787 config - Qantas vs Latam - how can they do this??

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juddles

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Hi there all, I was browsing seat maps for LATAM's 787-900 which they use on their SCL-AKL-SYD and SCL-MEL trans-pacific routes.

Specifically I was trying to work out why their J seats are so cramped. In general the Qantas 787's devote more space to premium seats. But then I noticed something else - Latam seem to have a lot more seats overall in all classes and fewer exits than the QF 787?

Using the seat maps as per seatguru (and checked against expertflyer) I got the following stats:

Total pax: QF 236 vs Latam 313

Exits: QF 8 vs Latam 6

Pax per exit: QF 30 vs Latam 52

How can this be so? They are identical aircraft, both used for very long-haul routes.
 
Are you looking at the increasingly unreliable seatguru? It only shows 6 exits for LATAM aircraft, whereas seatmaestro shows 8 exits, like QF.

If you look at that QF have 28 J seats forward of the second exit doors and LATAM have 30. Behind that exit, QF have 3 rows of J + 4 rows of premium Y, whereas LATAM is all Y. That explains the difference in pax numbers.

I am finding lots of inaccuracies and unreliable advice on seatguru these days, particularly for newer aircraft.
 
Hi there all, I was browsing seat maps for LATAM's 787-900 which they use on their SCL-AKL-SYD and SCL-MEL trans-pacific routes.

Specifically I was trying to work out why their J seats are so cramped. In general the Qantas 787's devote more space to premium seats. But then I noticed something else - Latam seem to have a lot more seats overall in all classes and fewer exits than the QF 787?

Using the seat maps as per seatguru (and checked against expertflyer) I got the following stats:

Total pax: QF 236 vs Latam 313

Exits: QF 8 vs Latam 6

Pax per exit: QF 30 vs Latam 52

How can this be so? They are identical aircraft, both used for very long-haul routes.

As dajop points out, seatguru is not terribly reliable for airlines outside of North USA. In this case they've just left off one of the exit markings. The exit is immediately behind row 4 of the business cabin, where the galley is shown on seat guru: https://www.airlinereporter.com/2015/07/toying-with-my-emotions-economy-class-on-lans-787-9/ (see the fifth picture where the photo is towards the rear of the cabin)

The difference in premium seating is the design - full forward seats take up more space, and this is the design LATAM have gone for. Air India has a very snug 72 inch seat pitch in the same design. Way too short for me. But the width of the footwell is the benefit of these seats.

OT but 50 pax per exit is found in some ultra high density configurations - for example the Air Asia A330 has 47 pax per exit.
 
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Are you looking at the increasingly unreliable seatguru? It only shows 6 exits for LATAM aircraft, whereas seatmaestro shows 8 exits, like QF.

If you look at that QF have 28 J seats forward of the second exit doors and LATAM have 30. Behind that exit, QF have 3 rows of J + 4 rows of premium Y, whereas LATAM is all Y. That explains the difference in pax numbers.

I am finding lots of inaccuracies and unreliable advice on seatguru these days, particularly for newer aircraft.

Thanks dajop - have had a look at seatmaestro and it appears to give slightly more realistic perspectives!

Does anyone know how they measure "seat pitch"? As in increasingly complex layouts such as herringbone, etc.
 
Does anyone know how they measure "seat pitch"? As in increasingly complex layouts such as herringbone, etc.

Airlines are generally moving towards a dual measurement these days - seat pitch, which is the distance from one seat to the exact same point on the seat in front or behind, and 'bed length'. Current business classes may have a pitch of 44 inches or so, but the bed length will be anywhere from 71-78 inches. Seatguru was one of the first to pick up on this.

For full forward seats such as LATAMs with no nooks or footwells the bed length will generally be a couple inches less than the pitch to allow for the seat walls and tv screen etc.
 
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