American Airlines has confirmed that they will be adding the B/E Diamond seating to its future A350, 787-9 and 23 of their 772’s that have not been reconfigured.
I was quite surprised to see this get announced, but I do understand the reasoning behind the choice. The seat is already being used by Qatar and the feedback they have received has been very positive.
Every one gets direct isle access which is now a gold standard in business class seating.
B/E Diamond seating on the Qatar A350.
I myself have flown Qatar and absolutely loved the seat. Its wide, comfortable to sleep on and direct isle access is always fantastic.
Qatar currently have these seats fitted on their 787, A350 and A380 aircraft.
Another airline using this seating is Virgin Australia. I’ve flown their new business 5 times now domestically and found its a fantastic product and fits the airline very well.
Virgin Australia currently have these seats fitted on all of its A330 aircraft flying Coast to Coast from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. And occasionally you can get the Sydney to Melbourne flight as its positions for Perth.
Virgin Australia have also started reconfiguring their 777 fleet to add this seating. At the time of writing this 1 has already been finished and is exclusively on the Sydney – Los Angeles – Sydney flights. As more are finished they will be put on the Brisbane – Los Angeles – Brisbane and Sydney – Abu Dhabi – Sydney.
Wide seating and many storage options.
Space throughout the cabin is more then sufficient.
Image: Virgin Australia
Currently American Airlines use 2 types of seating on their 777-300ER and 787-8.
Image: American Airlines
Above is the current seating that American Airlines use for their 787 fleet. It is described as custom zodiac seating. In my opinion it seems too narrow but I will have to review to find out.
American has since cancelled its contract with Zodiac as they were taking too long on preparing their seats for AA’s 772’s. This is why they are switching to B/E as they needed a new seat supplier.
Image: American Airlines
The above image show’s the current 777-300ER business class. This seating configuration is called reverse herringbone and its currently the most popular choice for both airlines and passengers wanting direct isle access and passenger comfort. This seating is currently being used by Cathay Pacific, EVA air, Air Canada and Delta Airlines.
Bellow is a picture of the new seating that will be fitted in the near future.
Image JonNYC – Flyertalk
Overall I’m quite surprised to see that AA will be switching to B/E Diamond seating instead of sticking with Zodiac and continuing with reverse herringbone. I will be looking at trialling both products in the near future and reviewing them.