GoBoeing From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 2631 posts, RR: 12 Posted (1 year 9 months ago) and read 3659 times:
Not sure why I never thought of this before but it just entered my head this evening.
As most people know the typical angle of the fuselage of an airliner in cruise is anywhere from 1-4 degrees up depending on lots of things, but always slightly up.
Do "lie flat" business class seats actually have a couple degrees of forward slant in them when they are fully flat to compensate for the deck angle of the jet in cruise?
I know it is generally such a small angle that it wouldn't really be noticeable but then again, sometimes in the plane I fly if we're heavy, high, and flying slightly slower than usual due to a speed restriction, we can be up around 3 degrees and if I walk to the lav when it's like that, I notice it immediately.
fbgdavidson From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 3688 posts, RR: 31 Reply 1, posted (1 year 9 months ago) and read 3581 times:
I don't think they do. When I first starting using lie flat seats I'd wake up feeling well rested but a bit groggy, most likely because of the blood rushing to the head.
For many years now when flying in F, or if the seat design allows it, I'll try and sleep tip to toe so my head is nearer the cockpit and I have to say I do sleep much better as a result. I have come across some slightly bemused cabin crew who either thought I didn't know what I was doing, weren't sure if it conflicted with safety regulations, or just thought it was silly! It's certainly memorable though, last year I was flying BA in F and in the morning after the overnight portion the FA said she remembered me from a previous flight because I was sleeping backwards then too!
"My first job was selling doors, door to door, that's a tough job innit" - Bill Bailey
bananaboy From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2004, 1558 posts, RR: 26 Reply 2, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 3326 times:
Agree with the above - a totally flat seat will result in blood going to your head if you sleep "toes first." It's for this reason that when I have flown the new pre-merger United business class, I much prefer the rearward facing seats.
Mark
All my life, I've been kissing, your top lip 'cause your bottom one's missing
blueflyer From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 3129 posts, RR: 1 Reply 3, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 3261 times:
If my math is correct, a 3 degree angle amounts to a height difference at the head of less than 4" from a horizontal plane for a 6' individual... If that is a concern, ask for a second pillow.
smi0006 From Australia, joined Jan 2008, 1382 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 3196 times:
I also wondered about this on a recent QF A380 flight in J. The seat was not flat at all, this was my second time I have been on A QF A380 flight in J and it wasn't flat. I thought perhaps the seat had been adjusted to accomodate this and perhaps we were not flying at that angle, or perhaps it was just my seat (bulkhead first time). In then end I have simply decided the seats are not flat, not as angled as the last ones, but not flat.
GoBoeing From United States of America, joined Jun 2000, 2631 posts, RR: 12 Reply 5, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 3160 times:
Quoting blueflyer (Reply 3): If my math is correct, a 3 degree angle amounts to a height difference at the head of less than 4" from a horizontal plane for a 6' individual... If that is a concern, ask for a second pillow.
Are you serious?
If someone six feet tall is laying down on an inclined plane and the edge that their feet are on is four inches higher than the end that their head is on, I truly think that would be quite noticeable. What's the statistic, 2/3 of the blood in one's body is in the legs?
Quoting bananaboy (Reply 2): It's for this reason that when I have flown the new pre-merger United business class, I much prefer the rearward facing seats.
Now I realize why I slept unusually well that one night facing backwards on the upper deck on NRT-BKK.
sandyb123 From UK - Scotland, joined Oct 2007, 873 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 2618 times:
I don't agree. Every J seat I've ever flown in is still angled forwards (EK, SQ, BA forward facing). The only F seat I've flown is EKs suites and IIRC it is slightly angled too. I'm actually flying out on EK suite F tomorrow so will reference and report back.
D L X From United States of America, joined May 1999, 10561 posts, RR: 53 Reply 7, posted (1 year 8 months 4 weeks 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 2537 times:
Flew US-Korea last year in J, OZ outbound, UA inbound. OZ has lie-flat seats that are tilted forward maybe 15 or so degrees, and they get criticized for it. UA's seats are true lie-flat. The difference was very noticeable, and I felt MUCH more comfortable in the OZ seats because the plane flies nose-up. In fact, about half way through the flight, I changed the configuration of my seat on the UA flight to be less than lie-flat, just so my toes would be below my head. That made all the difference in the world.
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