[AMcWhirter]

Am grateful to you for all your comments.

KLM is the launch customer for this new Recaro CL 3710 seat. Currently only one B777-200ER is fitted with the new seat and passenger feedback is awaited.

As I mentioned above, all of KLM’s 15 B777-200ER will be fitted with this new seat by the end of 2015. After that the airline will begin installing the seat on its newer B777-300ERs (which are already configured 10-across but with more conventional seats).

KLM is taking delivery of a couple of new B777-300ERs from Beoing next year. These aircraft will have the Recaro CL3710 seating from day one.

As some of you have mentioned, it appears comfort standards in normal economy class are being driven down in the interest of cutting costs.. Passengers who value extra space or legroom are now obliged to pay more for premium economy or Economy Comfort (KLM).

Two developments to look out for in the years ahead concern Swiss and Lufthansa.

Swiss, which has always prided itself on superior service, will take delivery of six B777-300ERs in 2016.

So will Swiss join the 10-across club in economy class ?

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/swiss-likely-to-join-b777-300er-ten-across-club

If it does, then might we see Swiss introducing a premium economy cabin ?

Then from 2020 onwards, Lufthansa begins taking delivery of 37 B777Xs (these are the first B777s operated by Lufthansa).

Will Lufthansa adopt a 10-across layout in economy ? I believe it will because a) it now offers premium economy and b) because Boeing is says it will engineer the B777X’s cabin so that an extra seat abreast can be squeezed in more easily (than it can with current B777s).

As “Tallinnman” notes above, it seems the conventional carriers are wary of the threat from low-cost, long-haul airlines and are driving down costs and therefore onboard (economy class) standards.

[TominScotland]

Thanks for this thread, Alex

Having travelled 10 across on the KLM 777-300, the experience is, frankly, unpleasant and that was in Economy Comfort!! As I am ‘blessed’ with short legs, elbow room is probably more important to me than leg room so my priority, I guess, will be to remain loyal to those airlines which address width over length!!

Unlike Ian, I found the new BA seats perfectly acceptable and comfortable for London – Helsinki and vv, admitedly in emergency exit seats. I guess its a matter of body shape and natural padding!!

[IanFromHKG]

All I am saying about my body shape and natural padding is that I am 6’3″ so, as I wasn’t sitting in an emergency exit seat, it felt cramped even before the gentlemen in front of me reclined his seat, and that I clearly don’t have enough padding for a journey that long!

[TominScotland]

No, Ian, I understood that. Maybe eat more to add padding before you fly BA short-haul?

[IanFromHKG]

Sadly, if I overeat, it doesn’t seem to end up causing extra padding *there*!!

[canucklad]

Stop braggig Ian… : )
I play football twice a week and I still struggle to stay average.

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

It may well be that the people who buy these seats are the same Execs who testing method equates to sitting on it for 5 minutes in a mock up – declaring it good and then never actually travelling in that product on there own airlines.

The same issue applies to MD’s of train companies getting hideous seats for there standard class yet only travel First. A massive disconnect between proper testing and being driven by accountants who want better utilization of planes and cheaper planes to run (so lighter seats all good!)

I did read that if an accountant ran my household then my car that sits outside for all but about 6 hours per week. – They’d demand that I drive it in circles for 8 hours a day to get better use of the asset!

Anyway I digress – the thought of thin nasty seats for 12 hours isn’t too appealing – but until they are in use and feedback comes back then we’d have to wait and see.

[canucklad]

It’s just occurred to me sitting here in the office, that the look and imagined feel of these sets are probably not to far away from the ergonomically (for our comfort and well being) designed seats that quite a few of us endure on a daily basis at our work. All that’s missing is wheels and a hydraulic uppy downey height lever!!
So maybe business class should be furnished like our offices, to replicate that “At work feel” and “Y” for leisure should have deck chairs installed. And yes I am just being silly.

[AMcWhirter]

Forum reader JayLibove was on the very first KLM B777-200ER flight with had been equipped with the carrier’s new slimline seats.

You can read JayLibove’s comments at the end of my original news piece:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/101041/klm-revamps-b777-economy-seating

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