double seats at rear of 747 economy

[haggiscat]

howdy,
travelling abroad with a friend and in economy. Both of us are quite tall and resolved not to risk sitting next to anyone. The double seats at the rear of the 747 are free. Apparently the last window seats are bad, but I don't see why they would be any smaller than a standard economy seat. Anyone flown in them? Does life get better at Platinum? Why can you buy exit seats and why aren't they reserved for frequent flyers. Appalling.

 

[casanovawa]

Couple of recent long haul flights on 747s and had seat 71A and seat 70A, both times i had a empty seat next to me which gave me plenty of room to stretch out with the space between the window and seat A's as well... Doesn't apply to your situation but as i had both seats to myself i could also put the middle arm rest up and lie down across them... I walked to the end of the plane but don't recall seeing any narrow rows at the back, but you will get more room with row 70 or 71 just on the side as this is where the two seat rows start i think and the plane begins tapering back...

 

[NM]

Exit rows are "for sale" because the airlines can get revenue for them. High status frequent flyers can reserve seats with plenty of extra leg room. On the QF 747 aircraft, the first row of economy (such as row 38 on 3-class, row 40 or 51 on 4-class) have lots of leg room and are "blocked" as reserved for high-status frequent flyers. Even as a OneWorld Sapphire member I have had great success in selecting these rows after the T-80 review time. Personally I would much rather be in row 38/40/51 than in the 70+ rows down the back. Plenty of leg room and in my view better than being down the back. Then again, there are people here who may hold a differ (and equally valid) view.

 

[aoz48x]

The 2 seaters are from row 70-73AB and JK. The ones to avoid are 73AB and 73JK. These are the last row and particularly the A and K seats dont fully recline as the exit door is behind you and cant infringe that space. The B and J seats are fine and recline normally but not the window seats. So when the person in front of you reclines you have their head in front of you for the next ... hours. If you are going to try for these seats try from 70-72 first

 

[haggiscat]

ta, will move one row forward and also check at t80 as am OW sapphire also. only prob is he is going to use a wheelchair to the gate because he's got a gammy leg, and that being a 'special service request' thing (even though he is fine to move around for shorter distances and perfectly fit and able to operate an exit etc) they will probably jam us anywhere they like anyway.

 

[Kefuan]

What is the benefit of row 51? Or is that just another confirguration of 747 which is the same as row 40 on 747-400RR?

 

[trooper]

Wouldn't that wheelchair request exclude you from an exit row anyway?

 

[david870mdg]

What is the benefit of row 51? Or is that just another confirguration of 747 which is the same as row 40 on 747-400RR?

Row 51 is on the A380

 

[Adelaide_Matthew]

The 2 seaters are from row 70-73AB and JK. The ones to avoid are 73AB and 73JK.

YMMV, but the only time I've chosen those seats down the back, I really regretted it. I'm not used to sitting anything like that far back (always in Y, though), and I found there was a lot of side-to-side rocking (simply it feels more turbulent down the back) which made for a sleepless long haul.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

ta, will move one row forward and also check at t80 as am OW sapphire also. only prob is he is going to use a wheelchair to the gate because he's got a gammy leg, and that being a 'special service request' thing (even though he is fine to move around for shorter distances and perfectly fit and able to operate an exit etc) they will probably jam us anywhere they like anyway.

If your friend has got "a gammy leg" then he is not considered able bodied ie suitable to operate an exit row seat. If he has an SSR code for a WCHR in the pnr, the system does not permit someone to be seated in an exit row seat. Can you imagine what other passengers would think when they see someone in a WCHR at the gate & then spot that same person in an exit row onboard the aircraft?

Why would the airline "jam us anywhere they like anyway" when you've already told us that you're able to allocate your seats as you're a SG pax?

 

[NM]

What is the benefit of row 51? Or is that just another confirguration of 747 which is the same as row 40 on 747-400RR?

The 3-class 744 has economy starting at row 38.
A 4-class 744 config has economy starting at row 40.
Another 4-class config has economy strating at row 51/52 (51DEFG, 52AB/JK)

see SeatGuru Seat Map Qantas Airways Boeing 747-438 4-Class Vers. 2 (744)

or see Onboard Seat Maps for the Boeing 747-400 Longreach

and look at the 14First, 66 Business, 40 Premium Economy, 187 Economy map.

 

[Kefuan]

Gotchya.

Thanks for the tip.