Staggered fully flat. Staggered aisle access. Staggered fully flat with aisle access — Alitalia. Herringbone aisle access. Reverse herringbone aisle access. Sofa-seat aisle access. First class aisle access. Super First Class suites. Expect further development of this analysis — and please feel free to give your thoughts to the author, John Walton, via Twitter thatjohn or email john walton. He specializes in cabin interiors, seating, connectivity, and premium class service.
Seats on airplanes usually correspond to the price of the ticket and the type of passenger they are meant to accommodate. First-class plane seats are naturally going to be bigger and wider than standard seats because people are paying more for the service. Therefore, the seats themselves are not as important as the class of service you choose, even though the two always go together.
While many airlines have two-seat combinations, others have three-seat combinations, while still others have two seats on one side of the aisle and three seats on the other side. Economy class seats, also called coach or standard seats, are the basic types of airline seats that most people think of when they think about getting on a plane. On most international flights, they tend to be in three-seat configurations so that more people can fit on the airplane.
More often than not, economy seats are the least expensive seats you can purchase for the flight. On planes such as the Boeing , economy seats usually number three seats on each of the window sides of the plane and four seats in the middle section. This allows both for more comfort and for more passengers on the flight.
Typically, economy seats are 17 to 18 inches wide and have legroom — known as the pitch — of 31 to 32 inches. In addition to the Boeing , the Airbus also has a layout, and some airplanes also have an upstairs and downstairs section and, therefore, can carry even more passengers on their international flights. There are also planes such as the Boeing , which often contain a configuration, allowing even more passengers on each of their flights.
Simply put: everything is better. Full flat-bed seats are the general standard for business class, with seat width going as wide as 34 in and pitch all the way to 87 in. Some airlines even offer a chauffeured pick-up and drop-off service if you live within a certain distance from the airport, and most — if not all — have a dedicated lounge in the airport where you can fill up on free food and drinks. Never one to shy from excess, Emirates has an entire bar on board exclusively for business class passengers on their flagship A planes.
The bar is a proper, semi-circular, fully-stocked bar, serving hot and cold snacks and all the cocktails you could manage. What more could you want?
Search business class. The pinnacle of air travel, first class is reserved for celebrities and the super-rich or the super-lucky. In most instances, the least preferred seat is the middle seat — especially on those airlines where the centre section of cabin seating might provide a 5 across layout — so if you draw the middle seat, you have to ask two passengers to move each time you want to stretch your legs, use the washroom etc!
If you want to get on the flight, and sleep with as little disturbance as possible, then a window seat may be the best option — you also get the outer cabin wall to lean against, rather than falling asleep on your fellow travellers. Remember however that the cabin walls on some aircraft have more curvature than others, and the window seat can feel as if it has less shoulder-room that ordinary seats. The aisle seat gives you easy access to walk around, but worth remembering that you might be getting up and down for your fellow passenger seated next to you.
The aisle seat positions can also be prone to knocks and bumps as passengers walk past or try to squeeze past service carts in the cabin — you often find out in an aisle seat how inconsiderate some fellow travellers can really be! Most airlines now charge an additional fee to sit in the exit rows, others will allocate at check-in remarkably some airlines still favour these seats for much taller passengers!
You do get a lot more legroom in an exit seat, but on the downside there are a few points to remember. Also, the exit row seats will not have a PTV entertainment screen on the back of the seat in front as most seats , but will have the video screen stored in the armrest — similar for the meal tray table which will be stored in your armrest.
Because of this design layout, you might find that the actual seat width is less than ordinary seats, and it can be quite cumbersome using the PTV and tray tables — guess it is a case of measuring that against the benefit of extended leg space you will get.
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