mell61

I've booked rows 15 / exit row for a flight DUB-EWR on a Continental 757-200. Are these good seats? I've looked at a few sites and these are marked as good/bad seats, negatives being non reclining, can be cold... but none have advise me if I will have any additional space, up from the 31 pitch in standard economy seating.
Can anyone advise?

rkkwan

Seatguru says these DO have extra legroom. But like you said, they don't recline.

Jed

We just came back from EWR-Aruba RT. We had the exit rows both ways.

On the 737-800 down, we had row 12. Pitch 38 in, width 17 in. Didn't recline.

On the 757-200 back, we had row 15. Pitch was 40 in, width 17 3/8 in. Didn't recline.

We much prefer the extra leg room over ability to recline.

When you come back, tell us how you liked it.

rkkwan

Domestically, I like 14A or F on 733/735/73G. <b>62&quot; pitch</b> and full recline.

On the 752, row 16 is great, but very very tough to grab a seat on unless one's Platinum Elite, especially for trans-Atlantic.

I don't think I can sit in a CO seat with no recline for 8-9 hours. I switched to the last row one time on the 752 (by mistake) with limited recline. It was pretty bad.

Jed

Those are great seats because the seat in front is missing.

Also great are bulkheads, like row 5 on 737-800.

mikemo

I was advised (by former senior airline insiders) to avoid CON's 757.
M

rkkwan

Here are the problems with CO's 757 Atlantic service:

- Narrowbody, tight 3-3 seating in coach for up to 9 hours for some Europe-&gt;US flights

- No personal video screen in coach, and crappy audio system with only 9(?) channels

- Single-aisle and only two bathrooms in the rear for 150+ economy seats

- Watch out for the northern Europe to Newark flight in the winter, especially Berlin. CO97 has to refuel in Goose Bay, Labrador 12 out of the last 15 days.

So, I have a choice, I'll try avoiding them. But sometimes, the benefit of non-stop to your destination can outweigh the issues. But think carefully!

For DUB-EWR, there is no refueling issue and the flight is relatively short, so it's really not that bad. But there are several airlines flying the DUB-NYC market. Also, one of the CO flights stop in SNN, adding to the travel time.

mell61

Just back from my trip and had pre-booked 15E/F for hubby and myself each way.
Ok, leg room is pretty decent, looking around I was delighted to have gotten the seats we did compared to standard economy seats, not sure of exact pitch but it was enough to be comfortable.
The plane layout is bad, anyone tryign to stretch his/her legs will cause a traffic jam for anyone going to the toilet, and for the food / drinks run!
Seats didn't recline, not a huge issue on the way out, a bit uncomfortable on the way back (thank goodness for those inflatable neck pillows).
Entertainment options were a bit dated, drop down screen was above row in front (row 14), so no issue seeing it, but the movies were a bit dated... Little miss sunshine, fine, but a Knights tale, what's that now, 3 years old?!?
The window seat did get noticeably colder as the flight went on, so I just propped the CO pillow between me and the bulkhead and doubled up on the blanket. But luckily I was aware of the cold and had also brought an extra top to put on during the flight!
The service was ok, nothing great but nothing really bad, with the exception that a member of our party who is Coeliac never got her meal, on either flight! The breaded chicken was a treat for her!
Arriving into Newark was a pleasure, having completed immigration in dublin we just swanned on through to baggage claim and customs. We were out in about 15 min.
Overall my impression of CO is that the planes they put on this route could well be glorified Ryanair flights! Small, cramped, no room for movement either in standard seats or by walking around.
Pricewise I'd do it again, but fingers crossed that CO look at changing the planes!

rkkwan

CO's is adding more 757 flights across the Atlantic. They'll be around for a long time.

But this summer, EWR-DUB will go to the much more comfortable 767-200. The EWR-DUB-SNN-EWR and EWR-SNN still 757.

They will start installing A/V On Demand and 110V power throughout the planes soon. Some reports about new seats that have cushions that slide forward. But pitch will probably remain the same.

WillTravel

I'm hoping this trick will continue to work, but so far with my limited experience in CO 757s, I've had good luck by choosing seats near the back with my daughter in her preferred window seat, and me in my aisle seat, and hoping no one chooses to take the middle seat. I don't take the very last row, though - I look at seatguru.com and take the last row at the back that does not have some weird issue (it seems the last two or three back rows do have some issues). With this arrangement, I don't mind CO 757s.

Seamus

I recently spoke with a CO pilot and gave the 757 a bad review, but he said it is a great machine in terms of flying and fuel economy and it will likely be around along time. Crap - I hate these on transoceanic flights, for all the reasons mentioned. If they would just increase the pitch a little it might be bearable. Though I am a CO loyalist I do try to avoid their 757 but it is getting more difficult to do.

rkkwan

In the last 2 years, CO has done the following to its 752s:

- Converted all 41 planes to the BF configuration
- Added AVOD and powerports to BF seats
- Installed blended wings on all

It will:

- Add powerports and AVOD to economy
- Complete adding 3 more seats in economy

Therefore, it's definitely going to stay on the trans-Atlantic routes for a long time. Even Paris, London and Amsterdam are getting the 752s.

It's definitely a great performing aircraft, but they really should remove perhaps two rows of seats in coach to give them about 33&quot; pitch. That would also increase the range and attenuate the winter refueling problem on some flights (like from Berlin). [Or that means they can fly to even more destination in Europe with them - like Nice or Turin that are just over the edge right now. And there are still plenty of plenty of airports in Europe the 757 can get to - like most of France, Basel, etc.

Alternately, they can serve more of the UK from Cleveland.

CO is still receiving 738s and will get the 739ERs soon. The trans-cons can probably move entirely to various 737s and free up those 752s for more European destinations.