12/02/12, 11:48:57 EST

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Long-haul airlines compete with seats for sleep

dallasnews.com

The latest dogfight in the highly competitive airline industry is for bragging rights to the best night's sleep in the sky.

When British Airways spent $300 million in 2000 to become the first international airline with seats that convert to flat 6-foot beds, it set off seat wars.

Now, the conflict has escalated, with dozens of airlines rushing to market with their version of seats that "transform your journey into a moment of sublime relaxation and comfort," as Thai Airways promises in its Royal Silk business class.

But unless fliers can see through the marketing smoke and decipher airline terminology, it is difficult to make well-informed booking decisions, experts say.

The first step is knowing that "lie-flat seats" and "flat-bed seats" are not the same thing. Understanding the distinction could save you from spending about $8,000 on a night of fitful sleep.

"There's so much airline marketing-speak that even educated buyers are not sure what their options are," said Susan Daimler, vice president of marketing for SeatGuru.com, which evaluates airline seats using customer feedback.

Adding to the confusion, there is no standard system for measuring seat width, angle or legroom, and the Federal Aviation Administration has no jurisdiction over plane seats, "so we are left to trust the airline and rely on anecdotal evidence by customers," said Matthew J. Bennett, an airline seat expert who publishes First Class Flyer, a newsletter and Web site.

Interest in seats that become beds has grown with the size of planes. The bigger the planes, the longer they can fly (Singapore Airlines' has an 18-hour nonstop from Los Angeles to Singapore on an Airbus A340-500, which can accommodate 313), and the more critical the need for a comfortable space to lay one's head for six or seven hours of sleep.

A Web site that evaluates seats, called Flatseats.com, lists seat pitches for about 160 airlines worldwide.

In one of the toughest head-to-head seat skirmishes, Virgin Atlantic Airways and British Airways have sidestepped the legroom problem in their top class by positioning the seats so they angle toward the aisle in a herringbone pattern.

Virgin Atlantic's head-to-toe seat length is 79.5 inches (it has only Upper Class seating); British Airways' is 72 inches in business class and 78 inches in first class. In width, Virgin offers 22 inches, and British measures 25.25 at the waist.

While flat-bed seats recline 180 degrees, the bed is not parallel to the floor, leaving the passenger's head higher than his feet.

"Airlines conveniently do not report this angle of incline," Mr. Bennett said. "But that tilt dictates how far you will slide off your seat."

 Printable Version  | published Sep 09, 2007