Reclining seats in business class on A300
 

I know this is a stupid question but please be kind!
Is there really sufficient room between rows in Business class on an A300 so that seats can recline as much as they are supposed to? I am having trouble picturing how this happens without being in the lap of the next row passenger. I have read lots of threads about people complaining about inconsiderate recliners in coach; I am trying to understand whether I will really be able to do so on my flight from BOS to ZUR.

Hi jubilada,

You're right! It is a stupid question!

Fist off, each airline's business class is different. Next, there are no A300s flying from Boston to Europe. Are you going to Zurich? If so, that's ZRH, and you'll be flying on Swiss. They fly A330s and A340s between Boston and Zurich. (A day or two ago you were flying to Barcelona. Is that still on?)

Anyway, you should check seatguru.com for information on space between rows. Once you figure out which type of plane you'l fly on, I suspect you'll find that there's ample space for reclining in business class.

Which airline?

The airline is responsible for the seats, not Airbus, Boeing, etc.

Business class seats on any airline, any plane, are able to recline as much as they are supposed to, but not all business class seats are created equal. Those that recline fully have room of their own so they don't infringe on the space in front or behind you.

1. Type of seats depend on the airline that orders the seat. Not the plane type. You have to state what airline you're flying. If you're flying BOS-ZRH non-stop (I assume you're going to Zurich), you're flying Swiss International (LX).

2. LX uses A330-200 or A340-300 for this flight. Not A300. But it doesn't really matter.

3. Here's a not-so-recent picture of the business seat. It is not lie-flat, only a recliner type:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Swiss...223/1228565/L/

To answer the general question, there are several ways to "pack" business seats efficiently to provide flat or near-flat seating without having to use too much space. The so-called "lie-flat" seats give you a flat surface to sleep on, but it's not horizontal. Your head is higher than your feet. This way, in lie-flat position, your feet is "under" the head of the passenger in front of you.

But now, most newer business seats are horizontal. There are many ways to pack them more efficiently. Here are the main ones:

- Herringbone - Virgin, Air Canada, Air NewZealand, Cathay Pacific, Delta (certain aircraft)
- Rear facing seats - British Airways, United
- Staggered or slightly offset seats so that you feet is under the armrest of the person in front - Delta (certain aircraft), Continental
- Diagonal sleeping suite - Singapore

Seatguru.com says the A330-200 (either 2 class or 3 class config) uses the recliner seats rk showed you, and the A340-300 uses the lie flat shown here.

http://www.flyerguide.net/seats/seat.php?id=106

Well Rizutto, you failed the Be Kind request didn't you?

Here's the deal. I recline the seat! End of discussion. I don't whine when the folks in front of me recline either. And that's in coach. In Business on any airline I wouldn't think twice (and as a frequent flyer who gets bumped up to First/Business on domestic flights trust me most of your fellow travelers think they are being good not to recline before the Flight Attendant straps in for takeoff :) )

Thanks to those of you who were kind. I double checked and we are on the A340-300 and it was great to see the pics. Picking flights, airports, planes, connections, deciding to fly business are all things I rarely do so I am sorry if I recounted some details wrong. I appreciate your help very much.

rizzuto: we are now flying to Barcelona through Zurich ticketed on Lufthansa, but it is Swiss International on that leg. is that ok with you?

SWISS' A340-300 has the nicer angled lie-flats:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Swiss...13X/1064560/L/

"Those that recline fully have room of their own so they don't infringe on the space in front or behind you." J62

I disagree with that! I sat in row 2 (first class) behind a passenger who is a pilot and was riding stand-by (I guess?). He reclined his seat all the way back, while we were TAKING OFF... and he left it there the whole flight. Trust me, he WAS violating my space. It made dinner time a bit unpleasant but I managed. The pilot appeared to sleep the whole flight. Makes me think I'll pick a seat in row 1 everytime, from now on, just so I don't have to deal with that situation again. This was a domestic flight.. either a B767 or an A300. Can't recall which airports it involved... maybe ORD to SFO?

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. When I said those that recline fully, I meant the lie flat seats found on international flights, not the domestic 1st class seats that simply recline.

Even lie-flats can infringe on another passenger's space if they aren't the kind that recline within a rigid shell (to me the term lie-flat refers to an angled seat and not a fully horizontal flat bed).

UA does have lie-flat (not angled...I do know what you mean by this term) biz class seats on their Asia 747s and 777s. They are in their own rigid shell. I LOVE these seats. If you are at the window or on the "inside" next to the aisle, you do have to crawl over the person on the aisle. I've got long leg...s ucky me :) so this isn't that much of a problem for me.

oops... long legs... lucky me!

Well, everything turns on the airline and the configuration of the plane. Whenever we've flown business it's been either with points or a free upgrade - and not really worth the extra if you actually have to pay for it. There's a bit more room in every direction, but not really a good value, unless you are a larger person.

To recline, or not recline?

Best to ask the person seated behind you.