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Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

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Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#31

Post by fiblye »

tmd83 wrote: post #26

Does anyone have problem with airline headrest. I have trouble sitting up for one but if I can it works best if I can let my head kinda fall back (however had that might be for my neck) at least a little. Now all the airline seat bulges forward and I can almost never sleep.

They feel like they're designed to optimize discomfort.

There are really only two ways I can sit in them. One is that just one small point of my head makes contact, and my back is perfectly straight and doesn't make contact with the seat. The other is that I do rest my head against it, but I'm bending my head down at a 45 degree angle and it feels like my neck is about to snap.

I wish they just didn't exist.

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#33

Post by djaychela »

Once I got bumped onto a different return flight from NY to London, and it was on a 747. Got onto the plane pretty late because of this, and it was fairly quiet - this was about 10pm boarding time. Had a seat on the outside of the middle 4, and there was no-one else in those 4 seats, but a guy on the next aisle seat to me on his own group of 3. We both looked a bit sheepishly at each other and smiled when they shut the doors - had a complete row of seats each on that flight, the most comfortable return flight I've had from the US - stretched out across the seats and had a decent sleep for once!

Not sure I'd want to pay for it though - there's hard metal between the seat bases...

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#34

Post by hourislate »

wenc wrote: post #20

Heck, forget three seats. I would even pay extra just to have the middle seat empty (with me in aisle or window). It really makes a difference on long hauls. EDIT: turns out it's already possible to do that. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/buy-second-airplane-seat/

Most airlines already try to do that in Premium Economy. Typically it's the first 8 rows in Economy where there is more leg room and distance between you and the person in front. The gate agents will try very hard to separate (block middle seats) for all the passengers in this zone unless it is an extremely full flight and not possible.

Just upgrade (use points) to Premium Economy (do it at the gate once you know how full the flight is) for a fraction of what a middle seat would cost to keep empty. Good chance you might luck out.

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#35

Post by tmd83 »

fiblye wrote: post #31
tmd83 wrote: post #26

Does anyone have problem with airline headrest. I have trouble sitting up for one but if I can it works best if I can let my head kinda fall back (however had that might be for my neck) at least a little. Now all the airline seat bulges forward and I can almost never sleep.

They feel like they're designed to optimize discomfort. There are really only two ways I can sit in them. One is that just one small point of my head makes contact, and my back is perfectly straight and doesn't make contact with the seat. The other is that I do rest my head against it, but I'm bending my head down at a 45 degree angle and it feels like my neck is about to snap. I wish they just didn't exist.

Thank God to hear that I'm not the only one. Most people seem to have no problem with it.

I wonder if anybody actually likes it more than a flat or depressed headrest.

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#36

Post by alistairSH »

thrwn_frthr_awy wrote: post #30
tehwebguy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. If the head rests in particular were concave and could lean back a tiny bit to where my head would not roll onto my neighbor / the aisle / smack the side of the plane I’d be able to sleep on every flight.

I believe the sides of most headrests can be pulled forward.

I've found this to be true on trans-oceanic flights, but rarely on trans-continental (USA). I wish it were true on all flights - even if it's not a night flight, it's nice to nod off for a quick 20 min nap sometimes.

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#39

Post by pampa »

dnhz wrote: post #32

For $260, you can experience what it would be like to sleep on a park bench while 36,000 feet in the air.

When you're halfway thru a packed 12 hour flight in economy, a park bench will seem like a 5 star hotel! You'd curl up on the cabin floor if they let you, or beg the flight attendand to zap you with a taser to knock you out.

Re: Lufthansa trialing lie-flat Economy seat concept

#40

Post by wenc »

hourislate wrote: post #34
wenc wrote: post #20

Heck, forget three seats. I would even pay extra just to have the middle seat empty (with me in aisle or window). It really makes a difference on long hauls. EDIT: turns out it's already possible to do that. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/buy-second-airplane-seat/

Most airlines already try to do that in Premium Economy. Typically it's the first 8 rows in Economy where there is more leg room and distance between you and the person in front. The gate agents will try very hard to separate (block middle seats) for all the passengers in this zone unless it is an extremely full flight and not possible. Just upgrade (use points) to Premium Economy (do it at the gate once you know how…

Ah that's a good tip -- I didn't know they did that.

It does depend on luck though. I did luck out one time on Lufthansa (Premium Economy) where there was an empty seat next to me, however, this wasn't the case on all segments.

Buying a middle seat on the other hand removes luck from the equation.

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