B77W Business Class Seat Map - Updated!

[MH_fan]

Here are my thoughts on the new seat...
It is definitely better than the old seat. However, it feels more cramped and claustrophobic compared to before. It's great for a solo traveller but not as good for a pair. The tray table stops you from raising your knees whilst in the bed mode, so this could be another reason why the new seat feels a liitle claustrophobic. It also does take a little more manoeuvring to get out of the seat in the bed mode. Otherwise, there's a decent amount of storage space around the seat. As for the bar, it is so much nicer compared to the old cabin!

 

[Homer]

Thanks for the report MH_fan!. I was never able to get much sleep on the old VA J seat - I found it hard and uncomfortable - and I preferred the NZ J seat for the trans-pacific because of this. If you've tried the NZ J seat, would you be able to compare the two seats?

 

[clipped_wings]

Here are my thoughts on the new seat...
It is definitely better than the old seat. However, it feels more cramped and claustrophobic compared to before. It's great for a solo traveller but not as good for a pair. The tray table stops you from raising your knees whilst in the bed mode, so this could be another reason why the new seat feels a liitle claustrophobic. It also does take a little more manoeuvring to get out of the seat in the bed mode. Otherwise, there's a decent amount of storage space around the seat. As for the bar, it is so much nicer compared to the old cabin!

Thank you for this, could you advise where the best row for a couple would be located from your experience? We were given row 8 (middle pair) but opted for row 4 as we wanted to be in front of the bar, not directly behind it. Not sure if this was a wise move or whether we have made life harder for ourselves. I am on the port side, so is there still a ladies toilet on this side at the front?

 

[clipped_wings]

Does anyone has a trip report on this yet? I am so eager to hear and see all!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Thanks for the report MH_fan!. I was never able to get much sleep on the old VA J seat - I found it hard and uncomfortable - and I preferred the NZ J seat for the trans-pacific because of this. If you've tried the NZ J seat, would you be able to compare the two seats?

Hard and uncomfortable? I found with the mattress it was very comfy

 

[Homer]

Hard and uncomfortable? I found with the mattress it was very comfy

I can't remember ever having a mattress on the *old* VA J.

 

[bubblyguy]

I can't remember ever having a mattress on the *old* VA J.

Ever since the start there has always been a seat topper for the seats.

A while back (18 months?) it was changed to memory foam which certainly improved the comfort of the seat/bed.

Now with the refurb there are 2 pillows that domestic red eye business class A330 guests have become accustomed to since the suites were introduced on the A330.

Surprised there has yet to be a trip report on VPD. Looking forward to seeing one soon!

 

[Homer]

Ever since the start there has always been a seat topper for the seats.

A while back (18 months?) it was changed to memory foam which certainly improved the comfort of the seat/bed.

Now with the refurb there are 2 pillows that domestic red eye business class A330 guests have become accustomed to since the suites were introduced on the A330.

Surprised there has yet to be a trip report on VPD. Looking forward to seeing one soon!

Ah, OK. Thanks for clarifying .

I stopped flying VA international J about two years ago after discovering NZ J. I don't remember the seat topper but, regardless, I have always found the old VA J seat to be hard and difficult to sleep in. I guess it must have improved with the memory foam. I'm keen to hear how the new J lie-flat with mattress compares to NZ J before I give it a try next month.

 

[CJEMNMAC]

Wondering if someone would mind checking the seat map for VA8 29 June for me ? I thought maybe I could check via my booking but no go..

Thanks in advance

 

[Quickstatus]

Wondering if someone would mind checking the seat map for VA8 29 June for me ? I thought maybe I could check via my booking but no go..

Thanks in advance

New config
Availability:
A:4-10
D:10
G:2,10
K 2-10

as usual all seat 11A in the new config is blocked

 

[CJEMNMAC]

New config
Availability:
A:4-10
D:10
G:2,10
K 2-10

as usual all seat 11A in the new config is blocked

Thanks so much Quickstatus

 

[MH_fan]

Thanks for the report MH_fan!. I was never able to get much sleep on the old VA J seat - I found it hard and uncomfortable - and I preferred the NZ J seat for the trans-pacific because of this. If you've tried the NZ J seat, would you be able to compare the two seats?

I haven't tried the NZ J seat so I can't compare the 2 for you unfortunately. I must say though that I found the old J seat easier to sleep on because it didn't feel so closed in and there was more room for your legs to move around.

 

[MH_fan]

Thank you for this, could you advise where the best row for a couple would be located from your experience? We were given row 8 (middle pair) but opted for row 4 as we wanted to be in front of the bar, not directly behind it. Not sure if this was a wise move or whether we have made life harder for ourselves. I am on the port side, so is there still a ladies toilet on this side at the front?

The middle pair of seats would be great for a couple definitely. The single seats on the sides are pretty private. Moving to thr front cabin was a wise move. There are no curtains separating the bar from the 2nd cabin so there's definitely noise and light coming through. As for the ladies toilet, I didn't really see it being exclusively used by women on my flight...

 

[MH_fan]

Since everyone seems to be asking for a trip report, I'll put a mini one on here. Please bear with me as I've never done one before so it may be cough...
Anyway, here goes.
SYD-LAX on VA1 on May 8 on VH-VPD.
Traffic into the international terminal was terrible this morning and I made it to the check-in desk about 90 minutes before departure. The airport was busy but, thanks to the fast-track through immigration and security, I made it through reasonably quickly. Used the NZ lounge and the boarding call was made about 40 minutes before departure. There was a separate bridge for J passengers so no having to be stuck behind the line of Y passengers getting on to the plane.
Well, what can I say? The new cabin looks impressive. The suite is very private. I was in 2A. The tray table doesn't fold away but is slid back and forth instead. This was great for dining and when you want to give yourself more room but not so good when in the bed mode as your knees bump into it. The crew were helping the passengers orient themselves with the new seat, which was much appreciated by yours truly. The seat is in the reverse Herrinbone layout. There are lots of good storage spaces for tablets, phones, glasses, etc. The side storage is where the remote for the TV screen is and also where the power ports and USB plugs are located. Already waiting for me when I got to my seat was the menu and also the instructions for the seat. The seat adjustments are now a touchscreen on the side. On the aisle side is an armrest that is another storage space that holds the noise-cancelling headphones and a bottle of water. It is adjustable up and down to give you more width when in the bed mode. Also on the seat when I arrived were 2 pillows. The Mandarina Duck amenity kit and pyjamas were handed out prior to departure. The CSM came around to introduce himself and thank me for being a "high value customer". We left about 10 minutes late. The safety demonstration was surprisingly not on the screen and performed by the crew instead.
More to follow...

 

[MH_fan]

Sort-of trip report continued...
Had champagne for my pre-departure drink. Oh, the J cabin was full but this did not impact on the level of service, which was fantastic. The crew were all very nice. Once in the air and crew could start the service, drink orders were taken. I had a peach bellini, which was delicious and it came accompanied with hors d'oeuvres that included edamame, olives and nuts. Meal orders were then taken and I had the king prawns for entree followed by the Moroccan-spiced lamb for my main. I had the Phillip Shaw sav blanc to accompany my meal. Opted for the cheese platter to finish off with accompanied by a botyritis semillon. The meals were delicious! IFE options were surprisingly limited. Not many new movies. Watched one before going to sleep. I asked one of the cabin crew to make my bed as I changed into my pyjamas. He was still making it up after I'd changed and we had a chat about my thoughts on the new seat. They still put a mattress/memory foam, smooths out the kinks in the seat when in the bed mode. I'm not sure whether this was normal for the seat or not but there was a rather large gap in the seat where your butt is and you can still feel it a bit in the bed mode even with the memory foam on. Now, I have to admit that the bed feels rather claustrophobic. It feels a little narrow compared to the old seat and there's not much room for your legs to move around. I like sleeping on my side and it wasn't the easiest to sleep in this position. The duvet is also quite thick so it feels like you don't have much room at all. The seatbelt is one of those airbag type ones and it feels quite bulky and gets in the way a bit. Despite all this, I still managed to get about 5 hours of sleep.
More to follow...

 

[N860CR]

For those heading to Abu Dhabi, you'll enter get a new seat or be shafted onto etihad. The AUH service won't recommence until all 5 planes are back in service

 

[MH_fan]

Sort-of trip report continued further...
After a nice snooze, woke up with about 4 hours to go before arrival into LAX. So, I checked out the bar. Now, the new bar is heaps better than the old one with space for the crew to serve you properly. Seeing that it was technically early hours in the morning, a bloody mary (or 2) was the most appropriate alcoholic beverage in my opinion. There were a couple of other passengers at the bar too. Ordered some snacks (the croquettes), which were quite yummy. I noticed that there was a curtain separating the front cabin from the bar but definitely no curtain between the bar and the 2nd J cabin. The light (and noise) would definitely bother passengers in 8A and 8K. After spending some time at the bar, I decided to change back into my clothes before breakfast was served. I didn't ask for the bed to be unmade, as I thought it would be quite nice to experience a kind of breakfast in bed, which actually worked out nicely! I had the bacon and scrambled eggs and ordered a cappuccino since they have the Nespresso machines on board. The coffees were a bit slow, as everyone wanted coffee, but the cabin crew were quite apologetic about that. It just meant that I had my cappuccino after I'd finished my breakfast. The bed was unmade and put back into the original position without me asking when I went to clean my teeth and freshen up. The crew had to rush a bit to get everything cleaned up before landing. I think the breakfast service was slower than they would've liked because they were still getting used to the new cabin layout. Anyway, we landed in LAX about 15 minutes early. It's a great time to arrive into TBIT as it's not particularly busy at that time of morning. Immigration has changed since I last arrived into LAX in September. You now use passport e-readers (similar to the ones we now use at SYD) if you have an ESTA waiver and have used the passport once before at LAX. I'm not sure whether this is just for LAX or whether it's also being done at other US ports of entry. It made the process much faster. I didn't have any checked luggage so I was out of TBIT in about 15 minutes! I had a connecting flight to Atlanta on AA, so I made my way to T4.

 

[MH_fan]

I have some pics but I don't know how to put them up on here. Any advice or instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, I was very impressed with the whole thing. The new seat is great, the bar is much better and the crew were fantastic! The flight felt way too short and that's the sign of a good one!

 

[clipped_wings]

Great report MH_fan, many thanks. It has given me a lot of confidence that moving to 4 was the right thing to do. Husband is 6'1 so I don't know how he'll go in the bed mode, but I am hoping we'll be so tired that we don't care.
Very much looking forward to any photos you can share. There is an "insert image" icon in the taskbar just above each reply window - simply click and browse the folder that contains the image/s you want to share. I find having a clearly marked folder for each site works best - one for Facebook, one for Linked in etc. You can source the photos much faster.

 

[MH_fan]

Great report MH_fan, many thanks. It has given me a lot of confidence that moving to 4 was the right thing to do. Husband is 6'1 so I don't know how he'll go in the bed mode, but I am hoping we'll be so tired that we don't care.
Very much looking forward to any photos you can share. There is an "insert image" icon in the taskbar just above each reply window - simply click and browse the folder that contains the image/s you want to share. I find having a clearly marked folder for each site works best - one for Facebook, one for Linked in etc. You can source the photos much faster.

Thanks, clipped_wings. Glad to hear the trip report was helpful. Trying to upload the pics but it's not working unfortunately...