Flat Out Flying High On The Hog

The Sunday Age

Sunday February 6, 2005

Stephen Moynihan

Airlines are designing ever-more luxurious ways to pamper you and send you to sleep. By Stephen Moynihan.

Sixty years ago flying across the globe was available only to a privileged few. Planes were fitted with sleeping berths and passengers dined on four-course meals. As the number of people travelling grew, so did the number of seats on board, squeezing in passengers at the expense of a good night's sleep. Now many airlines are spending millions of dollars introducing lie-flat seats in their premium cabins to snare the hearts and bums of the discerning traveller.

British Airways pioneered the idea of a flat bed when the airline introduced them into its first class cabin in the late 1990s. Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic followed suit, offering service comparable to BA's first at business-class prices in its unique Upper Class suite. The Upper Class suite is more than two metres long and almost a metre wide. Passengers can watch films on a 26 centimetre-wide screen and, if they're in the mood, take a seat at the in-flight bar. Or if they feel like rejuvenation at 38,000 feet, they can book an appointment with the on-board beauty therapist.

Not to be out-done, BA fought back with a redesigned Club World cabin with seats arranged in a patented yin-yang configuration. Passengers can face towards the aircraft's tail and the airline boasts that it has the only fully flat 1.8 metre-long bed in the business.

There has been much debate between seasoned travellers on the true definition of a lie-flat seat. Qantas' new Skybed and Singapore Airlines' Raffles Class SpaceBed are a flat seat but are on a slight angle.

Frequent flyers have complained that the layout of the BA seats makes it near impossible to get to the aisle if you are in a window seat. Others have complained that when they sleep on the angled seats, they wake up to find themselves curled up on the floor.

With the price of a business class ticket to London beginning at $5000 return, it pays to do a little research. Check out seatguru.com or flatseats.com. Both sites give a listing of which airlines offer flat seats, and have discussion forums and flight reviews where frequent travellers give their opinion on which airline has the best seat. Seatguru.com even offers a tool for flyers to pick the best seat on the plane.

Qantas and Singapore Airlines both have cocoon-type seats and offer large personal TV screens and an abundance of entertainment options. Qantas' seats boast a shoe cupboard, glove box for glasses and a water bottle holder.

Air New Zealand has caught up with the big players and will introduce a new long-haul product combining both its first and business class cabins into a premium class. The airline's seats are the same as Virgin's Upper Class suite and will be a completely lie-flat seat. The herringbone layout means that all passengers have direct access to the aisle.

Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines have or are about to introduce new lie-flat seats in their business class cabins. Every airline when it unveils its new business class products says its seat is the longest, the widest, the most comfortable and the most luxurious.

But for the ultimate in luxury, Emirates Airlines has introduced a new first class on its A340-500 aircraft. Each of the seats can be sectioned off and is equipped with an in-built massager, dining table and mini-bar.

As the world's biggest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, prepares for its maiden flight, expectations are running high that premium passengers will be offered everything from gyms to casinos on the aircraft. Virgin Atlantic is even promising double beds for those wanting to join the mile-high club.