Narrow seats on QF B789

[Quickstatus]

The ANZ 777 Y should be about the same.

 

[dairyfloss]

Personally I'll try and avoid QF's 789s in Y, but I know I'm definitely in the minority of people who factor such things into decisions when booking flights.

I'll give it a try... but pretty certain I'll also be factoring it in... I'm also worried that this revolutionary new, smaller and less cushioned Y seat will also replace what is on the A380 and A330, in the next rounds of refurbishment.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[JohnK]

Thats what DL are doing and they have restricted Tier Status passengers to only getting those seats free if any are still available 3 days out from the flight.

That's also a good idea. Most people would have purchased airfares by that stage.

 

[Quickstatus]

That's also a good idea. Most people would have purchased airfares by that stage.

Additionally those seats - same Y seats with extra leg room, priority boarding, comp alcohol are in a Velocity Premium economy fare bucket for SC purposes.

........

depending on the price of the B787 Y, ANZ Y might just be the go.

 

[nlagalle]

I'll give it a try... but pretty certain I'll also be factoring it in... I'm also worried that this revolutionary new, smaller and less cushioned Y seat will also replace what is on the A380 and A330, in the next rounds of refurbishment.

Cheers,
Matt.

Who said anything about less cushioning??

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So you'd prefer a seat from the 90's?? Because I can assure you the seat I travelled in to London back in the 90's I wouldn't want today.

Sure - I'd love certain aspects of seats from the 90s - the generous padding. In other ways modern seats have more bells and whistles in terms of IFE, but I find them much less comfortable.

 

[Quickstatus]

So you'd prefer a seat from the 90's?? Because I can assure you the seat I travelled in to London back in the 90's I wouldn't want today.

Well considering the event didn't go for 15 hours it's doubtful but hey just sit back and be the armchair expert on a seat you haven't sat in...

And thinner doesn't mean harder, you are only thinking of the padding. There is more to a seat than that.

And most companies have some kind of launch when they rebrand. No big deal. As for the luggage charges well I never have excess so I don't really care and most people who travel don't either. It doesn't affect the majority of travellers

"Prefer a seat from the 90's"??. Im sure I did not say that. (ive double checked). Its interesting that you have an opinions about your experience from your 90's seat. I have an opinion about the proposed seat. I hope that is OK? Even if I like the seat from the 90's, is that negated by your experience?

Thank you for confirming that you doubt that no one at the event would have sat in the Y seat in a way a typical Y passenger would. The "New Era" attendees would have sat in it for some minutes. Can you confirm if you or any sat in it 3 in a row with one against the aircraft frame. Or was there 2 aisles?. So Im surprised then that you can have an opinion which is as competent as those who will sit in it for a 15 hour flight. Have you ever test driven a car and then had regrets when you bought the car?. Sure you are not an armchair expert but are you sure you have reviewed the seat enough?. I have travelled in 10 abreast 777 EK and ANZ so I think that elevates me from an armchair expert somewhat.

Thinner does mean harder - there is no material in the world that does otherwise. Yes there is more to a seat. Its just that most Y passengers will see it as accessories akin to the number of cup holders in a car. Interesting, possibly useful but in the main an interesting aside. For a Y passenger price is number one and comfort a close number 2?. But the main complaint is comfort. So it is highly important to gauge the level of comfort one would expect to get from this seat.

I thought the "New Era" event was a big deal - to the company anyway. Im glad you dont see it as a big deal. Afterall Tim Cook of the other airline got it right when he noted that passengers can be "mesmerised with food an entertainment". The context was that these passengers will overlook the negatives of their inflight experience. Did you see any negatives?. Many QF customers who did not go did - this thread just highlights one. Hopefully QF service will mesmerise the Y passengers enough so they overlook the negatives of their seat.

I am happy to laud the positives as I do fly the airline often - see my comparatively low Tier status. but that would be off topic for this thread.

Luggage charges?. Im glad you dont travel with luggage excess. Travelling light is the best way to travel. Im not sure how many passengers are affected but my point was that the "Same Spirit" accolade QF gives itself can be intepreted in another way and the next day negative news regarding excess luggage charges just confirmed that.

In the end this thread highlights one negative in the proposed Y seat. You like me and other have fairly diverse opinion about this which is the point of the AFF excercise.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thank you for confirming that you doubt that no one at the event would have sat in the Y seat in a way a typical Y passenger would.

Plenty of seats are comfortable for the first 'x' amount of time... 30 minutes, 60 minutes, whatever. It's at the 2, 3, and 4 hour onwards that the 'problems' of the seat become magnified. My JQi PE seat was fine for watching a movie and having dinner... but trying to get comfortable to sleep was almost impossible as the seat starts to bite back into various pressure points.

 

[AviationNZ]

Afterall Tim Cook of the other airline got it right when he noted that passengers can be "mesmerised with food an entertainment".

I'm nitpicking here, but think you mean Tim Clark (EK rather than Apple ).

 

[Quickstatus]

Clark not Cook. That's what happens when I'm multitasking.

The exit row seats would be a bit more narrower as well. I've never sat in JQ 787, so any experience with the seat widths there should transfer to the seat widths on the QF version.
There is suggestion that aisle width has been reduced slightly to maximise seat width

Note to QF: can you enhance your booking engine to make it easier to book an adjacent comfort seat. Every comfort seat you sell will reduce takeoff weight by 80kg less work for FA, less queues at checkin, onboard toilets. Better overall inflight experience in Y cabin

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There's been a fair bit of discussion around 'price' being the determining factor for many pax, and they want the lowest price possible and seat size will be a secondary or tertiary consideration.

But will that be the case? QF only has 165 of these seats to sell... well down on the 200-370 economy seats they have to sell on their other aircraft. So will fares still be as cheap, or will demand for the relatively few seats mean the prices are higher anyway? And if they are higher, would $100 extra really be a sticking point to choose 8 abreast instead of 9?

The issue of fares may even be compounded given at least some of the routes may have little or no competition - PER-LON, MEL-DFW, SYD-ORD.

 

[Quickstatus]

The SYD-DFW monopoly route commands a premium even in Y.
There would be 16 seats taken out if it's a 3-3-3 config.
Thats approx 10% less revenue. So would Y budget conscious pay an extra 10% more?. For sure but why give anything in return?
I would not be surprised if QF already factored in a monopoly price... Why would they give away 10% revenue?

 

[bam71]

What route are we hoping for? Me personally - Definitely Perth London.
Others??

 

[Quickstatus]

SEveral routes have been suggested but it would be on "long thin". Ultra long haul with less passenger traffic than an A380 or B777. Long thin routes tends to be a point to point except that it would be preferable for QF with its domestic network to start from a hub.

QF is looking at PER-LHR, MEL-DFW, SYD-ORD. However QF has also said that the 8 on order will replace the 5 older B747. So potentially any route that is currently served by a B747 , except perhaps for the JNB and SCL routes due to ETOPS restrictions but it might just work with the B787 longer range

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What route are we hoping for? Me personally - Definitely Perth London.
Others??

I think it will depend on the timing of the flights. Perth-London is not necessarily appealing to everyone given the terminal transfer from domestic to international and vv. From the east coast I'd still rather do a SIN transfer for a relaxed transfer. For business class, the arrival and connection to East Coast would be important - 3 hours or so is not really long enough to sleep, so you'd want to be arriving in PER refreshed and ready for the last sector.

 

[mannej]

I think it will depend on the timing of the flights. Perth-London is not necessarily appealing to everyone given the terminal transfer from domestic to international and vv. From the east coast I'd still rather do a SIN transfer for a relaxed transfer. For business class, the arrival and connection to East Coast would be important - 3 hours or so is not really long enough to sleep, so you'd want to be arriving in PER refreshed and ready for the last sector.

You will find the plan is to run the PER-LON flights out of the T3/4 Precinct, so no need to transfer to T1.

 

[Melburnian1]

QF is looking at PER-LHR, MEL-DFW, SYD-ORD. However QF has also said that the 8 on order will replace the 5 older B747. So potentially any route that is currently served by a B747 , except perhaps for the JNB and SCL routes due to ETOPS restrictions but it might just work with the B787 longer range

All of these are new routes, but if as you say QF replace a B744 - on say MEL - HKG - with these new planes, isn't that a marked reduction in seating capacity?

Do we know for sure that only five of the B744s will be replaced by these new B789s, or will it 'creep up' to be one or two more (given the limitations of QF requiring B744s for JNB and SCL, so it prsumably has to retain some of these)?

Although most editor or staff Internet site and newspaper travel section reviews are for business class or where available first class - because these authors want the comfort of 'freebies' and also are careful not to criticise too much lest they be put on some unofficial 'black list' by airline staff who dole out the freebies in higher classes - many Y passengers might find a PER - LHR nonstop in a very narrow seat to be an uncomfortable experience. I'm not doubting that there is a section of the market who is guided by only the cost of fares, but QF may find a lot of negative Y class reviews eventually start appearing.

One other concern with PER - LHR is that the flight frequencies between PER and MEL or SYD are not as high as say between SYD and MEL, so if the international flight runs late, it may mean a longer wait for a connecting doemstic flight, which may or may not already be full.

 

[Quickstatus]

Yes a replacement of a B747 with B787 would be a reduction in seat capacity, unless the airline manages to secure an additional slot into the airports currently operated by a B747. Would it be better if the airline runs 2 flights per day rather than one? With the 2nd on the higher demand days?.

I suspect the drip feed of information from the airline serves to maintain the anticipation and hype surrounding the aircraft's integration into the fleet and provides some intel not provided by the "focus groups"

The "delay" surrounding the PE seats on the 789 I suspect is partly to gauge the sentiment surrounding the Y seats, with adjustments to be made based on this.

I am cynical but I really do hate spin and marketing hype.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am cynical but I really do hate spin and marketing hype.

We have a whole year of this marketing

The A330 refurbishment gave us more than 4 years of speculation, and still in the end still failed to deliver what it promised.

 

[Quickstatus]

The other hyped up factoid is the aircraft's "incredible range". Travel journalists seem to like being spoon fed stuff like this. I guess it sells.
The only way this aircraft can fly these incredible ranged exotic routes is to be payload restricted as are some of the A330-300 routes and the A380's QF7/8

Dont forget that many years ago VH-OJA flew LHR-SYD non stop. It was payload restricted.

Speculating of course:
Would the aircraft in its current proposed configuration be able to fly West PER-LHR with a full passenger load, or will there be some payload restrictions such as that seen on QF8 with some Y seats deliberately blocked then onsold at checkin as a comfort seat.

The competitor UA operated SYD-USA with 787-9 and 252 seats. My Suggestion is that QF has configured the 787-9 to be able to fly current B747/A380 routes with no payload restrictions but the exotic routes will have some payload restrictions. So if true, some Y passengers on these ultra routes may have the opportunity to pick an adjacent comfort seat for a few extra discretionary dollars as MEL_Traveller suggested.

SYD-DFW and MEL-DFW on B787 instead of A380? Capacity wise this would work especially as QF8 is always payload restricted. No F of course.
I would not be surprised if the B789 will take over some of the longer range A330 routes ?PEK
But lets not let the hype get in the way