When you book an airline ticket, the aircraft due to operate your flight generally doesn’t change. That means you can be confident in selecting seats and knowing which type of seat you will be sitting in. Some airlines are renowned for playing airplane roulette though, meaning you never know what might happen.
Equipment changes happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is to right size the plane to demand. Other times there may be operational issues requiring an aircraft swap. All of these changes can occur months before the flight, right up to the time you’re supposed to depart.
Winning Airplane Roulette
Etihad have recently been selling business class tickets well below the usual price. This resulted in me making a booking, as the price point came down low enough for me to be able to afford it.
Alas, two of my four flights were planned to be operated by the Boeing 777-300ER. While that is fine, the business class seating is not the most modern. Since I had no other choice, I thought little more of it.
Of course, the 787 also means those annoying large windows, but on the plus side the cabin atmosphere is a lot nicer for reducing jetlag. I’ll take that at the end of the day over ancient 777s with their dry cabin air.
Overall Thoughts
I like it when airplane roulette results in a better seat. Some airlines have aircraft in the fleet with ancient business class products, while other planes have their newest and shiniest version. Occasionally you can be very disappointed in receiving the old product instead of the new.
Sometimes! There are times when the older products are far more spacious, if less private. Regardless, you should check your seat maps occasionally between the time of booking and time of travel, just to avoid any nasty surprises on flying day.
Have you ever been surprised – in a good or bad way – when walking on board a flight and not finding the seats you expected? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Etihad seat via One Mile At A Time.
I’ve had my share of ANA flights booked in the old Business class 777 be upgraded to the Room 777. For me it’s actually a ‘downgrade’ since I like the old seats more than the Room due to more space in the footwell to sleep even though the overall seat and layout is better on the Room.
I can relate to this, glad it’s not just me who sometimes prefers the older seat – for reasons similar to yours. Thanks for the comment!
In all the times I’ve had my seat changed it’s never resulted in something better than I had. Props on getting that though. Etihad 787’s are nice.
They sure look a lot nicer than the 777s at any rate. Now let’s see if that stays right through to flight time or if I’m swapped again… keeping my fingers crossed 🙂
Hi Detective, why do you describe them as ‘annoying large windows’ ?
I have issues with the windows. They are pleasantly large, however all the new area is upwards. It doesn’t help you see what is passing by below at all, which is irritating – I don’t need to see more sky. In addition to that, they mist up – several times on landing I’ve arrived to a dense fog via the window, meaning you can’t see out. I also don’t like how cabin crew can override and force the dark on a day flight. I can’t stand them and prefer taking other aircraft over a 787 whenever possible (which basically means the A350).