Most comfortable economy class seat?

[JohnK]

which airline for the a350? Thai’s have full recline.

That was SQ and the long haul economy seats were worse.

When you say full recline you mean they have the ability for full recline?

These A350 seats have fixed recline and then can go back even further. When the seat un front reclines you cannot do anything. Can't use tablet, can't use tray table, difficult to watch IFE etc.

I'm struggling to understand why they were designed this way. Try to avoid SQ A350 for future but SQ has A350 out of BNE for each flight.

 

[Forg]

That was SQ and the long haul economy seats were worse.

When you say full recline you mean they have the ability for full recline?

These A350 seats have fixed recline and then can go back even further. When the seat un front reclines you cannot do anything. Can't use tablet, can't use tray table, difficult to watch IFE etc.

I'm struggling to understand why they were designed this way. Try to avoid SQ A350 for future but SQ has A350 out of BNE for each flight.

I don‘t understand what you’re referring to here … isn’t it normal in Y not to be able to use a tablet or watch IFE or read a magazine or use the tray-table if the person in front reclines beyond about 50% of full “reclinability’’? I thought when you said “fixed recline” you meant the seat couldn’t recline at all (which sounds brilliant to me), but apparently not.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I don‘t understand what you’re referring to here … isn’t it normal in Y not to be able to use a tablet or watch IFE or read a magazine or use the tray-table if the person in front reclines beyond about 50% of full “reclinability’’? I thought when you said “fixed recline” you meant the seat couldn’t recline at all (which sounds brilliant to me), but apparently not.

No, it’s not normal! Many seats have a moveable IFE screen that can be tilted if the person in front reclines. If the person behind also reclines the total distance between the two pax remains the same, and viewing shouldn’t be impaired. For meals and using a laptop it will be difficult, hence why seats are usually required to be upright during meal services.

Agree ‘fixed recline’ or ‘pre-reclined’ generally refers to seats which are locked in that initial recline, and cannot be further moved. This was introduced by some ultra low cost carriers such as Ryanair.

That was SQ and the long haul economy seats were worse.

When you say full recline you mean they have the ability for full recline?

These A350 seats have fixed recline and then can go back even further. When the seat un front reclines you cannot do anything. Can't use tablet, can't use tray table, difficult to watch IFE etc.

I'm struggling to understand why they were designed this way. Try to avoid SQ A350 for future but SQ has A350 out of BNE for each flight.

Here’s a video of SQ’s a350 economy in a trip report by Oneworldflyersquad… if the seats have an initial ‘pre-reclined’ position it is subtle:

 

[Peanutbladder]

For me having done both EK and QF on A380 this year to the UK and back, it has to be EK by a long way. The seat pitch and width felt better than QF and the in seat entertainment and power etc was better than on QF.

 

[Forg]

No, it’s not normal! Many seats have a moveable IFE screen that can be tilted if the person in front reclines. If the person behind also reclines the total distance between the two pax remains the same, and viewing shouldn’t be impaired.

Maybe it’s a height thing (although I’m only 6’1”), but I’ve never been in a Y seat where the IFE screen can tilt far enough so that you can still see it when the seat in front is fully reclined … you know how LCD screens need to be viewed at very close to perpendicular or you can’t see them properly, at full recline the screen doesn’t tilt far enough to be perpendicular to your face, so you can’t make-out what’s going on.

But as I’ve typed that, I realise that it’s been ages since I’ve been on new or newly-refitted aircraft, it’s been either domestic 737’s (or QF international-setup 737’s) that’ve been around since forever, or it’s been QF A332/A333 that’ve also been around forever, and apart from that it was short hops that nobody bothers to recline for (eg. London to Brussels or Inverness) OR it was over 15 years ago (and LCD’s have come a long way in that time!).

 

[itchy feet]

What's the most comfortable airline seat you've sat in within an Economy Class cabin?

Personally I like the SQ 777 seats, and I found the Economy Plus (extra legroom seats) on the United 767 pretty good - both wide and with good legroom.

Perhaps the most comfortable Economy seat though was on an Air Chathams Convair 580 (sadly these have now been retired). It was still configured for the 1950s with tons of leg room. Very noisy, though!

I must have flown on a different SQ777 to you (last month) as my seat was cramped and uncomfortable. An unpleasant surprise as a previous SQ 777, many years ago, was spacious and comfortable.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Maybe it’s a height thing (although I’m only 6’1”), but I’ve never been in a Y seat where the IFE screen can tilt far enough so that you can still see it when the seat in front is fully reclined … you know how LCD screens need to be viewed at very close to perpendicular or you can’t see them properly, at full recline the screen doesn’t tilt far enough to be perpendicular to your face, so you can’t make-out what’s going on.

But as I’ve typed that, I realise that it’s been ages since I’ve been on new or newly-refitted aircraft, it’s been either domestic 737’s (or QF international-setup 737’s) that’ve been around since forever, or it’s been QF A332/A333 that’ve also been around forever, and apart from that it was short hops that nobody bothers to recline for (eg. London to Brussels or Inverness) OR it was over 15 years ago (and LCD’s have come a long way in that time!).

The link in the video shows the screens can tilt quite far these days… plus newer technology means you don’t always have to view them straight-on anymore. Reclining your seat as well can sometimes help with the viewing angle.

 

[Lions]

I flew Hawaiian Airlines SYD-HNL in economy "Extra Comfort". Seat was 18 inches wide and pitch was 36 inches and was about 20% more expensive than basic conomy. Service was economy not premium economy. A good seat for a 10 hour flight. Extra Comfort is a step up from economy and a step down from premium economy.

 

[The Flying Schwartz]

I found the Y seats in ANA 787-900s quite thinly padded and even for the relatively short trip to Tokyo were quite crippling (my son and I are 95kg and 184-ish cm) For the return flight we bought a couple of Star Wars cushions
Thai Airways A350 earlier this year was much better and we forked out the extra for bulkhead seats which was quite bearable. Nevertheless, we vowed never to fly international Y again if we can help it

 

[FlyingKangaroo]

Honourable mention to Korean. Fairly comfortable, well-padded seats and a generous 34-inch legroom on most international aircraft. The 380 and 777 are especially nice, with KE being one of the few who stick to the 3-3-3 layout on the 777 while offering even more legroom than SQ.

 

[JohnK]

I don‘t understand what you’re referring to here … isn’t it normal in Y not to be able to use a tablet or watch IFE or read a magazine or use the tray-table if the person in front reclines beyond about 50% of full “reclinability’’? I thought when you said “fixed recline” you meant the seat couldn’t recline at all (which sounds brilliant to me), but apparently not.

That was not the case on A380, 747 or A330 from memory and most of my medium-haul or long haul was on Qantas. These seats had limited recline and even if you did not recline you had some space.

The seats on the A350 are already reclined part of the way. I could not lean back into the seat due to lower back issues so if I am seated upright I am only a few inches from the seat in front. When the seat in front reclines there is even less space available.

The IFE screen does move quite a lot but you need to be reclined to use it.

I've just googled A350 and when you look at the photos the initial recline is quite noticeable. Awful.

 

[harvyk]

I'm 6'2 (whatever that is in cm), as much as I love it when I do get bounced into the higher classes, Y is where I typically find myself.

I guess the answer is dependent on the question of "do I have someone sitting next to me?"

I didn't mind the QF B787's for Y, however in saying that I had a middle seat free, so I could stretch out. QF A380's and A330's are ok as well. (I miss the 747's, if they where still operating I'd be picking a 747 Y over all the others, but that's just me).

The "short haul" seats are about the worst. Thinking B737 / B717 / Dash 8. I would always choose an A330 over a B737 if doing anything longer than an hour (thinking PER trips).

As for other airlines, the BA seats won't too bad although the way the "wings" on the headrest came down was a little weird. AA B737 seats were nothing special, although the AA A320 seats were ok in Y (overhead bin space was a different issue). CX isn't too bad, done Y on their B747 / B777's, would have also been on A340, but got an op-up so can't compare.

I find AS to be good service, but rather hard seats, this is in both their B737's and A320's, although their A320's came with free AVOD.

EK A380 wasn't too bad (although I was comparing EK A380 Y to their J and F products the entire time).

Of course a bad Y seat with a free seat next to me is still preferable to a good Y seat where I'm rubbing elbows with a seat mate.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That was not the case on A380, 747 or A330 from memory and most of my medium-haul or long haul was on Qantas. These seats had limited recline and even if you did not recline you had some space.

The seats on the A350 are already reclined part of the way. I could not lean back into the seat due to lower back issues so if I am seated upright I am only a few inches from the seat in front. When the seat in front reclines there is even less space available.

The IFE screen does move quite a lot but you need to be reclined to use it.

I've just googled A350 and when you look at the photos the initial recline is quite noticeable. Awful.

I think SQ and others call it ‘ergonomically designed’

I don’t see a pre-recline, but rather a contouring of the seat to make it more comfortable. At least for some.

 

[Forg]

That was not the case on A380, 747 or A330 from memory and most of my medium-haul or long haul was on Qantas. These seats had limited recline and even if you did not recline you had some space.

The seats on the A350 are already reclined part of the way. I could not lean back into the seat due to lower back issues so if I am seated upright I am only a few inches from the seat in front. When the seat in front reclines there is even less space available.

The IFE screen does move quite a lot but you need to be reclined to use it.

I've just googled A350 and when you look at the photos the initial recline is quite noticeable. Awful.

As @MEL_Traveller pointed-out, it seems that screens have better viewing-angles and are can also flip out further, as per the video ... last time I traveled international (further than NZ) in Y was return to Singapore on QF A332/A333 in 2017, they may have been refurbed since then but at the time I wasn't able to see the LCD screen with the seats reclined due to viewing-angles. That video of the SQ ones shows them flipping out a heap further than those QF A332/A333 ones did ... and my last 747 trip was before that, I don't think I've been on a QF 747 since 2008.

Ta (and MEL_Traveller too) for the explanation on this odd semi-reclined setup, seems strange to me & I don't really know what they gain, the more reclined the seat is the closer your knees are to the seat in front, and it's not like they need more room overhead!

 

[JohnK]

I think SQ and others call it ‘ergonomically designed’

I don’t see a pre-recline, but rather a contouring of the seat to make it more comfortable. At least for some.

Ergonomic? Yeah work tried to tell me how I should sit while working. Don't you have anything better to do? I'll sit whatever way makes me fell comfortable not what you think makes me comfortable.

I've seen that seat design on some new buses too. Very uncomfortable.

Anyway looks like I'll have to suffer for quite some time unless schedules return to normal.

 

[downgraded]

I don't really know what they gain

I believe the idea is that because you are more reclined to start with, you are less likely to recline further.

 

[AIRwin]

I believe the idea is that because you are more reclined to start with, you are less likely to recline further.

Given an inch, take a smile...

 

[Forg]

Ergonomic? Yeah work tried to tell me how I should sit while working. Don't you have anything better to do? I'll sit whatever way makes me fell comfortable not what you think makes me comfortable.

Actually, sitting properly is (at least according to my belief which I'm willing to admit may be wrong ... I've actually been wrong once or twice in the last few decades, I know that's hard to accept!) one of those things that takes some effort to "get right", and you need to train yourself to do it & it's not going to be comfortable during that "training" ... in fact it's going to be uncomfortable & it's going to be effort, basically like exercise. You mentioned lower back issues ... as a random on the internet who admits he has no idea, I could be wildly off-base, but if someone had paid attention many many years ago & got you to train yourself to sit "correctly" then you may have avoided those problems. Like they say, 20/20 hindsight, etc etc, without a De Lorean there's not a lot you can do with that guessed maybe-information ...

... and having said that, I do suspect that what works ergonomically for some doesn't for others, and it doesn't matter how you've been sitting. It doesn't make any difference on a bus for 45 minutes, or on a suburban train for an hour, but when you're stuck in a seat for 15 hours it makes a helluva difference!

I believe the idea is that because you are more reclined to start with, you are less likely to recline further.

That actually makes sense, it probably avoids murders onboard as people like me don't stab people in the face with a sharpened plastic spork unless they recline.

 

[bladeau1981]

Row 3 on VA 737 is hard to beat. Used to love 10A/C or 10J/K on the A330s. For legroom anyway...if you end up with the older birds I feel like the cushions have really collapsed and it's hard to remain comfortable.

I find Virgin seats to be to thin and everytime someone behind you opens their table, fumbles around in the pocket or just puts their feet up you get a poke in the back. Row 3 is good though, nice leg room and the little angled bit on the newer planes is a good foot rest.