New QF 738 with BSI - lousy Y legroom

[docjames]

Well have just endured syd-bne this pm in a new BSI fitted 738.

Pros:
It certainly feels "airier" (sic) when walking down the aisle or looking down the aircraft.
The newJ maroon leather seats look pretty good but the test is in the sitting.
The gate to gate ife is great
It seemed fractionally quieter that previous 738s

Cons:
It took forever to board as people had six goes each putting their bags in the overhead (they seemed worried it would fall out). It also took 2 FAs to close the bins - an issue of height and strength for the two female FAs on this particular flight.
The Y seats DEFINATELY have less leg room - not good at all
The touch screens I can see being an issue on night flights as the person behind bashes the screen due to its slow response rate
The ffwd on the ife is very clunky, and you can jump to a particular time point (a la YouTube slider) despite what looks like a slider showing you elapsed/remaining
The audio on announcements echoes badly when you have the headset on as it clashes with the cabin audio. The cabin audio was also very loud but not sure if this just wasn't adjusted

In the end, despite the new interior, and the new ife I was really uncomfortable in y (worse than the older 738s/734s) due to the decrease in leg room, so the new interior is not a win and I was glad it was only syd-bne!

 

[TravelingSmithy]

Thanks for the info. Been 4 weeks since left BNE on that Monday arvo...yes QF ungrounding day. The 73s are so full & tight so I will be interested to try it mid December. Did you get the VH number please?

Will check QF web site to see if it has a separate seat map.

Cheers Hope BrisVegas is treating you well

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Thanks for the info. Been 4 weeks since left BNE on that Monday arvo...yes QF ungrounding day. The 73s are so full & tight so I will be interested to try it mid December. Did you get the VH number please?

Will check QF web site to see if it has a separate seat map.

Cheers Hope BrisVegas is treating you well

VH-VZL onwards are the new kids on the block.

 

[richie9x]

I haven't flown on a BSI 737 yet, but I have flown on the ones with inseat IFE a few times. I didn't notice any difference in seat pitch, they seemed the same as the older 737-800s. They certainly seem to have the same layout and seat numbering as the older 737-800s.

The thing that I noticed is that the seats seem to have different lumbar support than the older 737-800s. The seats seem to be more curved. So I had to sit upright to avoid getting a sore back.

The tapping on the seat by the passenger behind did get a bit annoying sometimes. I just hope I don't get someone who likes playing games sitting behind me. This might make row 3 of business class the best row on the plane because row 4 has IFE screens that fold out from under their arm rests.

I noticed the 'echo' on the announcements when I had the headset on. Seems that the announcement audio through the headsets is delayed a bit when compared to the PA and the effect is a bit annoying.

 

[reductionist]

What is the actual seat pitch on these new BSI fit outs?

 

[docjames]

The thing that I noticed is that the seats seem to have different lumbar support than the older 737-800s. The seats seem to be more curved. So I had to sit upright to avoid getting a sore back.

Yep, they seem more upright, and the leg (specifically, knee) room is tight I can no longer get my legs under the seat in front so as a result you have to sit bolt upright.

I noticed the 'echo' on the announcements when I had the headset on. Seems that the announcement audio through the headsets is delayed a bit when compared to the PA and the effect is a bit annoying.

Yep, that's pretty much how it was. Pretty average.

What is the actual seat pitch on these new BSI fit outs?

I dont know that it has actually been published or that QF would admit it's now 1" less.


For the record I was in row 9 - no idea if there's any subtle row variation as there is on some aircraft (notably DJ behind the exit row are thought to be fractionally less than in front, and row 12 immediately in front of the exit row on the "old" QF 738s also seems fractionally less than standard to me - independant of the non-recline during takeoff/landing).

You know you've been flying Y too much when you know which rows have fractionally less legroom.....

 

[ozmille]

I dont know that it has actually been published or that QF would admit it's now 1" less.

I think it is strange that with people getting taller and taller that an airline would decide to have less pitch in whY

 

[JohnPhelan]

I dont know that it has actually been published or that QF would admit it's now 1" less.

Qantas lists the Y seat pitch as 30 inches.

 

[Taezar]

I was on a new one two weeks ago - and the CSM made a very long announcement about the IFE. It sounds like ppl get frustrated waiting for it to load, so keep pressing buttons, then it crashes for the pax in question and it won't load anything. He told us 3 times not to keep pressing and warning us about being IFE free if we didn't practise some patience. Made me laugh a little actually - obviously he has had to deal with it way too many times. In row 4 I didn't notice any reduction in leg room....

 

[GCC]

I was on one last week MELB - SYD and agree about the legroom. It felt much tighter than the older aircraft. I'm 5' 10" and pretty the only way to get "comfortable" was to sit with legs splayed.

 

[mannej]

If you think 30 inches is bad, the seat pitch of the JQ A320's is a whopping 28 inches...

 

[docjames]

I was on one last week MELB - SYD and agree about the legroom. It felt much tighter than the older aircraft. I'm 5' 10" and pretty the only way to get "comfortable" was to sit with legs splayed.

Try 6'5" - noticably worse.

If you think 30 inches is bad, the seat pitch of the JQ A320's is a whopping 28 inches...

Which is why i dont fly JQ (one of the reasons!)

In row 4 I didn't notice any reduction in leg room....

I actually had row 4 on my original flight but decided getting home an hour earlier was worth it. In hindsight, only just.

 

[oz_mark]

If it had less legroom, where has it been lost from? As far as I can see there are the same number of rows etc.

 

[simongr]

I thought these had newer slimline seats so didnt need as much leg room?

 

[docjames]

I have no idea how it has happened. Perhaps the seat shape has changed more than the actual total (measured) room.

 

[Mattg]

It seems odd that Qantas would have less legroom on their new aircraft. Did the plane still have 29 rows or did they add another one? If not, where did the extra space go?

 

[pauly7]

I just flew one and didn't notice anything wildly different in pitch.... I am a sit up straight guy though, use the trips to work my core out