Posted by Seth on May 10, 2012 under Flying, Internet, News | 
American Airlines announced that they are moving forward with a retrofit of their long-haul fleet, updating the cabin interiors to improve the premium cabin experience. Mostly. The upgrades will expand the deployment of the new business class product, previously announced for the 777-300s which the company will begin receiving later this year. It will also mean the removal of the first class cabin on those aircraft, continuing a trend in both the global and the US markets to limit the long-haul premium cabin offerings to select markets with demonstrated demand. The retrofits are slated to begin in 2014.
The new business class seats will be retrofit into the carrier’s 777-200ER aircraft and into a portion of their 767-300ER aircraft. The 767-300s which are not reconfigured will be retired from the fleet.
The carrier has also indicated that their Main Cabin Extra configuration, offering an additional 4-6″ of legroom, will be part of the redesign on the 763s and 772s. On the 772s there will be 5 rows of these seats, 45 of the 215 total economy seats. On the 763s there will be only two rows of Main Cabin Extra, 14 of the 181 total economy seats. Customers holding elite status in the AAdvantage program, as well as with oneworld partners, will have access to the MCE seats.
The new cabin configuration will also include major upgrades to the in-flight entertainment systems and in-flight connectivity options. The IFE system for the 772s has impressive spec’s. It will have roughly 700 hours of audio and video available, up to 120 movies, 180 TV programs, 350 audio selections and 30 games. In business class the screens will be 15.4″ while economy will have quite generous 9″ screens. All seats on the 772s will have 110V outlets and USB plugs as well.
UPDATE: AA has confirmed that the regular main cabin seats will be 3-4-3 on both the 777-200 and 777-300ERs, and without any extra pitch. That’s going to be quite tight.
The satellite-based WiFi service will allow for global connectivity for customers. That said, no vendor has been chosen for the implementation yet so there is plenty of time for the company to see how the various options in the market shake out in the coming months, particularly as others add similar service, to pick the correct product for their fleet.
The 763 refits will not include the new IFE systems; the company will continue to rely on personal tablets for business class passengers on those aircraft for the IFE systems. The 763s will also not receive the WiFi connectivity. Combine that with the very limited MCE seating and those might just become the aircraft to avoid in the American long-haul fleet.
I’ve read through the release now a few times, looking for some hint of a magic paragraph previously missed which makes the planned upgrades tremendous. I still cannot find it. The release has many exciting phrases like “among the first in the industry” and “Business Class suite.” These plans, unfortunately, seem to be mostly playing catch-up to the rest of the industry. The “new” business class seats are based on the same product that US Airways just completed deployment of on their A330 fleet. The IFE upgrades are great, assuming you’re on the 77s; the 763s, not so much. And the seating density of the new seats raises a few red flags.
Type for type, United will offer more premium cabin seats (admittedly not all with direct aisle access) and more economy seats with increased legroom., along with a comparable IFE and connectivity scheme. And United is rolling out the seating and IFE config this year, not starting in 18 months. Delta is similarly ahead of American in the offering, both in terms of timing and product.
I have to give AA credit for trying to build a buzz about the announcements. The press conference included a number of bloggers and other social media folks, trying to tap in to the newer venues for sharing such announcements. And the bit I managed to catch on Twitter suggests that it has worked in come circles. Still, the implementation of these changes are 20 months off. It is going to be hard to keep the buzz alive that long.
There is no doubt that it is increasingly difficult to both offer a top-notch product and to do so in a manner that allows a company to remain competitive in the ever-changing market. In this case, however, it seems that American is barely even able to play catch-up, much less leap ahead. And if this is supposed to revitalize the company, inspiring creditors to ride out the bankruptcy and see a strong future for the carrier I’m very concerned about their strategy. The phrase “too little, too late” comes to mind.
For a different, and somewhat more positive, take on the new seats check out Gary’s post here; he was at the event where they were unveiled.
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Tags: American Airlines, bankruptcy, Delta, Flying, IFE, in flight, internet, OneWorld, PaxEx, United, United Airlines, upgrade, US Air
Posted by Seth on May 1, 2012 under Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
My trip to Rio was pretty ridiculous. I was scheduled to be on the ground only about 12 hours in total, with a travel time of about 16 hours each way. Probably not the most rational trip, but that just means it makes more sense to me. Flying via Houston in both directions I was fortunate to be on one of the United Airlines 767-400s that has been retro-fit with the new lie-flat seats up front and AVOD and E+ in the back. I was seated in coach for the long-haul segments (the short-haul upgrades did clear, but nothing particularly remarkable there) and I was very much looking forward to giving the new seats a try.
For the southbound segment I was seated in the bulkhead window seat and I had an empty seat next to me. The bulkhead offers up plenty of legroom and I generally prefer the fixed arm-rest in between the seats. The main drawback of this seat, as seen in the photo, is that the window is missing. It is possible to lean forward an look out, but that isn’t particularly comfortable for very long.
The food was rather awful – long-haul coach meals have suffered greatly in my recent trips – but it was enough to hold me over until the movie was over and I was ready to sleep, something that I did reasonably well with the space I had available, along with the pillows and blankets from both my seat and my unoccupied neighbor.
Speaking of the movies, I was very impressed with the selections available on the system. There were roughly 150 titles listed. Filtering out the multiple language listings of the same films there were still around 100 to watch and the collection spanned a broad range, from true classics (e.g. Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Casablanca) to more recent classics (e.g. The Princess Bride & Ferris) to a decent smattering of recent releases. It isn’t the absolute broadest collection I’ve seen on a plane, but it was more than enough to keep me entertained. I was also quite happy to see that there is a USB plug attached to the video screen. Charging my phone from there while I slept meant waking up with a full battery, ready to attack the day.
The return flight was roughly the same. I was still in a window seat in the E+ section but not the bulkhead. To me it felt like about the same amount of space overall, with the obvious difference of having a seat reclining into me. The food was similarly awful and the sleep similarly coach-induced.
I had a bunch more photos to share of the in-flight experience. Alas, I left my laptop on the plane at the end of the trip and when I returned 3 hours later it was gone. If anyone sees a used red Asus eee 10" with a gouge in the top cover on sale somewhere please let me know. I’m in the market for one.
Also, keep an eye out for a couple more posts from this trip covering the time I spent on the ground in Brazil. I may have only been there for 12 hours but I packed a whole lot of fun into the trip.
Posted by Seth on April 25, 2012 under Flying, News |
Lufthansa has officially taken delivery of the first Boeing 747-8i passenger aircraft today, marking another milestone in the aviation industry. The plane will remain in Washington until May 1, at which time there will be a celebratory event as it departs to Frankfurt, with an arrival party in Germany on May 2. Look for the aircraft to enter commercial service shortly thereafter.
Image courtesy of Boeing
Posted by Seth on April 23, 2012 under Flying, News, Review |
It was on a United Airlines 767-200 somewhere near Memphis that I awoke with a chill running down my spine. The chill was two-fold. First, I had been having a dream that the United Club in Terminal E at IAH was setting up a space for the ShamWow guy to sell his wares in the club. Plus, I was actually cold. Given that at least one of these could be somewhat reasonably addressed, I asked the flight attendant for a blanket. She noted that they had the new ones on board. I got excited. She shook her head, suggesting that I get over it quickly. She was quite right.
The good news, I suppose, is that the blanket has a bit of texture to it. I actually like that feel a bit. But that’s the only good that there is to share.
The blanket is small. I measured it at roughly 24"x48" (photo below is it laid out on a beach towel that I normally travel with). The FA noted that I could use it like a shawl, covering either my torso or my legs but not both. She was quite right about that.
The other problem with it is that it isn’t really a blanket so much as a gauzy wrap. It provided nearly zero warmth until I doubled it over, making it even smaller than the as-built size.
There are new "blankets" coming to the United Airlines. And they suck.
Here’s hoping the ShamWow part of the dream doesn’t come true, too.
Posted by Seth on April 22, 2012 under Dining, Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
Many warned me about the PrivatAir 737 operating as Swiss for the flight between Zurich and Newark. Beyond the geek factor of an all-business class config (my second such flight of this quick RTW trip) the product is actually not all that amazing. The seats are old and the IFE limited. Still, I wanted to have the experience for myself so I could report first-hand on what it was like. They were all pretty much dead on.
After spending my short layover in downtown Zurich on the lake, joining with seemingly everyone else in town heralding the arrival of spring, I made my way back out to the airport for a quick lounge visit and then on to the plane. The lounge in the main terminal area was pretty nice, but the flight departed from a separate section of the airport, a tram ride away. The lounge there is a contract lounge that isn’t particularly bad, but it also isn’t as nice as the Senator lounge in the main area.
Boarding 50ish folks on to a 737 is incredibly quick and easy and we were underway right on time, with a quick climb out and fly-by of downtown as we left the area.
The flight departed around 5pm, meaning it was time for dinner shortly after departure. Perhaps the best part of the flight is that the food appears to be catered up to the Swiss standards. It was quite good and comparable to the meals I’ve had on their regular flights. Except that they didn’t have ginger ale catered on the plane. That was rather annoying, though I also probably didn’t need any more rum so perhaps a blessing in disguise. Having indulged on meats for my previous flights and also downtown I switched to the fish options on the flight. Quite tasty.
After dinner it was time for a nap. My body was starting to fight back against the crazy time zone shifts and it was time to succumb for a few hours. The seat reclined to its angle-flat position and I grabbed the digEplayer to zone out for a bit. I was rather disappointed with the very limited selection of titles – only 10 – on the player. Fortunately I was asleep pretty quickly so that was less of an issue.
A few hours later it was time for second dinner. Really just a small snack served from casserole dishes rather than individually prepared, at least they were willing to offer up seconds (though I found this out after calling it a day on the meal). Tasty enough, but not particularly substantive as a meal.
Not much later we were making the left turn down the Hudson and beginning our approach into Newark, with the sun setting off to the west.
I expected the seat and the IFE to be iffy. That expectation was met quite easily. I also expected the food and crew to be on top of things. Alas, only the food was. The crew was somewhere between standoffish and outright ignoring me for long periods of time during the trip. Part of that might be just in comparison to the effusive and somewhat over-the-top service levels of the Asian carriers, but I really did feel like a second-class customer sitting on the plane for most of the trip.
Overall, the trip probably rates a C+ to B-. The crew was the biggest surprise, while the seat and IFE weren’t a surprise but still dragged down the score. Given another option, I’d avoid the PrivatAir option unless you really want the all business-class option or that’s what works with your schedule/budget. Also of note, the Zurich-Newark route is no longer served by PrivatAir, so it isn’t as much of an option anyways.
Posted by Seth on April 20, 2012 under Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
Continuing the long trek home from Singapore, I transferred in Rome from Thai Airways to Swiss for the last bit of the trip. First up was a couple hours with the short-haul product, flying from Rome to Zurich. Like pretty much all short-haul flights in Europe this one was just coach seating with the middle seat blocked and upgraded catering. And like most such flights it was completely uneventful, probably a good thing.
Shortly after takeoff breakfast was served. Fruit, yogurt and a croissant were all tasty enough, though nothing special.
And, because they are Swiss, there is the chocolate bar distributed towards the end of the flight.
In the middle, aside from the food, was the opportunity to look out the window as we flew over the Alps. One of my favorite aerial views, to be sure. It doesn’t get much better than this all that often.
Easy flying with beautiful views along the way. Not much to complain about at all.
Posted by Seth on April 19, 2012 under Flying, News |
For each of the past several summers sales for premium cabin travel have been offered by a number of airlines, looking to cash in on the lower demand for business travel during the period. This year’s sales launched today. In addition to the first class sale that Lufthansa is advertising (coverage from Lufthansa Flyer here) there is also a business class sale on offer, with United Airlines publishing a number of fares.
The bad news (and it comes as no real surprise) is that the prices are higher than they have been in the past. Definitely still discounted fares, but not so many of the bargains that there used to be. Here are some sample numbers:
Definitely worth looking in to the numbers if you were thinking of dropping $2500-3500 on a trip to Europe anyways this summer and you can meet the advance purchase (60!! days) and minimum stay requirements. Some more of the fine print includes:
Travel must be booked by May 31, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Sale is valid on UnitedBusinessFirst® fares for travel starting between June 29, 2012, and September 1, 2012. Return travel must be completed on or before September 6, 2012. Saturday night stay required. A 60-day advance purchase is required. Fares are nonrefundable and require a $400 USD change fee.
Also of note is that the fares, while advertised by United, are available across the anti-trust immunized group of carriers, so if you’d rather fly on Lufthansa or Swiss odds are you have that option.
Posted by Seth on April 19, 2012 under Dining, Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
Booking my award flight on the non-stop Newark to Singapore flight was a huge win and opened up a ton of opportunities for me. Among them, I had to figure out how to get back home from Singapore within a relatively tight timeframe, and I was searching not too far out from my planned dates of travel, which created some interesting challenges of its own. Fortunately I managed to find several options available, one of which was a routing with Thai Airways via Bangkok and Rome, continuing on Swiss Air from there. My last experience with Thai wasn’t the greatest but I decided to give them another chance. Among other things, the BKK-FCO line was just too fun to pass up.
Getting to the airport in Singapore was reasonably easy thanks to the trains and about 40 minutes after leaving my hotel I was in the check-in lobby of the airport. I also was about 4 hours in advance of my flight – I wanted to check out the lounges – which meant that they were not actually accepting passengers for check-in. Whoopsie. The good news is that there is actually a premium check-in lounge at Singapore’s airport where business class passengers are able to have a seat and go through the process in a much more civil manner than the long queues of the economy cabin passengers. The premium check-in feeds directly into a bypass of another queue for security/immigration, making the entire process rather simple.
From there it was off to the Thai lounge. To say I was disappointed would mean that I actually had high expectations. The lounge was dark and brooding, with a few small snacks. It was quite a step down from the Singapore Air lounges in the terminal or even the British Airways and contract lounges in the same area. I’m working up a full post on the lounges but I would recommend against planning on too much time in the Thai lounge.
Boarding came about soon enough and the 777 was awaiting us for the quick flight up to Bangkok. Getting a long-haul configuration on relatively short flights is much more common in Asia than in the United States. This one had the great seats and IFE systems which make flying up front truly pleasant, though neither system is best-in-class.
The flight was only about 2 hours long but it also included a full multi-course meal service with a choice of entrees. After the snack mix and appetizer I had the prawns with rice; not bad at all.
I also love the way many foreign carriers pay attention to the small touches that make a trip more pleasant. Certainly the orchids in the lav don’t have any concrete impact on the in-flight passenger experience, but they sure go a ways towards trying to make it feel a bit more human at 35,000 feet.
A couple hours later I was on the ground in Bangkok for just long enough to grab a shower, snack and massage and then it was back in the air for the flight to Rome. I had forgotten that the flight was on a 747. I had also forgotten that I booked a seat upstairs. Remembering that as I boarded the plane was quite nice. Walking up a set of stairs upon boarding is always a fun experience.
The seats on the 747 are more or less the same as the business class seats on the rest of the Thai fleet – flat-ish at an angle. Not the best ride out there, but it beats the heck out of coach and these got me home when I needed. Plus, the hot pink and purple is a fun color scheme.
With the longer flight time to Rome there was also the opportunity for a more involved meal service, not that the short hop was particularly skimpy. I started with the foie gras and moved on to the steak. Both were quite tasty.
The cheese plate was not particularly impressive but the chocolates for dessert were. A great finish to the meal.
With that it was off to bed for several hours, waking up just as breakfast was being served.
The fruit was rather disappointing but the noodles were delicious and made for a great base to start the day with the early arrival in Rome.
I mentioned above that the IFE was not the best-in-class. It is an AVOD system with a selection of about 25 movies available. Nothing to sneer at necessarily. At the same time, however, the selection was rather poor and the classifications of the movies were questionable in many cases. "Classics" for movies should not include many works made after 1990. Shutter Island; Monsters, Inc.; Ocean’s Thirteen; Sherlock Holmes; 300; Casino Royale or the new Planet of the Apes are not classics. Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Grease and Goldfinger are. Die Hard is in a gray area, but I’d probably let it slide. Yippie kaiay.
Overall, I think the service was a solid B to B+ effort. The food was on the higher end of the spectrum while the seat and IFE were a bit lower. Ground service was great in Bangkok – I love the pre-flight massage – but not as great in Singapore. Still not the best offering in and out of SE Asia, but they’ve got a lot more award inventory on long-haul flights so there’s something to be said for that.
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Tags: award, Bangkok, Dining, Flying, IFE, Lounge, Photos, review, Singapore, Singapore Air, SINtacular, Thai Air, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on April 13, 2012 under Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run |
I’m a huge fan of Istanbul and Turkey in general. I’ve had nothing but wonderful experiences there (even with attempted scammings twice) and between the architecture, food and people it is one of my favorite places to visit and one that I return to willingly, which is a big step for me. When a visit can be had on the cheap that’s an even bigger draw. And right now there are some great deals out there for travel from the USA to Istanbul.
The deals are for the shoulder season so look for travel in September or October for great weather and even better rates. Here’s what the fare calendars look like for October, departing a few cities in the USA:
New York City
Washington, DC
Los Angeles
Chicago
In many cases the W fares on United Airlines aren’t too much more than these lowest fares (~$300 ex-EWR) and the upgrade inventory is plentiful. I’ve already confirmed my flat bed for a weekend in early October. It is going to be a lot of fun.
Tags: Chicago, Deals, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Mileage Run, New York City, Newark, Turkey, United, United Airlines, Washington DC
Posted by Seth on April 12, 2012 under Flying, News |
At first blush it seems like quite a strange development. After all, why would United Airlines be hiring the regional carrier arm of American Airlines to handle operations at 8 airports across the south plus one in New York? Turns out it isn’t all that uncommon at all, and there is actually a good reason for it.
The airports in question are:
- Waco, TX
- College Station, TX
- Killeen/Fort Hood, TX
- Tyler, TX
- Monroe, LA
- Dallas Love Field, TX
- Del Rio, TX
- Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX
- Binghamton, NY
These happen to all be airports that United Express has recently been operating to with service provided by Colgan, a subsidiary of Pinnacle, the regional operator that declared bankruptcy recently and which is moving to terminate the contracts with United.
So United needs new service in those stations. The company has pulled some ERJ-135 aircraft out of storage and their ExpressJet arm is going to be operating those, but they also need folks on the ground to handle operations. And, much like outsourcing the flying, the company is also outsourcing that to another company that already has resources on the ground, namely American Eagle.
Turns out that such arrangements aren’t all that uncommon in the industry, especially in stations where there is limited service from any one carrier. That said, it does still seem a bit strange. I wonder if the American Eagle employees will learn SHARES faster/better than the legacy employees who are still struggling with it.
Hat tip to Darren @ Frequently Flying for noting the press release on this one.
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