New business class seats launched by United Airlines

Breaking News! united airlines has launched their next-generation business class seats, and they look pretty nice. The fresh seats will all the way lie-flat, which is good for travelers. They’ll also rotate forward and rear-facing seats, just like British Airways’ ClubWorld.

So what do I think of the new UA business class? Two opinons:

To begin with, the seats themselves look pretty nice. 180-degree lie-flat. Cool. Forget those angled flat seats — gravity always overcomes, people! Nice large screen. Wider (23.5″) than the current-generation first seats.

They’re the best looking seats offered by an American airline right now.

Next, the moving forward- and rear-facing seats will be difficult for some people, but British Airways has been doing it for sometime now, and they’re still selling tickets.

Finally, the service is said to improve along with the seat.

But “service” is mainly “features.” That is, new food from chef Charlie Trotter, and better in-flight entertainment.

But what’s lacking from the company’s PR pitch is the actual service in flight. A nice restaurant is more than a upscale-sounding menu and a great decorated room.

It’s how the customer is treated that counts in my mind. The same is true of an airline, and United’s in-flight customer service has been hit-or-miss lately.

It’s not proven that the company understands this, either.

The publicity materials focus on the hardware, and not the human “software” that really makes or breaks the experience.

In closing, the new seats are a move forward for the airline. The new seats will only be on internationally-configured three-class Boeing 747, 777, and 767 planes, and the rollout will take thirty months to complete.

I’m hoping to try them for myself really soon.

united airlines