[WoburnMan]

GordyUK – I believe it was and your implication is fairly correct and its a fair comment! Apologies too. Those privacy screens are not good enough especially with what the other carriers are doing these days! As far as the suites on SQ are I am sure they are excellent but my loyalty is with BA and I think their NF is a good product.

[SimonS1]

I must be missing something here.Confirmed in the latest BT magazine (and on here) that BA are configuring 2-3-2 in Club World on the upper deck of the A380.

Turned on a couple of pages to a review of SQ A380 which showed upped deck business configured 1-2-1.

So 4 across on SQ compared to 7 on BA ??

[KSHaggag]

SQ boasts the most spacious Business Class seats the airline industry has ever seen so far .

[Bucksnet]

BA haven’t really changed the layout of club world on the upper deck, it’s just that the narrower width can only accommodate 7 across. Emirates however does have 8 across in business on its A380 upper decks, so in this regard the BA product is better.

[KSHaggag]

Emirates has notoriously been among those carriers who love to queeze a max number of pax in the cabin even in Business Class ,so I would not take it as a benchmark for space .

[FormerlyDoS]

I’m no big fan of EK, but their A388 seats are not 8 across, they are staggered 4s all with direct aisle access.

[Str8Talking]

As much as I agree that SQ has one of the most spacious business class seats in the air at the moment, I think it’s unfair when people say that BA or EK have 8 across (or 7 as is the case with the BA’s A380 upper deck). This is not really true. In both cases the seats are staggered in a 4/4 or 4/3 pattern. In BA’s case, forward facing seats form one row, backwards facing seats another. They are not physically aligned as a row! Just like the staggered patterns that LX use or even BA’s A321 Club World seat designed to offer what the airline feels is optimum space. SQ went for 10 more inches of width compared to BA but sacrificed pitch with almost 20 inches less.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that for one, we all have our preferences but two, aside from overall product, it is really difficult to make like for like comparisons on the technical aspect of the seat when really, we are comparing apples to oranges!

[FormerlyDoS]

Str8Talking

Staggered and ying/yang are different. Swiss is not a staggered layout in the true sense, it is asymetric seating.

True staggered gives direct aisle access to all seats, the other two do not.

Only one airline uses ying/yang, as the IPR are reserved.

[KSHaggag]

Str8Talking ,

Fair enough ..i do agree with you fully !..just wanted to add that although in terms of figures /numbers /digits SQ has sacrificed the seat pitch vs other carriers in Business Class ,it is astonishingly spacious and you can still stretch out all the way through even during landing and take off …a luxuruy and privilege no other airline seat offers you as far as I know and have experienced ..

[SimonS1]

FDOS – yes that was what I thought.

On the EK 380s you always have direct entry/exit to the seat. However isn’t it the case with BA that if by the window or in the middle you have to climb over someone? Plus the way the seating works you are virtually staring at someone else unless the screen is up?

That was certainly how it was when I stopped using them on JNB and DXB in 2006 and I didn’t think it had changed in the subsequent 6 years.

[KSHaggag]

SimonS1!

Yep ,the fact of staring at someone inevitably unless you put that claustrophobea enhancer screen up is uncomfortable …Let me just evoke here the UA ( United Airlines ) forward /rearward facing concept without really having to star at people ….unless you feel dizzy looking rearward ,it is a comfortable alternative and quite innovative ..have you seen it ?it is on the 777-200s and the 747-400s operated by UA …

[IanFromHKG]

KSHaggag – I am not sure I understand your comment. What really enables you to stretch out on SQ during take-off and landing that you can’t do on other airlines? It is virtually impossible to get your feet on the ottoman in any J class seat I have experienced when the seatback is in the take-off position, unless you are very tall

[KSHaggag]

Hi Ian_from_HKG !

I am not tall ( just average height ) and could manage to stretch my legs during take off and landing in that seat on the SQ 777-300ER ..it is not really an ottoman but a shelf- like leg support .At the same time ,this seat has the dual functionality of a bed and a seat separately without being separate ..I believe it is a genious design .Thanks for raising the question .

[VintageKrug]

It will be interesting flying the A380 on LHR-MAD later in the year!

[IanFromHKG]

Well, each to their own, but I didn’t like the SQ seat. It is far too wide, so you can’t use both armrests, and the shelf you refer to is not under the screen. This means that if you want to have your feet up while watching the IFE, you either have to twist your hips into the shelf compartment, or sit on the side where the shelf is in which case the TV isn’t in front of you. That and the fact that you have to get up to convert it into a bed…. No, not for me!

[Author]

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