serfty

If you are in row 24 on a Qantas 744 then it MUST be a Skybed.

See here for links to all Qantas 744 configurations:
FWIW, I travelled in PE in a row 23 Skybed back in January.

NM

Its common for Qantas to sell Premium Economy on that route and operate with a 2-class aircraft seating PE passengers in Business Class seats with PR service.

pssteve

Thanks for the responses. Now I can look forward to the flight.

JDiver

I've flown 12E twice, 13E once... 12E / F are absolutely my favourite J seats in the A380! At least when flying solo... with Lady JDiver maybe 12 AB or JK, but then again, E and F allow separate and untrammeled aisle access. The seats become fully flat beds... with a "canopy" over your head with a touch-operated lamp, extra controls to make the bed flat or slanted, a water bottle niche, some storage. (Magazines go into a storage slot immediately behind you at one side.)

There is a large pocket in front of you for storage, and some smaller bits for temporary storage, including one for the noise-reducing headphones set - but I have seen some loose items as large as books into the various spaces here. There is a gooseneck LED sufficient to read by, activated merely by raising the lamp at your side. A button raises or lowers a privacy panel separating you from your seat mate, another allows the goodly-sized LCD IFE touch screen - also operable with the corded control at your side, which also operates the overhead light. The seat itself is operated by a control panel that is very intuitive and well illustrated, and is infinitely variable, with adjustable lumbar support and at least two types of massage.



Row 11 is bulkhead close, no underseat storage in front of you, and is separated from the Purer's office, self-service bar, and starboard seating lounge by cloth curtains - it could be noisy with FA or thirsty pax chatter, though the so-called lounge is not all that welcoming IMO and only seats two sets of up to three in close proximity in nearly bench seating paralleling the fuselage, sofa-seating with low backs in any case.



Row 13 is in front of the bulkhead - close to galleys and the lavs, so again it can be noisy.

Row 12 is between, less noisy. Engine noise and vibration this far forward and high are nearly negligible, drinks and meal service is quick, lavs and self-serve bar are close, cabin feels intimate and cosy, everything is at hand, boarding you turn left, everyone else turns right for the trek to last J rows or PE. The minicabin is much nicer, IMO than the next J cabin with 9 rows. And the second starboard (right side as you are facing the pointy part) lav back is the handicapped lav, much easier for big folks donning or donning pyjamas than the other three significantly smaller lavs.

BTW, window seats have additional fuselage storage bins for those who prefer window seating (but realise you will have to do a little "climbing" over your fully-reclined seatmate to access the aisle).



For me it's even better because I tend to set my watch to destination time on departure, and then try to live by that as much as possible (e.g. departing SYD at 1330 means lunch is dinner, and then it's time to catch some kip, wake up for brekkies and hit the ground. The larger the cabin, the likelier some will insist on haw-hawing through the IFE or have lengthy conversations with their sudden seat soul mates or hyperactively enthused family members embarking on their most recent (mis)adventure. (I am ably assisted in that endeavour by a supporting cast of my BYO decent ear plugs and sleep mask.)

JDiver

I bagged this seat on SFO-SYD three class service (no F) with J service.

The F cabin is much smaller, feeling somewhat more intimate, and of course has the much greater seat pitch etc. than J (and no dreaded middle seat). The far-forward cabin is less noisy as you are as far ahead of the engines as you can get. I am 6'4" as previously stated, and I like the seat pitch (less so the "seams" left on the seat when fully extended).



The good: Intimate cabin, your own seat, no shared bits or even wall, and the seat with the greatest distance from others' seats (along with 3A). Some storage (Row 4 A and K have more storage in the bassinet area, but I watched the chap occupying that seat get bumped - both seat and feet - several times during the flight). 1A and K, BTW, are very closet-close, albeit the most private seats here - but the closet does get used, and light sleepers will undoubtedly get disturbed. Lav and galley immediately behind this forward cabin, so meal and drinks service come quickly, and you do not have far to roam to access services.

2, 3 and 4 EF are good for those flying with someone whey wish to converse with. All of these pods have guest seating for sharing meals or chat with another.

The bad: the cabin is appearing a bit worn, the seating pod a bit outdated, the seat / bed is somewhat narrow, overhead bins are a bit less commodious. The cabin itself can feel a bit like a college dorm, particularly if inhabited by larger numbers of adults with their sproggies or younger enthused people who don their pyjamas and then act like this is a slumber party laid on for them (my flight had all of these).

Executive summary: give me A380 12 E or F in preference (but I saved 20% of my already low Business fare by booking, er, ex-LAX, even though I was routed on AA to SFO for this flight and back to LAX from SYD on the A380). If I had been required to book a J seat, the SUD would have been my preference.

Ewing

This is an exit row window seat in this cabin.

I've now had this seat twice (out of 3 flights in this cabin), and it's fantastic. There is plenty of leg room and if you are a sole traveller you get the benefits of the window (such as a storage bin) and are able to get up without disturbing your neighbour. As you can't reach the seat in front of you, you have a magazine holder mounted alongside the wall.

Some observations are that this seat can get a little bit cold during flight. It is noticeably cooler than other seats in the cabin, but I found this a lot more comfortable. (I'm based in Canberra and do not keep my bedroom heated during winter ).

In some of the seats in this cabin you may find the person behind you grab your seat to get out when you're fully reclined. This isn't an issue in this row as there are no seats behind.

This seat is the last to be served (with 38J) during meal service, but my meal choice was discretely taken before service began so that it could be set aside. This may be at the discretion of the crew and is likely linked to status, so YMMV.

The only problem I had was on one of the flights where people were using the space in front of the seats to mingle - I even had one of them step on my foot and wake me up. The FA soon put a stop to it though.

pssteve

Some comments on Qantas 747 4 class with 32 PE seats rows 34 thru 37. Both seatexpert and seatguru cover only part of the issues I saw. 36A and K have no window period. 37A and K have 2 mis-alingned windows. Basically only rows 34 and 35 have actual window seats. I don't see any negatives about seats are 34 A and K bulkhead. I would book them in a heart beat. Seats in PE section were comfortable with my only negative being lack of a real foot rest. There was plenty of room for it to extend another 2-3 inches higher but it was designed as a wimp.
One last point. If you are booked on an A 380 which gets changed to a 747 carefully check the new seats. My family was assigned 36F J and K on the A 380 which I understand are 2 aisle seats and a great window seat. When the 747 was substituted Qantas took the lazy route and plopped us into the same 3 seats which are a window seat without a window,and an aisle seat that is in the middle. I was able to correct these issues 2 days before the flight but there were some anxious days while we traveled the Outback between Darwin and Broome.

m0hamed

Can someone advise which exit row seats on QF002 on 30/01/2010 BKK-SYD have the crew rest in front of them? I asked the premium line and she got us allocated 16J/K, but the maps on qantas.com have 2 4 class 747s which have the crew rest in front of 16A/B on one version, an 16J/K on the other.

We were originally assigned 11A/B but at 6'2" I found returning on QF108 that my feet hit the wall in front of me, thus feeling every bump of the aircraft.

tallboy

These are not crew rest seats, they are crew seats for take-off and landing.

During the flight the crew won't be using them unless required to be seated due turbulence. Even when they are seated there is no restriction to pax legroom.

tb

m0hamed

But doesn't the one without the crew seats in front of them have unlimited legroom? Could anyone shed any light on the particular flight I have mentioned?

tallboy

As indicated, either pair of seats in row 16 have ample legroom ~ I am 195cm (6'5") and my feet don't even get close to the F/As on take-off and landing.

The difficulty with the specific flight you mentioned is that the date cited has already been and gone <30/01/2010>. Did you mean 2011?

m0hamed

yes, 2011, sorry.

JHIN

Are all J seats on the A380 and 744 now truly lie flat?

NM

747 has SkyBed Mk I and they are flat but not horizontal (i.e. sloping). A380 has Skybed Mk II and they are both flat and parallel with the floor when fully reclined.

flashware

I believe the 744's are being re-fit with Mk II's.