Enough More
Check this song out, it’s really uplifting.
The mid 2000s saw what was to be a turning point in aircraft cabin interior history.
Spearheaded by September 11, financial crises and the rise of low-cost carriers, airlines had a choice of either upping the ante on existing cabin products or removing First Class and then, further developing the rest. Some premium carriers evolved the First Class cabin by adopting a suite-like configuration; a private enclosed space complete with real mattresses. At the same time, others did away with First and improved their Business Class, reasoning that private jets could achieve what commercial airlines couldn’t – flexible schedules, point-to-point routes, along with complete security and privacy. To cater to different needs and depending on the aim of the airline, the Business Class seat design went on different tangents. For some, it had to fill a void of being BOTH a mixture of a First and Business product but all across the board the concept was simple – provide more comfort to business travelers who needed uninterrupted sleep and provide a comfortable workstation, all while maintaining a high level of service and giving each passenger their due privacy. Different airlines had different specifications, some prioritizing certain aspects more than others.
Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class - the herringbone pioneer
One of these designs was the herringbone. The herringbone design, available on airlines like Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, selected Delta aircraft and Air New Zealand, works on a simple principle, with seats radiating out from the centre line at an angle. On paper, the design is perfect – providing every single passenger with direct aisle access which combats a fundamental flaw of traditional, forward-facing seats; meaning that passengers at the window seats no longer need to trouble the aisle-seat passengers to get up and move. However, the drawback was that such seats are tilted 45 to 50 degrees to face the aisle so virtually, window seat passengers don’t have access to windows since it’ll be behind them. If you were traveling with a partner, it is virtually impossible to interact with your fellow traveler next to you. The other type is the staggered seating (picture below), a space-saving design that gives passengers direct aisle access too and is available on airlines such as ANA, Asiana, Etihad Airways, Emirates amongst many other airlines. Compared to the herringbone, passengers face forward but the offset is that depending on where one seats, it can feel either very claustrophobic and private or incredibly open and too public.
Staggered seating used by ANA
Economy Class seats also saw subtle but drastic changes. Traditionally, older seats when reclined, compromises what little space the passenger behind has; he or she might have to slouch or tilt their head up and down for long periods of time in order to watch the lowered seatback TV as a result of the recline. So there were 2 options that were developed and both rely on pushing the seat cushion forward to create the illusion of reclining. But while one design DOES allow the seat some actual recline, the other does not, adopting a fixed back configuration. The latter is good in that it doesn’t compromise the passenger’s comfort behind BUT if the airline doesn’t increase the seat pitch (distance from your butt to the seat infront of you), it defeats the purpose as there’s no space for the seat to recline forward towards. Some Economy Class cabins have seen more fundamental changes in the recent half decade. In some airplanes, particularly the Boeing 777 aircraft, airlines have noticed that if they narrowed each seat by 1 or 2 inches, they could squeeze another seat in the row – and this ‘minor’ change could bring in extra revenue and make the flight even more efficient. So, an aircraft that was designed to sit 9-across was modified to sit 10-across!! Thankfully, only a few airlines such as Air France, Emirates, Air New Zealand, TAM and a few other carriers have adopted this denser seating. The tighter seating is also available on all AirAsia X’s Airbus A330 aircraft, seating 9-across in an aircraft designed for 8-across.
New Economy seats has seat cushions that push-forward, and recline a little to give the illusion of recline
In 2007 just as many airlines announced new seat updates, Cathay Pacific unveiled its new seating to shockingly bad reviews from day one. Cathay Pacific adopted the herringbone design for its Business Class but unlike the other airlines which adopted the original design based on Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class, its design was radically different. Cathay Pacific opted for higher walls and partitions and a slightly narrower seat. For Economy Class, the airline went for the then-revolutionary fixed-back seat design. Passengers were flabbergasted; Business Class travelers charged that the seat was so narrow that they couldn’t even read a newspaper. The higher seats, adopted in both classes reduced cabin visibility and enhanced the feeling of claustrophobia that frequent flyers began to nickname Cathay Pacific’s Business seats as “coffins”. Passengers flying Economy complained that the seat felt too hard and charged that they did not offer back and lumbar support, which they alleged, aggrevated back problems.
People call Cathay Pacific's Business Class "coffins"
I flew on the Economy Class seats last year when I went to Hong Kong with Inez and frankly, I didn’t have problems with it, I even liked it. However, I can understand where the complaints are coming from. The seat IS admittedly a little hard and you NEED to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. The seat has many movable parts; headrests, legrests, backrests, all of which can be shifted and moved left or right, in or out, up or down… basically, it’s not user-friendly. These things need to be easy to operate and use – nobody’s gonna wanna read up a manual on how to operate the seat.
Cathay Pacific's Economy Class seats look hard don't they?
Complaints and concerns appear to be pretty serious because just 3 years after the Economy and Business seats’ introduction, the airline has officially announced that it plans to revamp (read: remove) and improve the seats. The airline ALSO plans to introduce a Premium Economy Class. For the airline, the seats represent a huge failure on their part to recognize such problems before its roll-out and the airline will pay for it, financially. The airline however, will take its time to revamp the new aircraft because afterall, it’s not as simple to install seats… these aren’t buses afterall. Aircraft seats are probably the most advanced public things available for use today. However, it is not all gloom because one MUST commend the airline on its willingness to listen to its passengers and act so quickly. Other airlines for example, such as Singapore Airlines’ Business Class has been somewhat criticized for being too wide, forcing passengers to sit with virtually no armrests since they’re too wide. In addition, the lie-flat bed has been criticized for forcing passengers to sleep in just a single position only.
