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Now that I've taken 4 of the top 15 longest flights, thought I'd mention the difference in business & FC beds on several key airliners for those traveling internationally. If it's 7 hours or more, my butt better be in a bed.
Lie Flat beds = 180 degrees flat, like your bed at home. You can angle the head if you wish.
Angle Flat beds = having a slight angle to the head instead of true lie flat. Doesn't bother me since I sleep with my head on a wedge anyway (thank you pollens) but it might bothered some.
Now, the final difference is in what I call true lie flat versus a canted lie flat.
One the true lie flat, it's just like home, your feet are straight out in front. On the canted, you can still (kind of lie straight) but your feet are to the left or right (depending on what side of the airplane you are on..and no, it's not reversed for British planes) in a little "cubby" area.
I find the canted uncomfortable because 1. it tends to force you to lay on your side with a slight bend in your knees and 2. the "holes" your feet go in can differ in size on airlines.
A380 from Dallas to Sydney (Qantas), true lie straight flat bed. The only problem was business was in a 2-2-2 configuration which meant the person in the window bed had to step over you. Wasn't a problem since I was with my daughter but could get testy with a stranger. But, I've heard most are converting them to a 1-2-1 configuration which should solve this. Plus Qantas has just renovated it's upper deck lounge area beyond the galley. I prefer the upper deck since it's fewer seats & quieter. Massive amount of storage space, even enough to store your laptop & more. Meals were not bad for airline food. Plus they'd make fresh lattes or cappuccinos on demand & always had hot & cold foods in the galley on demand.
Qantas uses a nice mattress pad & good blanket so slept very well.
Hint: choose upper deck for fewer passengers & private entrance
747 from Heathrow to Philadelphia, British Airways. Again chose upper deck & they use a reverse herringbone arrangement. The seats fold out into a straight line, then you lift a foot stool to make the bed complete. I was next to the window (seat facing backward) but didn't much bother me. A lot of storage space for laptop & much more. Not sure how the meal was, slept right through it. But they brought me an afternoon tea of scones, clotted cream, fresh jams & tea. Delicious
My only true complaint was the access to the window seats was so narrow, even Twiggy would have a hard time squeezing thru which left many of us jumping a neighbor. Good news is the airlines are increasing the aisle access on these reverse herringbone designs.
British Airways uses a nice mattress pad & good blanket, so I was asleep minutes after the seat belt sign went off.
Hint: choose upper deck for fewer passengers & private entrance
Dreamliner from LAX to Sydney on American. Canted bed. Not the most comfortable but if I angled in my seat, I could fly a bit flatter with some knee bend. Still not as comfortable as a straight lie flat. They have a nice mattress pad & blanket & I was out & even slept right through dinner. The foot area is big enough, you don't have to remove your feet to turn over. More limited storage but still more than the stingy A350. Can't discuss food since I slept right through dinner. They offered me a warm snack when I finally came up for air.
A350 LAX to Sydney on Singapore Air was another canted seat. But the size of the foot area was very small which meant I pretty much had to wake up every time I wanted to change positions to get my feet out, then back in. Plus the Airbus group has removed all the overhead individual air vents which means you are at the mercy of the plane temperature. Went from hot to cold & back multiple times. AND, the storage is VERY limited. Not enough to store much more than a kindle, certainly no room for a laptop or other items which meant you were constantly in & out of the overhead compartment. Did have hot and cold snacks on demand & fresh lattes & cappuccinos plus very nice custom fruit drinks
Thin mattress pad was not comfortable but nice blanket & 3 pillows instead of the usual 1. Plus a different seat belt arrangement for sleeping safely. Despite custom menu you could select days before (filet mignon, lobster, etc), found the food to be less quality than expected for Singapore Air & the premium cost of this flight.
Oddly enough, we flew Singapore Air on from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali, a 2.4 hour flight & had a lie flat straight bed on it. Go Figure! And Custom meal.
Hint..the strawberry waffle with fresh fruit is a winner.
Hard to complain about the 747 or Dreamliner since I paid for them with airline points. But considering the premium price we paid for the Singapore Air flight, I expected it to be a bit better.
In my more foolish days, flew Premium Economy from Atlanta to Johannesburg and Detroit to Narita. Just no. The minimal extra comfort not worth the price. Pay a bit more & move up to business class.
I'll be flying the new Delta One suite back from Indonesia in May. Will let you know how the private suites compare for beds & storage. I'm going to like the private door.
Lie Flat beds = 180 degrees flat, like your bed at home. You can angle the head if you wish.
Angle Flat beds = having a slight angle to the head instead of true lie flat. Doesn't bother me since I sleep with my head on a wedge anyway (thank you pollens) but it might bothered some.
Now, the final difference is in what I call true lie flat versus a canted lie flat.
One the true lie flat, it's just like home, your feet are straight out in front. On the canted, you can still (kind of lie straight) but your feet are to the left or right (depending on what side of the airplane you are on..and no, it's not reversed for British planes) in a little "cubby" area.
I find the canted uncomfortable because 1. it tends to force you to lay on your side with a slight bend in your knees and 2. the "holes" your feet go in can differ in size on airlines.
A380 from Dallas to Sydney (Qantas), true lie straight flat bed. The only problem was business was in a 2-2-2 configuration which meant the person in the window bed had to step over you. Wasn't a problem since I was with my daughter but could get testy with a stranger. But, I've heard most are converting them to a 1-2-1 configuration which should solve this. Plus Qantas has just renovated it's upper deck lounge area beyond the galley. I prefer the upper deck since it's fewer seats & quieter. Massive amount of storage space, even enough to store your laptop & more. Meals were not bad for airline food. Plus they'd make fresh lattes or cappuccinos on demand & always had hot & cold foods in the galley on demand.
Qantas uses a nice mattress pad & good blanket so slept very well.
Hint: choose upper deck for fewer passengers & private entrance
747 from Heathrow to Philadelphia, British Airways. Again chose upper deck & they use a reverse herringbone arrangement. The seats fold out into a straight line, then you lift a foot stool to make the bed complete. I was next to the window (seat facing backward) but didn't much bother me. A lot of storage space for laptop & much more. Not sure how the meal was, slept right through it. But they brought me an afternoon tea of scones, clotted cream, fresh jams & tea. Delicious
My only true complaint was the access to the window seats was so narrow, even Twiggy would have a hard time squeezing thru which left many of us jumping a neighbor. Good news is the airlines are increasing the aisle access on these reverse herringbone designs.
British Airways uses a nice mattress pad & good blanket, so I was asleep minutes after the seat belt sign went off.
Hint: choose upper deck for fewer passengers & private entrance
Dreamliner from LAX to Sydney on American. Canted bed. Not the most comfortable but if I angled in my seat, I could fly a bit flatter with some knee bend. Still not as comfortable as a straight lie flat. They have a nice mattress pad & blanket & I was out & even slept right through dinner. The foot area is big enough, you don't have to remove your feet to turn over. More limited storage but still more than the stingy A350. Can't discuss food since I slept right through dinner. They offered me a warm snack when I finally came up for air.
A350 LAX to Sydney on Singapore Air was another canted seat. But the size of the foot area was very small which meant I pretty much had to wake up every time I wanted to change positions to get my feet out, then back in. Plus the Airbus group has removed all the overhead individual air vents which means you are at the mercy of the plane temperature. Went from hot to cold & back multiple times. AND, the storage is VERY limited. Not enough to store much more than a kindle, certainly no room for a laptop or other items which meant you were constantly in & out of the overhead compartment. Did have hot and cold snacks on demand & fresh lattes & cappuccinos plus very nice custom fruit drinks
Thin mattress pad was not comfortable but nice blanket & 3 pillows instead of the usual 1. Plus a different seat belt arrangement for sleeping safely. Despite custom menu you could select days before (filet mignon, lobster, etc), found the food to be less quality than expected for Singapore Air & the premium cost of this flight.
Oddly enough, we flew Singapore Air on from Singapore to Denpasar, Bali, a 2.4 hour flight & had a lie flat straight bed on it. Go Figure! And Custom meal.
Hint..the strawberry waffle with fresh fruit is a winner.
Hard to complain about the 747 or Dreamliner since I paid for them with airline points. But considering the premium price we paid for the Singapore Air flight, I expected it to be a bit better.
In my more foolish days, flew Premium Economy from Atlanta to Johannesburg and Detroit to Narita. Just no. The minimal extra comfort not worth the price. Pay a bit more & move up to business class.
I'll be flying the new Delta One suite back from Indonesia in May. Will let you know how the private suites compare for beds & storage. I'm going to like the private door.