angled flat thing is a branding issue, there's no less comfort because the 77W J seats go to 170 instead of 180 degrees. In fact, arguably, this is better, as a 777 usually cruises at a 5-10 degree nose-up attitude, thus a 180 degree flat seat would mean your feet are above your heard, possibly uncomfortably so.

DatBoi

With QR and EY there is high inconsistency in the product and many cities are served in J with recliner seats.
No chauffeur either along with inferior wine lists on both.

stargold

Forgot about the 7-across too - definitely not 5-star.5-10 degree nose-up at cruise? As far as I'm aware, it's more like 2 degrees, and the angle is certainly not "no less comfort", unless you enjoy having your beds at home at an angle.

For a fully flat seat, there is always the option of very slightly raising the backrest to counteract the slight nose-up pitch if it is noticeable. It will never be as much as the angle of the 777 seat, however.

XXTSGR

stargold

In fact, the take-off angle is generally 5-15 degrees, according to Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeof...zontal_takeoff

The A380 in particular seems to take off at such a shallow angle that I'm frequently wondering whether we are, in fact, climbing.

skywardhunter

You're right, it's more like 2-3 degrees on the fuselage, which achieves the most efficient angle of attack on the wing. Either way, I agree the 7-abreast is a issue but the "angled" lie-flat has never bothered me

amnicoll

Interesting conversation - all airlines have faults but what is missing is exactly what objective measures SkyTrax use to pass judgement and how they weight the factors and unfortunately they fail to tell us. For a long while (and for all I know still do) Etihad premium passengers transferring at Abu Dhabi were forced to queue for security with economy passengers as there was no separate queue for the premium scanners (yes they had scanners for premium passengers just not a separate queue). In addition unless you went to board early again there was usually no premium priority and the 777s all used one entrance for everyone even though at Manchester and Bangkok both doors were used for boarding and exit. Somehow though they get 5 stars.

I wonder if 1-2-1 or 2-2-2 in business is a criteria but I must say that as a customer I would look for 1-2-1 if it is practical.

skywardhunter

More than 1-2-1 or 2-2-2 etc I think what matters is direct aisle access. 2-2-2 can offer direct aisle access, I think it's the Apex suites? EK on the A380 has something similar (but not quite as they're still separate rows), I'm perfectly happy with that vs 1-2-1 as the entire point of 1-2-1 is to have direct aisle access, as long as a 2-2-2 offers that and enough personal space and privacy... so it's also up to the "soft" factors as to perceived space and comfort, and that'll have to be scored by a human in their subjective view