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To drop some personal anecdote.. By far the best sleep I've had on an aircraft was an Alitalia flight in the early 2000s, a 747 from Italy to Hong Kong, econom

To drop some personal anecdote.. By far the best sleep I've had on an aircraft was an Alitalia flight in the early 2000s, a 747 from Italy to Hong Kong, economy class. The upholstery was thin worn-down carpet, the seat felt like plywood with metal reinforcements in important places, hopes of in-flight entertainment were confined to headphones operated by a wheel-dial fixed the the seat, there was nothing as fancy as a button. But it was spacious, spacious enough to allow use of its utilitarian space having a nice sleep. An unlikely benchmark, but a benchmark for getting it right. A simple seat, space to adjust legs, and an adjustable headrest. That's all. I am happy with carpet, plastic/fake leather padding is sticky and therefore uncomfortable, as well as taking up precious millimeters which add up. Carpet is fine.

Nitramp 7y ago
Actual space on a plane is very expensive compared to making the seat look nicer (while still the same cramped). So it's unlikely you'll get to repeat that experience much in the future, unless you're willing to pay for business.
ajmurmann 7y ago
This reminds me of my favorite pet peeve with international flights. Even in economy you have more space for yourself and more storage space than on a domestic flight. However, they try to be nice and give you so much extra stuff like blankets, pillows, socks (!), sometimes even a little vanity kit with toothbrush and creams. Between that and all the brochures they cram into the little storage space that's available everything is crowded again. I wish we could at least get rid of the magazines and catalogs. Maybe I just travel with too much stuff that I want easily available during a long flight...
moftz 7y ago
Plastic/fake leather is easier to clean. Cloth seats will smell, will stain, and can even hold lice. I'd rather have the plastic material I can give a quick wipe down on before resting my head against it. The in-flight entertainment is nice but I could do with just a USB port to keep my phone or tablet going. Half the time the headphone jacks for the TVs are on the armrest in such a way that you risk breaking your cable because it sticks into your sitting area rather out the end of the armrest. Airlines are doing the thing now where there are no TVs and all of the movies are accessed via WiFi.

Nitramp 7y ago

Actual space on a plane is very expensive compared to making the seat look nicer (while still the same cramped). So it's unlikely you'll get to repeat that experience much in the future, unless you're willing to pay for business.

ajmurmann 7y ago

This reminds me of my favorite pet peeve with international flights. Even in economy you have more space for yourself and more storage space than on a domestic flight. However, they try to be nice and give you so much extra stuff like blankets, pillows, socks (!), sometimes even a little vanity kit with toothbrush and creams. Between that and all the brochures they cram into the little storage space that's available everything is crowded again. I wish we could at least get rid of the magazines and catalogs. Maybe I just travel with too much stuff that I want easily available during a long flight...

moftz 7y ago

Plastic/fake leather is easier to clean. Cloth seats will smell, will stain, and can even hold lice. I'd rather have the plastic material I can give a quick wipe down on before resting my head against it. The in-flight entertainment is nice but I could do with just a USB port to keep my phone or tablet going. Half the time the headphone jacks for the TVs are on the armrest in such a way that you risk breaking your cable because it sticks into your sitting area rather out the end of the armrest. Airlines are doing the thing now where there are no TVs and all of the movies are accessed via WiFi.