Largely on Your Primary US Carrier’s “Partner”
They are surfacing the world over. Find them and you can get much more for your money or miles.
Cathay Pacific Business Class (oneworld)
The carrier’s new B777-300ERs, which fly the Hong Kong route from Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, started arriving in April with the carrier’s new Business Class seat. From
San Francisco, Cathay will continue to fly B747s furnished with the old seat, a good reason to make connections in Los Angeles rather than in SFO, which you’ll be very happy if you do.
The Difference: Cathay already has a decent Business Class seat; now it will offer a very good one. Seat width will increase from 18.5 to 21 inches and from 23.5 to 29.5 when reclined with the armrest retracted.
Business Class Seat Comparison on Cathay Pacific
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The seat rollout is scheduled to finish by February 2013, so it will be hit and miss along the way, which begs the question: How can you tell them apart, now?
Knowledge is Power (or at least Comfort): Usually it’s advisable to look at the seat map, but in this case the new and old configuration look very similar. The best way to tell them apart is by how many rows the aircraft has. The old Business Class Cabin has 27 rows, whereas the new Business Class cabin has 26. So for example, on Oct. 5 Cathay (CX) flights 831 and 841, New York-Hong Kong, offer the new seat, but CX 845 has the old seat. (Do keep in mind that at times, due to aircraft rotations, the new cabin may not be available until the roll-out is completed.)
Singapore (Star Alliance) to Start A380 Service from New York
Out with the B747, in with the A380 on New York-Frankfurt, starting Jan. 15, 2012. (Singapore already flies the A380 from Los Angeles.) It’s the only Singapore aircraft to offer the First Class suite were the bed is designed separately into each Suite, and does not convert from the seat itself. For couples traveling together, the beds in the middle two seats can be converted to an optional double bed. It also has the widest Business Class flatbed seat in the air (34 inches).
Seat Comparison for Singapore
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United to Offer Better Business Class Flat beds on p.s. Transcons
United’s p.s. fleet of B757s, used on several transcon routes, is being reconfigured. First Class is being torn out (a sign of the times), Business Class is getting a new flatbed seat, and a new economy section is being put in. The Business Class cabin will also get two more seats (going from 26 to 28), while Economy Plus loses two seats (going from 72 to 70). United says the new flat bed seats will make Business Class better than the current p.s. First Class. The project starts next year and finishes in 2013.
p.s. Premium Service on Transcon Flights
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The Good News:
- The new Business Class seat is comparable to flat-beds used on international routes. That makes the domestic Business Class award (50,000 miles) a good value, as a similar seat goes for double the cost on international routes of similar flight distances.
- Economy plus will have more legroom (from 34 inches to 35-37 inches) and individual seat-back monitors.
- Keep p.s. transcon in mind when making a connection to a United international flight. On New York-Tokyo, the connection options are Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC: Connect at LAX with the transcon for a better domestic seat.
The Bad News:
- Total premium seat inventory declines from 38 to 28 seats, decreasing the odds for elite and mileage upgrades and award tickets.
New A380 From SkyTeam (Delta partner)
Korean Airlines started A380 service from New York to Seoul on Aug. 9 and plans to inaugurate A380 service from Los Angeles to Seoul on Oct. 11.
In First Class, Korean offers the Kosmo suite, an enclosed space with a flatbed seat 79-inches long (26.5 inches wide and 83 inches of pitch when upright). Business Class has the Prestige Sleeper flat bed seat (21.6 inches wide and 74 inches of pitch when upright). The plane’s upper deck is all-Business Class seating, giving it the feel of an all- Business Class product—which a few years back was hot on transatlantic routes.
Another A380, From Star Alliance’s Lufthansa
The opportunity is intermittent and spread out, with seasonal service from New York, Miami, and San Francisco to Frankfurt, providing many more the opportunity. For example, depart San Francisco for Frankfurt on Oct. 29 and you fly the A380; depart the next day and you’re on a B747. The chart below shows when Lufthansa offers A380 service from the U.S. to Frankfurt over the next six months. Hit it right and you’ll be glad you made the effort to do so.
Cheapest time to fly Lufthansa’s A380: The holidays. Business Class fares start at $1,100 + taxes and fees from Miami in November (departures: Nov. 20 to Nov. 25; return: Nov. 25 to Nov. 30); and $1,700 in December (departures: Dec. 19 to Jan. 6, 2012; return: Dec. 25 to Jan. 10, 2012). Taxes and fees add about $700.
Hard to beat in premium class on an A380.
Booking Windows for Lufthansa’s A380 Service to Frankfurt over the next six Months
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