How do the new Economy seats compare to the old?

My Dad and step-mum are going out to Hong Kong in September and they've asked me to sort out flights for them. I've not had the best experience of the Y class seats on the A340-600 (only to JFK) and heard that for journeys of 12 hours they are not comfortable at all! I was wondering if anyone had experienced the new seats which are being installed and how they compare. They don't go away often and I want them to be as comfortable as possible, UC is not an option for them. At the moment it's looking like they'll fly with someone like CX or BA [B)]

If you are flying with BA i would recommend spending that little extra so they can have more comfort in Word traveller plus. They get slightly wider seats and more legroom. Although the food is the same WTP has its own small cabin which makes it feel more private.
I did a quick search for prices with WTP on the BA site and it will be around £2000 return for both which isnt that bad. The economy pricing was around £1000 so the WTP works out at only around £250 per person per leg which is good value as you get good leg room and good width.

Link to WTP information

I did this on the way back from Sydney back in november and boy did the extra width and legroom make a huge difference than the economy on the way out.
As for the other airlines i havent tried them but im sure other v-flyers will give different recommendations.

Thanks very much for the information Virgin Crazy [:)], they're interested in BA WTP so that may be an option. Anyone care to comment about how it compares to VS PE? I know this has been discussed a lot on here and other sites but people always seem un-decided!

Comments about the new Y seats are still welcome

[Scrooge]

As ever being the frugal person that I am (at times) if you are thinking of going the PE / WT+ route you may as well book Oasis business class (unless your parents collect miles with BA/VS) same price as VS/BA wt+, lot's more room and I have heard only good things about the service in the air.

[Neil]

Strangely I agree with Scrooge. Whilst Oasis wouldn't be my personal choice my parents flew their business class when they went to HKG and they said it was excellent, way better than BA WT+ and cheaper than both that and VS PE. Unless they have some particular brand loyalty and want miles/TP's etc I would say its a no brainer.

Well i havent flown on the new Y seats yet, and there isnt a certianty that you would get them on your flight as they arent on all the A346s so if you want them to fly economy i wouldnt chance it for them to get the new seats.
TBH economy is still economy on any airline but if its legroom that you want VS and BA arent the best.
The new CX economy is vastly improved as they have clever seats which recline in a shell so they dont affect the person behind, but if it was me i would ditch economy for paying the bit extra on BA or Oasis as Scrooge and Neil recommend.

I flew to PVG on the old Y seats and back on the new ones. The most noticeable differences to me were a new colour scheme - I preferred the old scheme with its purple, the new red and cream was plain boring, and that the remote control had moved to the seatback from the armrest [y]. In terms of comfort I didn't notice any difference and there certainly was no wow factor. I've read that there is a lumbar support adjustment, I didn't know about that when I took the flight and TBH I certainly never noticed it!

I've flown on the A346s a few times now and only seen the new seats once so I guess the odds are against getting the new seats.

[mitchja]

The other option to get to HKG is using Air New Zealand as their Y offers upto 34' leg room and they now have an AVOD IFE. ANZ fares are also often lower than VS/BA on this route.

I've not tried ANZ yet, but I believe they are very good.

I've done a quick return fare check LHR>HKG Y Sept 1st 2008 for 7 days:

O8 = £355.83 (LGW departure)
ANZ = £495.70
VS = £510.30
BA = £517.30
CX = £663.50 [:0]

Regards

I was thinking of ANZ but i didnt know they flew there from London[:I]

I thought about Oasis Hong Kong but it never really clicked about their Business Class being a similar price to BA/VS PE [:w] I've had a look and for their dates BA WTP is about £200 cheaper but then you get so much more with O8 business so as Neil said it's a no brainer. They don't have any brand loyalty...they just want to get there as comfortably as possible.

In terms of Y I don't think they'll be flying VS. I flew lots with NZ last year and was impressed with them and the prices are good.

Well thanks for all your help and information, really appreciated and a great introduction to V-Flyer [:)]. I think I'll offer them O8 Business or NZ Economy.

Another happy customer

Obviously Oasis not a good idea now!