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Continental Airlines’ first aircraft with new flat-bed BusinessFirst seats took to the skies Sunday, operating as flight CO98 from Hong Kong to New York/Newark.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777 used on long-haul international routes, is the first aircraft type in Continental’s fleet to receive the new seats. The company will also install the flat-bed seats on its Boeing 757-200 and 767-400 aircraft, and on its Boeing 787 fleet as the aircraft are delivered to Continental.
“We began designing this seat three years ago, involving our customers and numerous other experts to get it just right and I couldn’t be more pleased with the end result,” said Larry Kellner, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Airlines. “This is a great seat and I am excited to see more of them on flights throughout our system.”
Continental’s new BusinessFirst seats allow customers to lie completely flat, reclining 180-degrees and providing 6 ½ feet (2 meters) of sleeping space in the fully extended position.
Electronic controls enable customers to easily move the seat, including lumbar support and fully extended sleep positions. Laptop power, headset and USB plugs are conveniently tucked above the customer’s shoulder and iPod connectivity is also available at the seat. The seats feature 15.4-inch video monitors.
Continental’s product marketing team began researching new seat options in the fall of 2006 when planning BusinessFirst service for the new 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline visited with numerous seat manufacturers worldwide before selecting BE Aerospace, which created five different design concepts. Concurrently, Continental sought feedback from a focus group of BusinessFirst frequent flyers that identified and prioritized key needs of global travelers and worked closely with the airline's project team and the seat manufacturer to help create the new seat. The important features requested by the focus group were to install a wider seat that could lie completely flat and be easy to operate.
Continental currently operates the Boeing 777 on routes between Newark and Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London/Heathrow, Mumbai, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv and Tokyo, and between Houston and London/Heathrow, Amsterdam and Tokyo.
Continental uses the Boeing 767-400 on routes between Newark and Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Geneva and Honolulu; between Houston and Frankfurt, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Honolulu; and between Guam and Honolulu and Narita.
BusinessFirst on the Boeing 757 is currently offered on routes between Newark and Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hamburg, Lisbon, London/Heathrow, Madrid, Manchester, Oslo, Paris, Shannon and Stockholm.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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noborito
“We began designing this seat three years ago?" United, while their service sucks, has had this seat for more than 3 years. Why did continental take so long to study a simple idea? Interesting. Just like Japanese companies.
stirfry
US/SQ/CX have had these seats awhile...glad CO has joined them, but its not exactly "news"
gogogo
Pity they only are for the rich
Elbuda Mexicano
The last time and only time I ever used Continental was such a horrible experience! All these old, rude fat mean flight attendants! One threw a hand full of peanut bags at the guy in front of me. So I was way too scared to ask for some tea, just imagine the old bag pouring boiling hot water in my face or down my pants! Continental should RIP!
nath
Delta refused to give me a coke with ice. I do not think seats make an airplane, but rather the cabin crew.
pawatan
Are there any American airlines with decent service? None that I have flown. Only in business class do you get treated like a human. SO different than all of the SE Asian airlines!
5SpeedRacer5
I have seen some really big passengers. Some of them looked like they needed a flat-bed... an 18 wheeler flatbed.
Pawatan, I suppose it depends on what you think "decent service" is. I have used one Asian airline with American grade service, but it shall remain nameles because I see an advertisement fot it on this page. The other Asian airlines are very good. I can forego the peanuts if I can get punctuality, and the US airlines cannot even manage that, as we know. I also like multilingual staff.
Sigh. The really nice flights I have had seem like dreams now. Yes. The US airlines have bad service, and I do not think it will ever change.
Patricia Yarrow
God yes please. Make them available to the hardworking slobs in economy. Life transcontinental would so much better!!!
Sarge
They should install flat-bed seats in economy class. Oh, but then the number of seats would be cut by around 70%, never mind.
Yeinats: "Delta refused to give me a coke with ice"
You should have asked for a Pepsi with ice.
Umiko
After years of flying whatever was cheapest and receiving service ranging from passable to horrid, I flew Continental between Japan and US and was hooked. The attendents were so sweet and caring and remembered me the second time I flew the same route! They remembered my name and treated me so well. I will not fly another carrier no matter how inexpensive the flight. For the record, I did not fly first class but I might try the new bed seats if they get them on Japan-US flights. I fly often and for me Continental is great.
pawatan
Hello, airline employee! Only one post and it's pimping an airline nobody else likes. Believe me, I have flown that route on CO many times and it's ALWAYS been tolerable - at best.