Travelling on the newest aircraft means you would expect the latest in comfort when it comes to the economy seats. Since the airlines themselves choose the seat, you may or may not get something modern.
A case in point here is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It was designed to have eight abreast in economy class in a 2-4-2 configuration, but airlines figured they could make nine abreast in a 3-3-3 configuration work. One airline stands alone with the more spacious seat choice.
What Does Nine Abreast Look Like?
When I flew American Airlines recently, I found the nine abreast cabin to be fine. My experience was enhanced by the fact I had no-one sitting next to me and I was in a bulkhead seat with extra legroom.
-
- Nine abreast seen here on American Airlines
Heftier people might have found the seats to be a bit of a squeeze, especially if all three seats in a block were occupied. In fact, some frequent flyers actively avoid the 787 due to the perception of narrow seats in economy class.
Who Has The Best Economy Seats?
One airline stands alone with their economy seats on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. These seats feature a 33″ pitch – which is the industry standard measurement from one point on a seat to the same point on the seat ahead or behind – rather than 31″ pitch. Essentially, this airline offers more leg room.
-
- A side on view of the award winning seats
Just as important is the seat width. These seats are 48cm or 18.9 inches wide in eight abreast which is a large increase over the 43cm or 17 inch wide seats on all the other airlines with nine abreast seating. So which airline is it?
-
- The Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 8 abreast seating!
Japan Airlines is the only airline in the world to have eight abreast economy seats in the Boeing 787. In fact, they won the world’s best economy class seat at the 2017 Skytrax awards. Kudos to this oneworld alliance member for doing something different!
Overall Thoughts
Differentiation is key when it comes to airline products. Most people fly in the economy seats and the extra comfort that Japan Airlines offer for long haul passengers is excellent.
The longest Boeing 787 flight is the Qantas service from Perth to London. This clocks in at about 17 hours and yet the airline still chooses to have nine abreast in economy. I know what I’d prefer.
Have you flown on the Japan Airlines 787 in economy class? What was it like? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
Featured image by Tadayuki YOSHIKAWA via Aviation Wire.
Side on image via Japan Airlines.
Japan Airlines 787 by Toshi Aoki – JP Spotters via Airliners.net
JAL is one if the very few airlines that has the seat configuration as recommended by boeing..
I recently flew Etihad from KL to UK via AD.. never again in the Dreamliner!! Dreadful Eithad and many others have crammed in an extra row and extra seat in each row.. suggest check out airlines A380 or 350 before booking dreamliner..
It is a shame it was built just to the edge of what airlines could cram in. Probably makes it far more efficient financially though! Etihad are certainly trying to make the most they can at the moment. I also prefer the A350 over the Dreamliner, having flown in both. Thanks for the comment!
I flew Frankfurt-Tokyo (and back) with JAL in 2016 and it was the best long-distance flight I ever had. Being tall (1,95m), ever cm leg-room is important for me and here I was able to even cross my legs – I had a window seat. Even the restrooms were good, espcially compared to a 747, where you have problems turning around. Here it remainds me more on a restroom in a train, speaking about space. I also like that you can dim your windows, so you can still look out at night. All in all: highly recomended when flying to… Read more »
Great to hear you had such a positive experience with Japan Airlines. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of flying with them, but from all reports they are very good indeed. Sounds like you had a serious amount of space, which is just excellent. Nothing beats space on a long haul flight. Thanks for the comment!
I have flown the JAL 787-8 and -9 from Boston-Tokyo and currently I will go out of my way to fly on this plane long as the layout lasts. I usually travel alone and the 2 seat layout on the sides of the plane means no middle seat, meaning I can take my preferred aisle seat and only have to deal with letting the window seat person leave their seat rather than window + middle. Seats themselves are quite comfortable and being on the large side for body size, I didn’t find any issues with both width and legroom. I… Read more »
I like the point you made there – they use slimmer seats as well as the increased pitch. That’s very true – virtually all the other airlines use slimmer seats and reduce the pitch using the excuse that the “legroom is the same” but I find it puts the seats in front too close to your face, which gives a claustrophobic feel to things. From what I can see they have no plans to change to configuration, but it’s aviation and anything can happen. I’d really like to give it a go. When it comes to the food, I’ve seen… Read more »