Seats and compartments
 

How does the comfort of a "flat seat" compare with a compartment?

Trains have fuselage cross-section/loading gauge width of around 300 cm. Slightly less in Great Britain, more in most of the rest of the world (on broad track gauge). This means that trains can definitely be crammed with seats of limited or no recline arranged 4 or 5 abreast, 2-2 or 2-3.

But in upper classes, trains normally have compartments. An aisle to a side of car against wall, and private compartments on the other side, with 2 or 4 or 6 berths.

Logically, a sleeper car can have considerably fewer tickets than an all-seat car. However, the comfort must be worth the price.

Why don´t planes have private compartments? 757 or 320 are slightly wider than railroad cars, and should have the space for compartments. Widebodies ought to allow compartments on both sides of aisle?

What planes in first and business class have is single deeply reclined or lie-flat seats. If lie-flat seats really are such a fabulous idea, why do not trains have them?

Probably for the same reason that the curtains separating the cabins must be completely open during take-off and landing. Of course, that could be solved technically (wall that slides downward to open the compartment). But I don't think there are train compartments with reclining seats -> less comfort and more effort for the crews during service. There is also a potential safety issue: air-rage in a closed compartment might be stopped too late.

I've never seen a train ride that costs 9000 Euro for a 10 hour trip... If it did cost even half that much I'd almost expect my whole carriage for myself...

There is no doubt for me that lie-flat seats are a fabulous idea on long-hauls.

HTB.

Well, a few compartment-like interiors can be found. Like
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1022215/L/
How much does a 10 hour train ride in a seat cost?

Look at it this way: take, for example, a Transsiberian first class car.

A compartment there is 210 cm long and wide. 70 cm wide door and aisle in the middle, two 70 cm wide and 200 cm long beds on sides. The car has 9 of them - for a total of 18 tickets. It has 2 toilets in the ends and 2 attendants.

In about the same size of car (19 m length plus the thickness of compartment walls), you should be able to have, say, 24 rows of seats at 81 cm pitch. Total of 96 seats if 4 abreast, or 120 seats 5 abreast. 2 attendants and 2 toilets would not be out of place for a 96 seat all-economy plane.

Now, could you fill a second-class car with, say, 9 rows of lie-flat sleeper First Class seats, 3 abreast and little privacy?

Railways do not do this. Instead, the next lower class on Transsiberian is again 9 compartments, but 4 berths each, with upper berths.

The next lower one does not have compartment doors - what it does have is still compartment walls, but 6 berths, 4 across car as usual, and 2 - 1 lower and 1 upper - alongside the opposite wall.


Why do railways prefer upper berths to sleeper seats?

I think Boeing 307 and 314 also have berths across fuselage.

Just a guess, but it may have something to do with vehicle shape.

A train has straight sides and is just as wide at the ceiling level as it is at the floor level. An airplane -- not so much.

While you may be able to get 5 across seating at floor level, you might not be able to do that 5 feet above floor level.

If you sleeping berths in an airplane like they sometimes to on trains, I would imagine that those in upper level compartmetns would have to be shorter than those in lower level compartments.

Cromely.

United had sleeping berths, lower and upper with ladders, in their Stratocruisers, in 1950, proof that it can be done.

http://www.ovi.ch/b377/articles/boeingUnited/index.html

I did not know---interesting historical fact.
 

Great historical fact and unknown to me as I was not flying at that time...just a kid picking cotton after school.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers

How is this matter handled on a Boeing 307? Pressurized, rounded fuselage. Of course, 307 is (slightly) wider than 707.

Of course, single level berths would not have that problem.

Weight. Every kg of mass hurts fuel consumption and impacts payload.

Reduces the number of seats available for purchase.