This article possibly contains original research .(November 2016) |
An aircraft seat map or seating chart is a diagram of the seat layout inside a passenger airliner. They are often published by airlines for informational purposes and are of use to passengers for selection of their seat at booking or check-in.
Seat maps usually indicate the basic seating layout; the numbering and lettering of the seats; and the locations of the emergency exits, lavatories, galleys, bulkheads and wings. Airlines that allow internet check-in frequently present a seat map indicating free and occupied seats to the passenger so that they select their seat from it.
In addition to the published seat maps from airliners, there are a number of independent websites which also publish seat maps along with reviews of individual seats, noting the seats that are particularly good (extra legroom, quiet cabin, etc.) or bad (lack of recline, unusually cramped, missing window, etc.).
Most of the airlines publish the seat configurations for their aircraft, but the quality of these seat maps is sometimes questionable. Some of the details and information about seats are confusing. Usually airlines do not publish seat maps for every aircraft, only for the larger aircraft and for the ones flying on frequent routes.
When passengers complete an online booking, or check in online, they are often also presented with an aircraft seat map. However, this data is typically sourced from the original text-only seat maps on computer reservation systems such as Sabre, where the seat map is simply held as a two-dimensional array and as such can only display a grid of seats, as opposed to the more varied layouts now used in first and business class.
Mike Nicholls, an experimental psychologist, and others, in a study published in 2013, reported that people display a preference for leftward seats on an aircraft, but for rightward seats in a theatre. [1]
In addition to those published seat maps which can be found on airline websites, there are some other websites that publish aircraft seat maps for almost all commercial carriers. Seat maps that can be found on these sites usually have more details, and some websites have comments from passengers with advantages and disadvantages about each seat.
The accuracy and editorial independence of specialised websites showing seat maps have also been questioned. SeatGuru has come under scrutiny since it was sold to the online booking agent Expedia for $1.2m, [2] and Expedia now use the SeatGuru information when selling seats. As a result, SeatGuru has received some criticism for presenting seat maps which are inaccurate and for which no one from the company has travelled on the aircraft; [3] for example, showing bars on aircraft where there are none (on the Singapore A380) or seat rows that do not exist (on the Emirates A380) or airlines that do not exist (like Skylanes, which the website says is based in Chicago). [4]
On many aircraft, the rightmost seats have letter designations HJK, skipping the letter I. This is because each seat has a row number followed by letter; letters that may be confused with numbers (I, O, Q, S, or Z) must be avoided, usually for people with dyslexia. The Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the first to implement this, avoiding I (1), O (0) and S (5). The remaining letters are called the DEC alphabet.[ citation needed ]
Some airlines may skip some letters because some of the letters are absent from their alphabet (e.g. an airline in Vietnam may have the layout ABC-DEG-HKL in economy class because letters f, j, w, and z are absent from the Vietnamese alphabet).
Occasionally, aircraft with a seating structure of 2+2 may letter the seats as "ACDF" to keep with the standard of A/F being window and C/D being aisle on short-haul aircraft (which generally have 3+3 seats).
In first- and business-class cabins, the seat letters for the window seats will typically be the same as in economy, with some letters skipped in between as there are fewer seats per row. For example, if economy cabin is ten across, labeled ABC-DEFG-HJK, the business-class cabin might be labeled AC-DG-HK for a six-across layout, with A-DG-K for a four-across first class. One notable exception to this is Delta Air Lines, which uses sequential letters regardless of cabin layout on all aircraft (AB-CD-EF in business class and ABC-DEF-GHJ in economy).
Some airlines omit the row number 13, reputedly because of a widespread superstition that the number is unlucky. This is the case with Lufthansa, for example (as shown on the Lufthansa A321/100 seating plan). Emirates used to have a row 13, but on their latest A380 aircraft have removed it (as shown on Emirates A380-800 seating plan). British Airways is less superstitious, and their seat maps for A320 aircraft show a row 13. Delta Air Lines also includes row 13 in many of their seat maps. [5]
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest of them are wide-body jets which are also called twin-aisle because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin. These are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities. A smaller, more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single-aisle. These are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG, or simply Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it ranks second in Europe by passengers carried, as well as largest in Europe and fourth largest in the world by revenue. Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of Star Alliance, which is the world's largest airline alliance, formed in 1997. Lufthansa was founded in 1953 and commenced operations in April 1955.
Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates. Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating more than 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. It operates to more than 150 cities in 80 countries across six continents on its fleet of nearly 250 aircraft. Cargo activities are undertaken by Emirates SkyCargo.
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of Singapore with its hub located at Changi Airport. A member of Star Alliance, the airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in the corporate branding segment and not significantly changing its livery throughout its history. Widely renowned as one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked as the world's best airline by Skytrax five times. The airline operates a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, namely the Airbus A350-900, Airbus A380, Boeing 737 MAX 8, Boeing 737-800, Boeing 747-400 Freighter, Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-10.
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was announced in 1990 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market. The then-designated A3XX project was presented in 1994; Airbus launched the €9.5–billion ($10.7–billion) A380 programme on 19 December 2000. The first prototype was unveiled in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, with its first flight on 27 April 2005. It then obtained its type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 12 December 2006.
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m. In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480. The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.
Condor, legally incorporated as Condor Flugdienst GmbH, is a German airline based in Neu Isenburg, Hesse. It was established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport as its main base. Condor offers scheduled and charter flights and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports and Zurich, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few charter services operated from Düsseldorf and Munich.
Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and is the second-largest airline in the UAE after Emirates.
Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names that vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now offer business class as the highest level of service, having eliminated first class seating. Business class is distinguished from other travel classes by the quality of seating, food, drinks, ground service and other amenities. In commercial aviation, full business class is usually denoted 'J' or 'C' with schedule flexibility, but can be many other letters depending on circumstances.
Economy class, also called third class, coach class, steerage, or to distinguish it from the slightly more expensive premium economy class, standard economy class or budget economy class, is the lowest travel class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel. Historically, this travel class has been called tourist class or third class on ocean liners.
In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to entertainment and other value-added services available to aircraft passengers during a flight. Frequently managed by content service providers, the types of in-flight entertainment and their content vary significantly based on the airline, aircraft type, and geographic region.
An airline seat is a seat on an airliner in which passengers are accommodated for the duration of the journey. Such seats are usually arranged in rows running across the airplane's fuselage. A diagram of such seats in an aircraft is called an aircraft seat map. Within the industry, this map is known as a LOPA.
An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. Most modern commercial aircraft are pressurized, as cruising altitudes are high enough such that the surrounding atmosphere is too thin for passengers and crew to breathe.
Airport check-in is the process whereby an airline approves airplane passengers to board an airplane for a flight. Airlines typically use service counters found at airports for this process, and the check-in is normally handled by an airline itself or a handling agent working on behalf of an airline. Passengers usually hand over any baggage that they do not wish or are not allowed to carry in the aircraft's cabin and receive a boarding pass before they can proceed to board their aircraft.
Premium economy class, also known by brand names which vary by company, is a travel class offered on many airlines. It is usually positioned between standard economy class and business class in terms of price, comfort, and available amenities. On December 12, 1992, EVA Air introduced the Economy Deluxe Class on the inaugural flight of its first trans-Pacific route (TPE-LAX), becoming the first airline to offer this class of service. In some countries, this class has emerged as a response from governments and companies requiring economy class for travel done by staff, while still getting some benefits like airport priority.
The Airbus A380 features two full-length decks, each measuring 49.9 metres. The upper deck has a slightly shorter usable length of 44.93 metres due to the front fuselage curvature and the staircase. The widths of the main deck and upper deck are 6.50 metres and 5.80 metres respectively. Passenger capacity depends on the seat configuration chosen by the airline.
An exit row is a row of seats on board a commercial airliner that is next to an emergency exit. Exit rows may be next to overwing exits or full-sized exit doors.
Lufthansa operates a mainline fleet consisting of Airbus narrow and widebody and Boeing widebody aircraft. The mainline fleet is composed of seven different aircraft families: the Airbus A320 and A320neo, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 747 and Boeing 787. This list excludes Lufthansa brand subsidiaries Lufthansa Cityline, Lufthansa City Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo.
First class is a travel class on some passenger airliners intended to be more luxurious than business class, premium economy, and economy class. Originally all planes offered only one class of service, with a second class appearing first in 1955 when TWA introduced two different types of service on its Super Constellations.
A preighter, also known as cargo in cabin, is an aircraft originally intended to carry passengers but which is operated temporarily as a cargo aircraft by loading freight in the passenger cabin. The term is a portmanteau of "passenger" and "freighter" and is attributed to Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr; it came to use as commercial airlines responded to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.