hawksbill

I'm taking a transatlantic flight on Continental. I'll be in the BusinessFirst cabin. I have a choice of taking a 757, 767, or 777. Is one better than the others?

I realize that this is sort of an obscure question, and it probably doesn't matter very much, but I figured it would be silly not to make use of the incredible wealth of information that the Fodorites have to offer. Thanks in advance!

rkkwan

Seats are similar, but not identical, on the three planes. It's just personal preference.

Food is the same, except there is no espresso machine on the 757.

The overall ambience is the biggest difference. The 757 is a narrowbody plane, and only 16 BF seats. Some people may feel like they should be on a bigger plane when paying $$$ to fly across an ocean. Some people think that's more like a private jet. Personal preference.

Servicewise, some like the 757 as with only 16 seats (vs 20-50) on the plane, you get more personal attention.

All 757s now have AVOD in BF. It's better than the system on all 767s and 18 of the 20 777s. The two newest 777s also have AVOD, and 10x the selection of the 757s' AVOD.

hawksbill

Thanks rkkwan, that's an incredibly thorough answer! Just the stuff I needed to know. I think I'm going to go with the 757. Seems like the only downside is the fact that the cabin overall is smaller, and I actually see that as a plus, as I figure fewer seats might mean less delay at the gate and the baggage claim. Plus the departure time of the 757 is a little more convenient for me.

Pulley

Hawksbill,

I would choose the B777. It has a 22" wide seat and reclines to 170 degrees. The B757's seat is 20" wide and only reclines to 156 degrees. Time may be more important than comfort.

Seamus

As rkkwan notes, it's pretty much a personal preference. I hate, abhor, detest transatlantic flights on the 757 in coach but BF is tolerable. 767 is better but 777 is my favorite, and I adjust my schedule to get that flight if it is possible to do so without major inconvenience. Seats are the most comfortable and I like the having more space both in my immediate seat and on the plane overall, and staffing has always been sufficient that I never felt neglected. Have not noticed a substantive difference in baggage handling time among these but wasn't really paying a lot of attention to that, either. If you are in BF your checked bags get a priority tag that seems to work about 60% of the time in getting your bag to arrive in the first batch.

dfr4848

If you want opinions, I'd take the 777 BF any day over the others. I think the wide-body makes it feel like there's much more room and like the fact that the seat reclines more than on 757. Your bags get priority status, so I've never noticed any difference as to when your bags arrive at baggage claim. And you get priority in boarding on all three, so I've never noticed it faster on the 757 than the others. As you can probably guess, my own preference is to avoid the 757 if possible - I just think it has a more claustrophobic atmosphere than the 777 or 767.

Having said all that, of course BF is certainly preferable over coach on any of those planes (!).

rkkwan

Another thing about the 757 is that if you're in the aisle seat, your seatmate has to climb over you to get out.

On the 767/777, if you get the D and/or E seat, you don't have to accommodate anybody.

About the seat recline, I have tried the BF seat on the 757 while on the ground. The recline is very generous. On the flipside, there are some people who find themselves sliding down the 777 seats, and they actually like the "cradle" position on those seats better than full recline.

hawksbill

Hmm, an interesting range of opinions. After the first reply, I booked myself on the 757 flight, which turned out to be a slightly more convenient time for me anyway. And then, when I received my itinerary email from Continental, the equipment was listed as 767. So I guess that's what I'll get.

It's interesting to see the preferences for the 777 here. I haven't done a lot of transatlantic flying, but I did at least one leg in an Air France 777 Business Class cabin, and was pretty uncomfortable. I remember liking my American flight to Rome a lot more. I think that one was a 767. I'll have to try to keep a better log of what plane I fly in, I guess.

rkkwan

What route are you flying? EWR-CDG? CO54 is 767 for Mon, Tue, Wed; 757 for Thurs - Sun.

CO have wider business class seats than most airlines. Their 777 is 2-2-2 vs 2-3-2 on AF and most airlines; their 767 is 2-1-2 vs 2-2-2 on most others.