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Originally Posted by Lord Disick
Let us know how the new AC biz class is. I'm suppose to flying to Toronto end of this month for work, going to go business but I usually have to take the first flight out from YVR and I get stuck on the A321. Awful plane to spend 4+hours on.
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It's funny... in business class on a daytime flight, I don't actually mind the A320/321 at all as I am not going to try to sleep anyways. It's obviously not a pod, but it's a comfortable seat.
I flew the "new" 777HD last night, and I had one of the rare throne seats in business class, certainly one of the best 6 seats on the plane if you are travelling alone. First and foremost, lets get this out of the way right up front - this seat is a downgrade from a pod in every way, except perhaps by not looking as tired and abused as some of the pods do these days. I found the seat to be comfortable enough but it is very hard to get in and out of as the space between your armrest and the seat in front of you is actually about as tight as most economy seats, though you have cavernous legroom in front of you when you are actually in your seat. The new seat certainly feels a bit less private as you are aware what is on your screen is easily read from above and behind, etc. while the angles on the pods prevents this. However, I did appreciate the side tables beside the seat, that's actually a very handy place to put things during the flight. The separate cupholders were also a handy addition.
The flight attendants certainly hate this plane - I overheard more than one "rant" from a flight attendant to a curious passenger, there is no doubt that with roughly the same number of flight attendants and over 100 passengers more than a standard 777, they are stretched thin and this annoys them. I, along with several other J passengers, would go to the front to use the front bathrooms and one attendant kept reminding us that there were washrooms behind us (shared with premium economy) and almost seemed annoyed we were using the front ones, which seems very strange to me, but this is probably an isolated thing.
Many Flyertalk people report feeling that their service in J is worse because of the new arrangement - I have to say, I didn't notice this at any time. My flight was actually 10 minutes early to leave the gate (sched. 1800 depart) and dinner orders were taken on the ground, by status correctly, and dinner service was underway by about 15 minutes off the ground, drinks were offered first, then appetizers, then drinks again, then entrees with an additional drink service - I certainly noticed no deficiency on the speed or pacing of the service. Food quality was exactly the same as I am used to in standard AC J.
In a throne seat, the 777HD isn't the end of the world and I think the reality of the seats is perhaps a bit blown out of proportion. However, with that said, I wanted to try it once, and I now know that I will certainly make an effort to pick flights on pod based business cabins rather than the 777HD.
Mark