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Airline beds on international flights

bamagrad75

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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.
 

gob

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Hopefully I can get some sleep sitting up with all the fellow poors from Philly to Amsterdam
 

Roy Munson

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Flew Coach from Sydney to Dallas, currently the 7th longest flight in the world at 17 hours 10 minutes. Slept fine. Watched tons of movies.

Pick a window seat in the back where the plane narrows and you get room between you and the window for your things so you can stretch your legs.
 

bamagrad75

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Flew Coach from Sydney to Dallas, currently the 7th longest flight in the world at 17 hours 10 minutes. Slept fine. Watched tons of movies.

Pick a window seat in the back where the plane narrows and you get room between you and the window for your things so you can stretch your legs.

Props to you.

I couldn't do it. These old bones need a bed especially since the first city usually isn't my final destination point that day.

Did that Dallas to Sydney, then flew on to Cairns later in the morning. Plus we flew into Dallas from Birmingham.

Our most recent trip was Birmingham to Atlanta then to LAX (6 hour layover), on to Singapore (7 hour layover), then on to Bali. Then, less than 12 hours later on to Labaun Bajo and a speedboat to a resort in Komodo. Probably 36-40 hours total trip time. Way too long for me to go without stretching out somewhere.
 

bamagrad75

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Hopefully I can get some sleep sitting up with all the fellow poors from Philly to Amsterdam

Lol. Last night I booked Incheon to Atlanta to Birmingham with miles, thank heavens. Got a good deal on a Delta One suite. Of course, have to fly from Bali to Incheon, then have a nasty 9 hour layover before leaving. And the Bali flight leaves at 1 in the morning.

Getting too old for this.

Delta runs some nice flash sales on those Philly to Amsterdam routes.
 

jvett77

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I enjoyed my round trip Phila.-London flight years ago on a 747 except I still felt I was sitting in a noisy utility room for five hours. Generally, I hate flying. I watch the Air Disasters series and am convinced that sophisticated flight control automation plus dumb "pilots" means goodbye. Thank heavens incidents are scarce, though, because manufacturers, maintenance, FAA, airport traffic controllers, and pilots (operators) learn from each accident.

Thanks for the plane and flight information above.
 

bamagrad75

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I enjoyed my round trip Phila.-London flight years ago on a 747 except I still felt I was sitting in a noisy utility room for five hours. Generally, I hate flying. I watch the Air Disasters series and am convinced that sophisticated flight control automation plus dumb "pilots" means goodbye. Thank heavens incidents are scarce, though, because manufacturers, maintenance, FAA, airport traffic controllers, and pilots (operators) learn from each accident.

Thanks for the plane and flight information above.

Say a prayer for me as I have no choice but to fly a Lion Air (Indonesia) aka, deathtrap airlines, in April.

They flew one right into a mountain south of Denpasar and the other was the 747 Max right into the ocean.

They get pilots with flight simulator training mostly because they are CHEAP. They have less actual flight time experience than the average "learn to fly" student in America. I almost asked if I could bring my own pilot.

As for noise, I fly with my own noise cancelling headphones. Good for crying babies, talkative seatmates and most airline noise.

BTW, the Singapore Air headphones were nouse cancelling and some of the nicest ones I've ever used. Lol, they have a note on them saying, dont bother to steal, their plug in system is unique to them. I had to laugh.
 

gob

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Lol. Last night I booked Incheon to Atlanta to Birmingham with miles, thank heavens. Got a good deal on a Delta One suite. Of course, have to fly from Bali to Incheon, then have a nasty 9 hour layover before leaving. And the Bali flight leaves at 1 in the morning.

Getting too old for this.

Delta runs some nice flash sales on those Philly to Amsterdam routes.
Total flight, from Columbus, with a checked bag was $610. Not too bad. Columbus doesn't get a ton of European cheap flights (obviously, none direct).
 

bamagrad75

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Total flight, from Columbus, with a checked bag was $610. Not too bad. Columbus doesn't get a ton of European cheap flights (obviously, none direct).

Nice price.

Yeah, I have to fly to Dallas, Atlanta, Philly or Detroit to get flights. Birmingham has zilch.

Mostly end up at LAX flying out, heading Pacific, and LAX is a giant suckfest as an airport.
 

jvett77

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Say a prayer for me as I have no choice but to fly a Lion Air (Indonesia) aka, deathtrap airlines, in April.

They flew one right into a mountain south of Denpasar and the other was the 747 Max right into the ocean.

They get pilots with flight simulator training mostly because they are CHEAP. They have less actual flight time experience than the average "learn to fly" student in America. I almost asked if I could bring my own pilot.

As for noise, I fly with my own noise cancelling headphones. Good for crying babies, talkative seatmates and most airline noise.

BTW, the Singapore Air headphones were nouse cancelling and some of the nicest ones I've ever used. Lol, they have a note on them saying, dont bother to steal, their plug in system is unique to them. I had to laugh.

You mean 737 Max? Good idea about noise cancellation headphones. Would also help prevent hearing an engine cover flapping against the wing should that occur.

If I visit Russia in the next few years, I'm hoping I can hop a tour bus or a train to check out hot spots like Moscow, Petersburg, Kiev, etc. Heard too much about russian commuter flights. :eek:
 

bamagrad75

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You mean 737 Max? Good idea about noise cancellation headphones. Would also help prevent hearing an engine cover flapping against the wing should that occur.

If I visit Russia in the next few years, I'm hoping I can hop a tour bus or a train to check out hot spots like Moscow, Petersburg, Kiev, etc. Heard too much about russian commuter flights. :eek:

Yes, the Max.

Lol. I've actually used earplugs AND noise cancelling earphones. Almost like a safe space.

Oh hell, I've survived some crazy 3rd world country commuter planes. Go for it. Everyone should be terrorized beyond speech once in their lives.
 

gob

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Woof... Not even gonna have a window seat
 

bamagrad75

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Woof... Not even gonna have a window seat

I dont get window seats anyway unless it's a 1-2-1 combo. Old bladder needs access to bathroom w/o crawling over anyone.

Plus I can grab the attendants easier for more drinks.
 

gob

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I dont get window seats anyway unless it's a 1-2-1 combo. Old bladder needs access to bathroom w/o crawling over anyone.

Plus I can grab the attendants easier for more drinks.
Easier to sleep when you're sitting upright, though.

Which will be good when you leave in the evening, and arrive at 8:30am
 

bamagrad75

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Easier to sleep when you're sitting upright, though.

Which will be good when you leave in the evening, and arrive at 8:30am

Depends. Daughter n I were discussing how far many airline "walls" have gotten from the window seat. Not as easy to lean on to sleep anymore.

You back off to former Soviet nations?
 

gob

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Depends. Daughter n I were discussing how far many airline "walls" have gotten from the window seat. Not as easy to lean on to sleep anymore.

You back off to former Soviet nations?
Me thinks you have me confused with someone else. I have yet to visit Soviet Nations (aside from former East Berlin)
 

gob

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The Doosh is in Italy. Just got some pix from him.

Time to branch out and try some nice mid east countries
Not sure where is next. Thinking either Portugal or Prague/Vienna. Not sure yet.
 
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