flagler1

Anyone know if the economy seats on the new A350 are the same width as on A380/77W? or are they more narrow?

chicagodesi

Would like to know as well!

glob99

http://www.airline-update.com/singap...y-class-seats/

The Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 Economy Class has a 3-3-3 seat layout: three seats on the left side of the plane, three seats in the middle and three on the right. The seat pitch in the Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 Economy Class cabin is 32 inches. The seat width is 18 inches.

lokijuh

My gut feel? Same as 77WN (new 77W's) which seem slightly narrower and more recline than the old 77W's and IMHO as a 6' tall broad shouldered male less comfortable than the old 77W and A380 Y seats.

sqyf

Hi flagler1, chicagodesi,

I've flown SQ's 777-300ER with the latest 2013 Y product (i.e. 77WN) several times and I flew in the SQ A350 for the first time last month. On my A350 flight, I was seated in the PEY cabin, but did head back to Y to check out the economy seats.

My initial impression is that both seats are fairly similar in design, styling and IFE, and both are comfortable to sit in, and have very good recline for a Y seat. Both the 77WN and A350 have a 9-abreast 3-3-3 layout.

I did not spend a lot of time in the A350 Y seat, but overall it seems similar in terms of overall comfort to the 77WN Y seat. The armrests look marginally narrower, and maybe the seat was fractionally less wide, but the difference was quite subtle -- it was hard to be sure. I'll need to revisit this topic when I try the A350 on a longhaul flight.

The overall impression I had from this flight, considering both the economy seat and cabin ambience, was that the ambience of the 77WN was just slightly more open and spacious than the A350.

All that said, I was quite happy with the SQ A350 Y seat. It is better than any 10-abreast 777 that EK and many other airlines use, and also superior to a 9-abreast 787. I see the SQ 77WN Y cabin as being just slightly superior in terms of spaciousness and ambience to the A350, but both are really very good Y products, among the best out there.

If you compare the SQ A350 with the SQ A380 or 77W (i.e. 777-300ER with 2006 Y product), the A380 main deck (10-abreast main deck) feels very open and spacious, and of course so does the 77W cabin, but these use a slightly older Y seat design (Which is still a strong and competitive Y offering), and I personally prefer the newest A350 Y seat to 2006 Y on the A380/77W.

Some pictures of the A350 economy seat here, and also the SQ 77WN economy seat here. For comparison, pics of the SQ A380 main deck Y cabin can be found here. (Note that the links take you to an external site, SQTalk.)

lokijuh

Way too much recline for a Y seat, IMHO. Enough for me to want to avoid it. I find it uncomfortable to recline too far, yet if I don't recline I have a IFE monitor in my face when the person in front reclines fully.

leogeo

SQ has not changed the recline for its YCL seats on the A 359. It is the same as the 2013 seats and even the 2007 A380 seats.

lokijuh

I have no doubt it is the same as the 2013 seats. However these definitely feels like a bigger recline than the original 2006 77W seats. Have spent many hours on the 2006 77W model and the 2013 seats definitely feel more cramped to me, and never had the IFE in my face problem on older seats.

sqyf

I actually find the SQ 2013 Y seats on the 77WN very comfortable, with great recline. One of the best, if not the best, Y hard products out there. The A350 Y seats are quite similar, and I am quite looking forward to trying them out on a long haul flight.

The 2006 Y seats on the 77W and A380 (And A330) are still very good, but I prefer the 2013 Y seats on account of the better IFE, and slightly better seat comfort and perceived recline.

chicagodesi

Do you know if the armrests go all the way up in economy on the A350 and 777W?

sqyf

The Y seats on the SQ 77W, 77WN and A380 all have armrests that go all the way up.

On the A350 I didn't try raising the Y armrests, but they look like they do go up. I would be surprised if they didn't.

dusdidt

Are there entertainment power boxes under certain seats limiting legroom in economy on the Singapore A350-9? Qatar Airlines doesn't have those awful boxes on their A350s.

pokfur

No there aren't, and also not on the 77W, A380, and A330.

LY777

I have also flown the 77WN in Y on MEL-SIN, and I have found it very comfortable. Then, I took my connecting flight SIN-CDG on an A380, and I found it ancient in comparison (of course, it is still a very good product).
Can't to see the A380s retrofitted with new seats

davidj1

Had the opportunity to try out the A350 economy seat/aircraft on the weekend. My observations below.

Pros:
1. Good cabin pressurization (similar to the A380).

2. Seat cushioning is good/acceptable. No numbing problems being seated for 13+ hours.

3. Good external window size. Good call by Airbus to leave out the electronic window shades used in the 787.

4. New small touches such as sensor bathroom taps and sensor bin lid opening (when they work, see below). Seat belt warnings are now shown using LCD screens (good), however the quality of the picture coupled with the massive back light bleed makes this feature look gimmicky. Good in seat screens and UI.

Cons:
1. Leg/feat room somehow felt different. I'm referring to stretching out legs completely underneath the seat in front being limited. The under seat space feels limited. It feels like you hit the seat bar (separating the seat space in front) sooner than other SIA aircraft. This brings me to point two..

2. The depth of the seat feels less than previous SIA aircraft, which subsequently may have reduced the underseat space described above.

3. The seat generally feels narrower and shallower compared to the very good 777-2/300/A380 seats.

4. Cabin noise and external noise intrusion is very poor, and I rate it poorly with other poor aircraft such as the 777-2/3.

5. Cabin feels smaller. In fact the aircraft feels quiet compact. This could be a good thing too.

6. The aircraft I was on was 10 months old. General condition of the aircraft is as expected, new. EXCEPT for the bathrooms. They looked poorly maintained, with what seemed about 5 years of wear. One bathroom tap was broken and someone had substituted using a 1L bottle of Italian aqua, naturale mind you.

7. The new LCD screens being used in for the seat belt alerts bleed so much light at night it kills the blue mood lighting, and you probably won't need your reading light.


Overall, coupled with the 'enhanced' business seats, the hype with this aircraft (fit out) is smoke and mirrors. Sure it does the job well, but I feel its implementation could have been so much better (like the 787). Feels rushed and cheap.

Long live the A380 which seems like was the last real game changer in aviation.