Tag: Seats

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Did You Know? There's a Word for Those Airline Seat Headrest Napkin Things

September 12, 2012 at 11:32 AM | by | Comments (0)

Fun fact: fun facts are awesome. Whether you're trying to chat up a flight attendant or simply love learning something cool, we've got some tidbits to share. So all this week, we'll be squeezing our mindgrapes to bring you some awesome, random travel factoids.

Fact: Those disposable headrest things on airplane seats have a name: Antimacassars.

Expanding your vocabulary is always a good thing, but we wouldn't necessarily recommend that you refer to the headrest flappy things by their proper name if, say, you're requesting a new one from a flight attendant.

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United Set to Slim Down with Thinner Seats

September 11, 2012 at 10:08 AM | by | Comment (1)

It seems like United passengers just can’t catch a break. Quite a bit of time has passed since the wedding day with Continental, and there still seems to be continued reports of delays, drama, and other shenanigans both on the ground and in the sky. Even if everything shakes out and settles down it looks like there’s even more trouble ahead for passengers, and that’s especially going to be the case for their knees.

In order to make some more cash the airline has been chatting with Recaro—they’re good at making seats—about adding some slimmer seating surfaces to their planes. Specifically United is looking to change up the seats on both their Airbus A320s and A319s with a thinner design, as this will allow them to cram another row of seats into their cabins. More seats means more passengers, and of course that means more revenue—so we kind of understand what they’re doing here.

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New Seats and New Interiors Bring the New Plane Smell Back to Japan Airlines

Where: Japan
August 21, 2012 at 8:37 AM | by | Comments (0)

Over in the hangars at Japan Airlines there may just be a little airplane jealousy, especially as some of the carrier’s older planes check out the new looks of those Boeing 787s. In order to ensure they're still on big happy family, it sounds like JAL is sending some of their older planes in for a little bit of a refurb and refresh.

New seats are coming to their entire fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs, as the airline hopes to keep things cutting edge and comfortable across all different cabins of service. They’re planning to reveal a few more details next month, as well as some of the dining delicacies that you’ll be able to enjoy from the comfort of your seat.

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Even Canadians May Soon Enjoy Premium Economy Seating

Where: Canada
August 7, 2012 at 10:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

It seems like everyone wants a little more space nowadays, and airlines are certainly aware that passengers are willing to pay for it. Carriers like Virgin America, United, Delta, and JetBlue all have different flavors of their extra legroom seats, and now there’s one more airline looking to help you stretch out a little bit.

WestJet is looking for more profit (and to lure more business travelers away from Air Canada), so they’re now offering up their own version of premium economy seating for those willing to pay for the privilege. Planes are heading into the hangar starting this month, as four rows of seats will now be enjoying around 36 inches of pitch.

WestJet is upgrading and updating their entire fleet of Boeing 737s, so this is going to be quite the undertaking; however, they obviously feel that moving and shifting all the seats is more than worth it.

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Air New Zealand Considers Letting Other Airlines in on the SkyCouch Love

June 18, 2012 at 9:54 AM | by | Comment (1)

You know we’ve been all about Air New Zealand and their Skycouch seats ever since we first heard of the idea, but now the airline may share their beloved glorified economy seats with friends.

Just in case you missed it, the seats are basically coach seats with the middle blocked out. Then at cruising altitude the three seats transform into a couch of sorts, where you and your traveling companion can snuggle up for the long-haul flight over the Pacific. It seems that these seats are catching on, and they might just make their way over to other airlines as well.

Apparently the airline has already been chatting with like 12 other airlines about the ability to license the Air New Zealand invention. Airline officials seem to have no problem doing so, but they are pretty honest when they state that they’re looking for quite a bit of cash for them to share their clever idea. Sounds like—if all goes well—t might be around the end of the year when we start to hear about the snuggle-seats being offered up elsewhere.

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The Definitive Guide to Lufthansa's New Business Class, Onboard the First 747-8i

June 4, 2012 at 3:36 PM | by | Comment (1)

New airplane alert! Last Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

It used to be that flying in luxury on a jumbo jet meant somewhat wider seats with better recline, friendlier flight attendants, a spiral staircase to the upper deck and lobster on the menu. This was the premium class of the 1970s, when Pan Am took off with the very first Boeing 747 passenger plane, a 747-100. Fast forward to 42 years later (!!) to the new 747-800 Intercontinental and, as much as we bemoan the loss of the "jet set" glamor, stepping into Lufthansa's new Business Class forces the realization that—holy mackerel—these last few decades have actually produced a plane that can again cause passengers to mouthe "wow" (or "toll" if you're German).

The 747 has always been an impressive work of aviation engineering, but it's this 747-8i that Boeing is calling "a flagship aircraft that airlines will want to customize" and "a cornerstone of the Lufthansa fleet for years to come." So, no surprise that Lufthansa chose this baby for the grand debut of the new lie-flat Business Class seats, right? So let's check it out...

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Delta's Economy Comfort Seating Options Are Everywhere, Starting Next Week

June 1, 2012 at 9:04 AM | by | Comments (0)

It’s been a couple summers since Delta first introduced their plans to help you stretch out on those long-haul international flights. Apparently travelers enjoyed not having their knees bash up against the seat in front of them, so the stretched out seating design was extended to some domestic flights as well. Obviously they’re looking to cash in on our willingness to pay for a little bit more comfort and space, and it also probably doesn’t hurt that the competition over at United Airlines has been doing something pretty darn similar with their Economy Plus options.

Delta’s Economy Comfort upgrade is almost complete, as it sounds like they’re just about finished upgrading and updating a whole mess of their airplanes. The airline is promising that as of June 7 the new seating options will be available for your seating pleasure on all two-class airplanes throughout the globe.

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Airbus Thinks Americans Have Big Butts, So They're Making Wider Seats

May 31, 2012 at 9:57 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you haven’t looked at our butt yet today it might be a good time to do so, because Airbus thinks you have a big one. Well not you specifically, but they are thinking that residents of the nifty fifty are expanding when it comes to their personal seating surface.

Always looking for a way to make some extra cash—and a leg up on the competition over at Boeing—Airbus is now adding some slides to their PowerPoint presentation about wider seats. The Airbus A320 is a little bit wider overall when compared to the Boeing 737, so this would allow Airbus to offer slightly wider seats along the aisles while keeping the middle and window seats basically unchanged.

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Somebody Please Think of Economy Class! Oh Wait, Cathay Pacific Did.

May 30, 2012 at 1:07 PM | by | Comments (0)

Not everybody can fly in Business Class, and that goes double-time for First Class, so with all this year's announcements of new business class seats, we're thrilled to find that an airline has slipped an Economy Class upgrade into the mix. That airline is Cathay Pacific and you should know that the new seats in economy are going to make a heck of a difference. Why? Because they are totally different from the old design and—here's the kicker—you'll have to sit in them for over 13 hours on Cathay's longest routes, so you better like 'em.

The old seats, for those who haven't had the blessing of sitting through a 17-hour flight in them, had a fixed back which meant that while no one was reclining into your lap, you essentially slide down to recline. The pressure was on what we fondly call "the butt bone," and you could kiss feeling in your bottom goodbye for half the flight.

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It's Not a Hello Kitty Plane, but It Is EVA Air's New 'Royal Laurel Class'

Where: Taiwan
May 22, 2012 at 10:14 AM | by | Comments (0)

New and improved business class seats seems to be a thing this year among airlines, and Taiwan-based EVA Air is next up, revamping their premium cabin and announcing that it'll be coming to US shores first—to New York, specifically.

As a complete service overhaul, EVA re-named business to Royal Laurel Class and will now offer a fully lie-flat seat to stretch your legs on the 16+ hour non-stop from JFK to Taipei. New modern seats, upgraded menus and increased entertainment and comfort are all part of the spruce-up.

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Coming Soon for Your Legs and Butt: Alaska Airlines' New Seats

May 21, 2012 at 9:36 AM | by | Comments (0)

We haven’t heard too much from Alaska Airlines lately. Of course there was that time they ditched the prayer cards and the mysteriously itchy uniforms, but now they’re making news for an actual improvement. The eskimo-faced carrier is looking forward to the arrival of some new seats.

Alaska Airlines fell hard for the presentation from the suits over at Recaro Aircraft Seating, as they’re going all in with one of the manufacturer’s latest designs. The updated features include a six-way adjustable headrest, as well as three inches of recline. The new seats will even feature like an inch more of legroom, so feel free to stretch out once aboard—at least just a little bit.

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The Definitive Guide to Cathay Pacific's New Premium Economy Class

Where: Hong Kong
May 15, 2012 at 11:37 AM | by | Comments (2)

Premium Economy is hot, there's no doubt about that. It feels like almost every international airline is widening the seats, adding extra garnishes to the in-flight meals and cooing about deeper reclines for passengers willing to pay more than economy, but not so much as business class.

The latest airline to join the Premium party, Cathay Pacific, is also the one where ponying up the extra cash for extra cushion may make the most sense; the flight from New York to Hong Kong is a whopping 16 hours, after all.

Well we've flown it many times, mostly in Economy but also in Business and, now, in Premium Economy. Want to try it out yourself? ENTER HERE, into our contest to win a roundtrip (valued at $4,000) from the US or Canada to Hong Kong, in Cathay's new Premium Economy class.

Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty:

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