Best seat in Y for A330-300?

[AdMEL]

I'm flying MEL-HKG on QF29 at the end of this week and returning HKG-MEL on QF 30 six days later, all in Y. I'm 6'9" (with long legs, but slim) and haven't flown on a QF A333 before, and after searching here and checking Expert Flyer and Seat Guru, I still have a few questions about seats!

It appears there are only 4 exit row seats that don't have a bulkhead (45A,B,J,K) - is this correct?

45A/K - Expert Flyer shows these as blocked. How accurate is EF? QF just shows as unavailable. Consensus seems to be that these seats have quite restricted legroom due to intrusion of slide - is this correct? Any thoughts? Photos? It also appears these don't get released for sale - is this correct? Does that mean they should be available to me at check-in at the airport? Or online at T-24 or T-80?

45B/J - EF shows as occupied - how accurate? QF website also shows these as unavailable.

45D/E/F/G - Consensus seems to be that the middle four seats in the same row with the bulkhead have quite restricted legroom, but I seem to recall that when I flew on QF108 from JFK-LAX a couple of years ago, the four middle seats with bulkhead seemed to have a reasonable amount of legroom. Can't remember whether it was a 747 or A333. I was sitting in one of the two outer exit row seats. Thoughts? Pictures?

Are there any other seats that would be suitable?

Thanks!

Wish QF flew A388 or 747 on this route!

 

[serfty]

At 6'9 your only real option are the exit row A/B seat. E/F is pretty reliable.

I have not flown an international 332, but the early ones did not have much of a life raft cowling - certainly much smaller then those on a 747.

Others may have better experience.

You still may be able to get one allocated well before the flight by calling and perhaps haveing a request put in to 'seating'.

 

[Dmac6345]

Admel,

I have travelled this route regularly and the slide barely intrudes . Granted I am only 5ft 8, but regardless you shouldnt have any issues.
There is a heap of leg room, even when the FA are using the jump seat in front.
You could always try and re-route via Syd for the A380. Thats what I do now. SKYBED 1 no good !!!!!

 

[AdMEL]

At 6'9 your only real option are the exit row A/B seat. E/F is pretty reliable.

I have not flown an international 332, but the early ones did not have much of a life raft cowling - certainly much smaller then those on a 747.

Others may have better experience.

You still may be able to get one allocated well before the flight by calling and perhaps haveing a request put in to 'seating'.

You've confirmed my thoughts that 45A/B are my only options. Hopefully someone knows when/if they get released.

Apparently my QFF profile has a note regarding my height that has been there for many years, but it often makes no difference.

Admel,

I have travelled this route regularly and the slide barely intrudes . Granted I am only 5ft 8, but regardless you shouldnt have any issues.
There is a heap of leg room, even when the FA are using the jump seat in front.
You could always try and re-route via Syd for the A380. Thats what I do now. SKYBED 1 no good !!!!!

Thanks for mentioning that the slide doesn't intrude much - how much the slide intrudes seems to be the most variable I've come across! I've never had any issues with the FA using the jump seat, since they only sit there for a short period (take-off and landing). Should have checked re the routing via SYD for A380 before I booked - still haven't completely ditched the mindset of direct is best! Too late now on a heavily discounted flight ($800 return).

Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[feezable]

This is an old thread and there may be more current, but I wanted to again say thanks as it was this thread that helped me choose my seat. On QF35 Mel-Sin 14Sep I was able to choose 23B. I am just a bronze, but used the T-80 info on here to nab the seat. It was a great place to sit and I obviously had a WP sitting next to me who received a personal welcome and a lot of attention over a malfunctioning IFE. The CSM (possibly not M) was very polite to me and also offered me champagne and greeted me by name during the flight. Being seated next to the galley, there was a lot of movement and I probably would choose a window seat if available.The galley movement was countered by no pax movement past my seat. The space was great, I am 165cm and so have no problem even in a normal economy seat. I did find the cold air coming from the galley area a bit annoying, but a blanket over my feet and knees solved that. All in all, I would say 23A,B,J,K would be my first choice any time on an A330

 

[MH_fan]

I find row 23 not that comfortable for me personally. Yes, there's more "knee room" but I hate not being able to stretch out my legs fully.

 

[Mr_Orange]

This is an old thread and there may be more current, but I wanted to again say thanks as it was this thread that helped me choose my seat. On QF35 Mel-Sin 14Sep I was able to choose 23B. I am just a bronze, but used the T-80 info on here to nab the seat. It was a great place to sit and I obviously had a WP sitting next to me who received a personal welcome and a lot of attention over a malfunctioning IFE. The CSM (possibly not M) was very polite to me and also offered me champagne and greeted me by name during the flight. Being seated next to the galley, there was a lot of movement and I probably would choose a window seat if available.The galley movement was countered by no pax movement past my seat. The space was great, I am 165cm and so have no problem even in a normal economy seat. I did find the cold air coming from the galley area a bit annoying, but a blanket over my feet and knees solved that. All in all, I would say 23A,B,J,K would be my first choice any time on an A330

At 165cm, I imagine row 23 would be great for you. For me, at 183cm, row 23 is less spacious than row 24. As always, it is horses for courses .

 

[timster]

There are very few "relatively acceptable" seats for tall people in Y on QF A330 long haul.

I well am over 6' and most QF bulkhead seats are torture for me long haul. It's amazing how the inability to stretch one's legs fully quickly becomes very uncomfortable (hence the common sight of bulkhead pax with their feet up the wall !). Check-in staff will sometimes think they are doing me a favour by putting me in one, so I always have my seat map in hand. But being crammed into a regular seat is actually less uncomfortable.

Some aisle bulkhead seats do not have a wall that extends all the way across, with the result that one can extend one's legs into the aisle ahead of the bulkhead. While this is not ideal for keeping the passageway clear, if QF cannot provide me with a seat that confers the same level of ergonomics as shorter pax get for the same price, what can one do ? But finding out which bulkheads are like this prior to seat selection is not easy.

I will sometimes buy an exit row, but having got one for free for 20 years as soon as I was sighted at check-in (and in the far-distant past, at the time of booking, based on my profile), paying for an exit row goes against the grain. So I have been moving my business to airlines that still provide free exit rows for tall pax.

The exit row cowlings are not a big deal IMHO, as one can extend one's legs diagonally past them, although this may end up impinging slightly on your neighbour's space.

 

[mannej]

QF don't fly the A320.

 

[Mattg]

QF don't fly the A320.

As far as I can see, the posts in this thread are about the A330-300.

 

[Mr_Orange]

As far as I can see, the posts in this thread are about the A330-300.

Check the reason for edit in post #48.

 

[Mattg]

Check the reason for edit in post #48.

Ah right, thought I must have been missing something - ta.