New C NARROWER than old C?
 

From the employee Q & A:

Q. What are the physical dimensions of new international United Business seat?
New United Business Current United Business
Width
19" (23.5 including armrest) 23.27
Length 76-77" 55" pitch

Recline 180 degrees 147 degrees
Direction Forward and rear facing seats
Forward facing seats

From the current UA website airplane maps -- seat width

747 20"
767 19"
777 20.5"

It looks to me like the butt part of the seat is actually shrinking. Am I missing something?

By laws of geometry, there has to be narrowing when going from 7-abreast on 747s and 777s to 8-abreast.

Yes, but I believe for take off and landing. Once airborne, like the FirstSuite today, you will be able to drop the armrest, and you'll have 23.5 inches. (Or more, if you hang over the edge.;))

It has to be 19" or less, as they are maintaining 2-2-2 on the 763's and those C seats are 19" now. They can't get any wider or 2-2-2 wouldn't be possible.

- T

Unless the aisle gets a bit smaller.

Clearly, the 767 suddenly becomes the most desirable AC in the fleet.......

Over on the LH board they are saying

Competition for the Dentist's Chair

The C seats are tapered and slightly overlap so they are actually wider at their widest point, they are narrower at the head and feet. The aisles will also be slightly narrower. I think it will be an acceptable compromise for a flat bed and make F more of a step up.

And what would they call the LH seat? The Tilt-a-Whirl? That might be fun.

They are slightly narrower at the butt part, I guess. But apparently when the armrests fold down, it'll be 23.5" wide which is certianly wider than the old C.

Sort of. :) The old C *seat* itself was 19" wide on the 763's and an inch or so wider on the 777's and 744's. That was actual usable seat width - not counting armrests (that did not collapse).

The new C seats are 19" wide with the armrests up - meaning that in a seated position, they will be narrower than the current 777 and 747 C seats (and p.s. C seats for that matter). They will be as wide as the current 767 C seats - folks who complain that the 767 C seats are width restrictive will find the new C seats to be just as restrictive when seated.

The main difference is that the armrests will collapse in the bed position - if those collapsable armrests will actually be confortable enough to lay part of your body on when sleeping, then yes - it will be extra useable seat width. If not, then 23.5" width is a bit misleading, as only 19" will actually be useable width.

The outboard armrest collapses on the current F suite, but the primary use for that is to enable you to get out of your seat with the tray table out - it's not intended to provide a wider sleeping surface, nor is it comfortable to lay on.

We'll see. :)

- T

I was wondering how long it would be before width got discussed.

I bet UA is following in the footsteps of BA, SQ, NZ etc and measuring width in the widest part of the seat.

Argh.....this is a concern to me. I prefer the old C comfy sofa chairs to LH new biz (or SQ or TG new biz) seats because the UA old C was wider. I just feel claustraphobic in LH, SQ or TG.

I think the difference lies not in the size of the seat, but the reduction of the space between seats. The old C product has about 8-10" (maybe more) of armrest and tray space between the seats. The new C product eliminates that excess space... and as others have said, have even more room when the armrests are dropped. I believe that's where the extra inches are gained to allow 8-abreast seating.

Just for clarification: The Dentist's Chair is my terminus technicus for the LH seat (ever tried it, then you may know why). That said, Tilt-A-Whirl is still available...:D