A Preview of EVA Air’s New Flat-Bed Business Class Seats – Conde Nast Traveler
Here’s a look at some pics of EVA’s new flat beds in business class.

Outrage over $100 carry-on bag fee – CNN
I was on CNN to talk about Spirit’s $100 carry on fee, a fee which is so incredibly misunderstood that I’m going to write about it next week. But they made me pull off my glasses (too much glare), and then made some interesting editing choices. Watch it here:

Lufthansa has said it will pull First Class off all A340s and a handful of 747s. This isn’t the first time an airline has ditched First Class. It’s happened over and over again. But when does it stop? Will first Class disappear completely? Should it?

I didn’t write about Lufthansa’s new business class when it first came out, because I just wasn’t sure what to make of it. But I’ve been talking to a few people, and I think it might be a good time to discuss. I really can’t make up my mind. I think I’m going to have to wait until I can sit in the seat myself to see if it’s good or if it’s bad.

Without question, it has to be better than what Lufthansa has today. This is the Lufthansa business class seat at its best today. I say “at its best” because this is how it is on the A380, which has nicer seat coverings and amenities than the rest of the fleet:

The seat is an angled lie flat bed, and while I found it pretty comfy for reclining during daylight hours, sleeping was impossible. I was in row 1 on my overnight flight last year and somehow found myself on my stomach, all the way down with my legs kicked up on the bulkhead in the middle of the night. It wasn’t a pretty sight. And that’s why everyone is going away from the angled flat beds now: they suck.

Lufthansa told us last year it would do the same, but it wouldn’t make the change until the 747-8 came out. With that airplane going into service very soon, Lufthansa last month decided to unwrap the details on the new business class. Here’s the new offering:

At first glance, it certainly looks nice. I like the colors and the wood paneling. I’m also very happy to know that it’s a fully flat bed, as expected. But there are a couple of things that stand out. First is that it’s not a very private offering. I’m actually ok with that, but it’s very different than what you’ll find on some other airlines out there. Second, you have to climb over someone if you’re in the window. Many airlines have gone out of their way to give direct aisle access while Lufthansa apparently has decided that isn’t necessary.

Third is the angled nature of the seat. No, the bed isn’t angled toward the floor, but you can see that the seats angle in toward the middle. So the aisle seat is pointed toward the window while the window seat is pointed toward the aisle. It doesn’t look like it’s so angled that you’ll have a stare down with your neighbor, but it’s still odd. I get why they did this – it gives you more space around your shoulders where you notice it the most. That’s good, but it has a consequence.

The strangest part about it is where your feet go. Look at this picture:

When the bed is fully extended, you’re just a thin piece of plastic away from playing footsie with your neighbor. That’s pretty close, but is it going to be annoying? I’m just not sure without having been in the seat itself.

I tend to think the most annoying part would be having the person in the window seat trying to get out by doing airplane gymnastics over the aisle seat. But I’m also concerned about the amount of private space.

You can see more new business class photos on the Lufthansa site (where I pulled these from). I just don’t know about this one. But I do hear the 747-8 will be coming to LAX as one of the first three markets, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to sneak onboard while it’s on a layover and check it out.

When it first started talking about the interiors of its new 777-300ER aircraft, American said it would have a premium economy section. I secretly hoped that it would be the first true premium economy cabin in the US, but we later learned that it would be a coach section with more legroom just like Delta’s and United’s. Now, we have more details on the product, and there’s really nothing too exciting and different here. It’s all rather expected.

American will introduce Main Cabin Extra this year, and it will be basically be the same thing as United’s Economy Plus and Delta’s Economy Comfort. The seats will simply be coach seats with four to six inches more legroom. So is this news? Well, sort of. I mean, it’s news that American is doing it, but there’s nothing really new here.

This doesn’t mean it’s a carbon copy of the United and Delta programs. There are a few subtle differences.

The onboard product is really just more legroom on all three airlines. In a way, I’m glad to see that American is finally deciding to join the ranks of the other legacy carriers in the US with a premium economy section, but on the other hand, I’m kind of bummed they didn’t try to do something more. International airlines have worked hard to create a true premium economy cabin – different seats, meals, etc. No US-based airline has done that, and I had hoped that American might leap ahead of the rest. It didn’t.

It is kind of funny to think about this. American was ahead of the curve when it rolled out More Room Throughout Coach many years ago. In that plan, everyone got extra legroom. United opted for Economy Plus where it was just a small cabin, and that turned out to be the right way to go. American led with a bold plan that was ultimately a failure because you’ll never get everyone onboard to pay more for extra legroom. But at least it led. Now, it’s the last of the big three to add this offering and it’s not leading in any way.

I shouldn’t get down on American for this. It’s better to have this type of cabin than nothing at all, and it does give American the ability to sell this type of offering on its flights while British Airways sells a true premium economy product. But I can’t help it. American keeps talking about how it’s going to really invest in its product and do something amazing when really it’s just continuing to play catch-up.

For those who are looking forward to taking advantage of these seats, you’ll have to wait awhile in most cases. The 777-300ERs will have the extra legroom section upon delivery. New aircraft deliveries of 737s starting this fall will also have it, but the rest of the fleet will take a long 18 months before it’s outfitted. No other timeline was given regarding when certain fleets would be done, but hopefully more info will be shared eventually.

Why Spirit Airlines Is Right – Conde Nast Daily Traveler
Admittedly, this post was meant to stir the pot up a little. I do see merit in what Spirit is doing in fighting the feds on one hand, but that doesn’t mean I think the rule should necessarily disappear. Still, fun to look at it from Spirit’s side.

The Pros and Cons of American Airlines’s New First Class and Business Class – Conde Nast Daily Traveler
Just a little piece on American’s new 777 interiors. Not much more than what I wrote about here.

Waiting to board with Brett Snyder – Cheapflights.com Waiting to Board
I did an interview with Cheapflights talking about the blog and some travel tips.