I like the new SeatGuru overlays as well, but I agree with this sentiment. Before it was very very easy to scan an entire plane's seatmap and instantly see the empty seats. When looking at the new maps, I'm not sure there is a lot of value in detailing a miniature person complete with head, arms, hands, legs, and feet. It tends to make the map very busy and more difficult to parse mentally. I would suggest that this semi-detailed icon could just show an opaque shape, perhaps a solid color, with just a round head.

I think the goal of the seatmaps should really be first and foremost to make it blisteringly easy to quickly identify where the open seats are. This means making the representations for the empty/occupied seats as opposite as possible. A secondary goal is to provide extra information about special seats. This means smaller, subtler clues about which seats have extra legroom, power, etc. Under no circumstances should the second goal disrupt the primary goal.

Overall, I'm glad the functionality has been added. Hopefully with some tweaks it could be even better.

I fully prefer the new seat map version. It's relatively easy to see and matches the style a lot of airlines use on their own res. systems.

One bug, which is probably not really a bug hence just being posted here, is that on a TG 744 where equipment is specified as 747 All Equipment, the upper deck does not have any popups. Lower deck is OK with seatguru popups though. I think this has to do with TG not specifying equipment code 744.

EDIT: I just tested it with another TG flight with 744 specified and still no popups. So will be reporting this in.

Glad to see it's helping already. ^

Agree with the above.

I despise the new seatmaps.

I don't need trip advisor to tell me which seats are good or bad for most of my flights. If I do need further information I can look it up on seatguru or seatexpert.

In the case of the first seat map I saw with this new layout the recommendations were even completely incorrect. [NZ726 Dec 3, 2010 (A320)]

What was a simple, easy to read interface is now cluttered with unnecessary busy graphic.

Bring back the blue boxes!!!

If not, at the very least make seat guru images/data optional (like like the pop-ups can be turned off) ... and make this a profile option as well.

It quite hard when = = = . i.e. "All are available"

SeatGuru is TripAdvisor.

It's the exact same data as is on SG's website for the NZ A320: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air...irbus_A320.php If some of the review data is wrong, then you should submit a comment to them using the form on that page.

If you don't want to see the pop-ups when you hover over a seat, click the "Turn Off Pop-ups" check box.

As for the new icons, they are here to stay. We actually kept the color scheme the same as icons representing seats that are in some way available have a white background, whereas seats that are in some way not available have a dark fill or background, just like before. At first, I had the same reaction but after using them for several weeks internally we don't notice a difference and like them better, give it a chance.

I saw that; It would be better to have a profile option as well to make this information available or not without having to check it every time; more than that, if turned off, simply have the to show an available seat in all cases.
Seatexpert is wrong as well. NZ are changing their configuration. In reality I stopped using those while expecting them to be correct some years ago.

Please, hire a good designer to make these decisions for you. Not a "web designer" or a "web developer" or a middle manager who knows what he likes when he sees it. Someone professional who understands how things like color palettes and character kerning work and influence the user experience.

Rather than encouraging users to just "get used to it, we did," find someone who can look at two design alternatives and TELL you which one is better. And back up his statements with research and studies and experience.

At least 3 users have already tried out the new version, expressed their dislike of a specific facet, and offered reasonable explanations for their views. If you want feedback, we would love to give it to you. But to then turn right around and wave off any negative points expressed with a dismissive "they are here to stay" is rather offputting.

As always, feedback is welcome and encouraged. As noted earlier, please send it to [email protected] so it can be seen by the appropriate people, thanks.

I like the new version better than the old. Some airline maps show a dark indicator as available, some show it as vacant. When looking at the previous EF maps I sometimes got confused between available or vacant. Now it is more obvious - to me. I'm wondering how many comments they received about the old maps that prompted the change? I'm sure they receive comments and suggestions apart from those posted on FT. Having said that, I know that many suggestions received by them here on EF have resulted in changes. I guess there is a balance between what all the subscriber comments are, what is possible, etc.

3 - 2 (payam81 and me) = 1. YMMV, as always.

I too like the new layout ... does that make it

3 - 3 = 0?

I really like the new information. I find it easy to use and valuable. I just checked my next two trips and found I'd selected well. Normally my selections have been seatguru favorites, but not always.

Thanks for doing this.

OK....this seems strange to me. I am running an "Awards & Upgrades" query for LAX - LHR for Z, A, U & C & I get "Z0 A2 U0 C0" for flight AA136.

If I run the same query, but this time set for LAX - MXP via LHR, I get "Z7 U7 C7" for the same flight AA136!

Is this a bug or a feature? Shouldn't the results come out the same?

This is called Married Segment Logic (or Journey Control) and it allows the airlines to show different availability for a flight based on what other flights it may be paired with on an itinerary. Basically, it's the revenue management department at work.

Done!

Here's a good example of what sort of seatmap I would expect from a modern, for-pay service.

Key points:
1) Modern images make it clear this wasn't thrown together with some simple HTML coding in 10 minutes
2) Simple, muted color scheme makes it pleasing to the eye
3) Simple images keep the overall map de-cluttered and easy to process
4) Blazingly fast to identify occupied/empty seats
5) Clear indication of both exit rows and wing location
6) Clear distinction between seats that are taken (X) and seats that are available (color icon of empty seat)
7) More seat information is available in the sidebar by hovering over the desired seat (8C shown in this example)