You can get a very comfortable "nook" for an eight hour flight across the Atlantic by flying First where available. And frankly, for that sort of time window, recline-flat business is is perfectly fine. I can't imagine anyone other than a Zeppelin buff wanting to spend 2 days to make the same trip. There's a market. As with long distance train travel and (basically the one) ocean liner. But it's minimal.
I'm not sure lie-flat is a must if the flights are so much shorter. I'd rather have a comfortable seat for working if we're only talking about a 3 hour flight.
I'm not sure the timeframes quite line up. Lie-flat seating was coming in when the Concorde was retired (after an accident and in the wake of 9/11) but I'm not sure how widespread it was.
But, yes, I've been in a Concorde (not flown in one) and the seating is, at best, modern domestic--non lie-flat--business class.
I actually think this is something that a lot of modern supersonic travel fans miss. If you're willing to spend the money that supersonic travel will cost you can travel very comfortably. And 12-24 hours of time spent relaxing comfortably is not actually a problem for most people.
I guess the idea is that the trip is such a short hop that you don't need to lie flat. For example train seats in first in the UK aren't lie flat either, because they're only ever a few hours at most.
I found that for me it depends a lot on the tilt of the seats: when I flew Southwest, the seat was ramrod-straight, and I am not able to relax. On Asian carriers, seats are more comfortable, and I was even able to fall asleep. It didn't really depend on the seat pitch, so much as the seat angle.
I would really like this on trans-continental flights. I don't want the frills of Business but I just want a seat that reclines more than 100 degrees - perhaps 180.
Lie flat does not exist for those of a normal height if you're talking about the luxury pods. Those business class sleepers are tiny and you will have to crook your knees.
Have you ever tried sleeping on a 15 hour long haul? Reclining seats don’t really work anymore and something lie flat is really appreciated. Most of this seat innovation is coming out of New Zealand for that reason, Air NZ even has a cuddle class (by three seats for two people, get an extension to turn it into a two person bed).
I had to fly coast to coast in the US and I was pretty disappointed that for a 6hr+ flight you can't get a seat that turns into a bed even in first class. Especially on an overnight flight.
I'm still waiting for an airline with Fifth Element style beds for seating.
Lie flat seating is nice, but it takes up so much room that it ends up being quite expensive most of the time. I'd like to be able to lie down and take a nap at the price of a coach ticket.
This was something I always heard before I experienced it but the truth is it wasn't so bad. You definitely weren't sitting in a full First Class seat (which were smaller in any case back then) but it was still perfectly comfortable especially for the relatively short duration.
And because the overall experience was so cool -- board directly from the lounge, the led display showing how fast you were going, seeing the curvature of the earth (sorry flat earthers), arriving before you left, etc. -- you never thought about the seat. I'm sure if you took it all the time you might care but most people it was awesome.
Frequent fliers who use seatguru and flyertalk would beg to differ. Not only the plane/airframe, but the seating configuration chosen by the airline makes a difference in the passenger experience of a transcontinental flight.
Same. Almost 30 years ago, I took an overnight slowboat in Asia with my parents where each passenger had a thin mat (half-inch thick, 2' wide). People sat up, lay down to read or sleep. It was great. I've been on sleeper buses in China and triple-bunk sleeper trains in India and would vastly prefer those to the airline experience.
Challenges with capsule-style beds could be accommodating families and handling meals?
I'm not convinced that there are other sleeper configurations that are more efficient (from an airline space perspective), comfortable for passengers, and safe in terms of evacuation. It's possible, but even if it worked logistically I'm not sure how many takers you'd get where the choice was to get a coffin-like pod for an entire flight versus a seat. The lie-flat seating gives you the choice between a seat and a moderately comfortable bed.
Admittedly train sleepers do tend to take the coffin approach but the dimensions of the cabin are quite a bit different.
Couldn't agree more to the "uncomfortable seats with little room for legs" part. I always envy people who aren't as tall as me and seem to be able to actually get some sleep in.
That said, after having done Europe<->Australia and North America<->Australia a couple of times, the prospect of a 12 hour flight doesn't really sound that bad any more ("Only 12 hours? Sweet!").
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