Air France and KLM deserve some of the blame for -300ER usage they started using it in 2006.īut that’s how it’s been since 1969: 747’s started at 9 abr but all were ten abr by the end of the 70’s. The cabin is nine inches narrower than a 747, 231 vs 240 inches], Ten abr on 777’s was first used for non-ER regional 777-200 and -300 flights years before the advent of the 777-300ER. Ten-abreast in a very long range 777-300ER is truly evil. Coach class on international flights, especially considering 17 inch wide seats and narrow seat pitch: as Danny Glover’s character in Lethal Weapon said, “I’m too old for this. Since we started out with a Hollywood saying, we’ll end with one. On the other hand, Qatar uses BE Aerospace-designed fancy business class seats and these were the first we’d seen where you don’t have to be an engineer to figure out the controls, figuratively speaking. Slimline design notwithstanding, it was still cramped. We also sat in Qatar’s Recaro coach seat when the airline showed its first Boeing 787 off to media and invitees, and we weren’t impressed then, either. The headrest is in the wrong position for good neck support (for a 6-footer). There was little lower back support unless sitting firmly in the seat, and the recline isn’t enough unless you slouch.

We’ve been in Alaska’s Recaro-equipped coach class and while AS touts these as state-of-the-art comfort, we were less impressed. Recaro seems to be a popular supplier, providing its slimline seats to Qatar and Alaska Airlines, among others. has this illustration of Air Canada’s -300ER seating.Īirline Reporter doesn’t say who makes Air Canada’s new coach seats. Boeing claims seating of 467 for its 747-8I when it compares its Very Large Aircraft with the A380 (a configuration that is unrealistic–it should be 405 in typically airline layout). We’ve been writing for some time the Boeing 747-8I is squeezed from the bottom by the -300ER and from the top by the Airbus A380, but this configuration on the -300ER is pretty extreme.

How in the world? Airline Reporter tells how, and we wouldn’t want to be stuck in coach.

Air Canada has configured its latest Boeing 777-300ER with 458 seats, in three classes.

Air canada boeing 777 300er seating