US AIRWAYS BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   AIRBUS A330-300

FRA-CLT, suffered 3 flights in different business class seats up to now. Seats not worth the price I paid for it. No way to lie down properly (the seat doesn't recline fully flat, stays as a slope). It was impossible to sleep! Low quality entertainment system : small screen, poor movie choice.

Philadelphia to London. I was looking forward to experiencing the new US Airways Envoy seat. Yes, it is a flat bed, but not much else compares with the competition. The cabin still seems cramped. Food ranked poor, video (when it worked) had dated material. I have flown this route with two other airlines that offered flat bed seats - and USAirways ranks third in my experiences.

Seat 2H. Flew the new Envoy class from CLT-CDG. The new seats are excellent and the same basic design as Cathay Pacific new business class, though not quite as aesthetic. The reverse herringbone plan is wonderful as no one is staring at anyone else, and you can see out the windows. I am 6'3" (1.91m) tall and had no problem stretching out completely when lying down. Take note that row 1 and the window seats in rows 2-4 have an inch or two more length than the center row 2-4 seats and all row 5. Service was good and attentive and flight attendant was very kind. IFE very good, quick to respond, and screen resolution was excellent.

FEB-MAR 2011: SEA-PHL: A320 leg in first class, nothing special here, just more room, flight on time. PHL-MAD: US Airways Envoy Intl Lounge at PHL is for international departures only (you can't use it when coming back from overseas - though on my return the nice lady at reception let me in). The lounge is big, light, quiet, clean, nice seating, bread, cold cuts, veggies, nice variety of beverages, free wifi signal. On A330-300 still had the old angle seats, but I liked them anyway, they were wide, comfortable, and the cabin was very spacious - out of 20 seats only half full, off season, I guess. Food wasn't outstanding, but very good. I was on a super-saver mileage ticket anyhow. A beautifully smooth and quiet flight to Madrid, late by about 30 or so minutes. Compared to the US, arrival was a breeze in Madrid. Secret : US Airways uses Madrid airport terminal 1, which is almost empty now since he new terminal 4 was built and Iberia and all OneWorld airlines moved over there. MAD-PHL-SEA used contract lounge at MAD which only had beverages for the most part. Again, got lucky, the Envoy cabin was only half full, quiet, smooth, quick, on time arrival. Food was tasty. The only problem at PHL is after customs you have to go through security again for connecting flights. Aaargh! Why! PHL-SEA: same as SEA-PHL. My next flight on US Airways will be from FCO-PHL in an A330-300 outfitted with Envoy Suite seating. I like a full flat bed, but I also like the sense of openness of the cabin with the old seating. The cubicles seem sometimes to be claustrophobic, surrounded by way too much plastic, and the pods/shells/cubicles can be confining when moving around in the seat, bumping against some piece of the shell contraption or another. I like the feel of openness over 'privacy. One thing nice about US Airways is that they have a superb mileage program and their Envoy cabin only has 20 seats unlike Lufthansa which seats 48 plus, way more on the A380, way too many for me. I have had good and bad experiences with US Airways, but if you approach the employees right, they'll come through for you.

Seats can recline to almost flat Service was attentive, menu nice. Small portable VOD screen is attached to a display at your seat, had a fair selection of movies and tv, though less variety than I expected. Small plastic partition can come down for some privacy from your neighbour.

The new seat is roomy and comfortable. The entertainment system (when it worked) was also very good with crisp picture and good sound quality though supplied earphones aren't the best.

Flew the new Envoy Suite - a vast improvement over seats on the A330-300. Seats are full lie flat and in a reverse herringbone configuration. All seat have aisle access yet face away from the aisle. When traveling with a companion, the middle seats in the new Envoy Suite are ideal. The food and beverage service was fine, not outstanding. The flight attendants could use international training - it is a shame how bad US carrier crews are compared to European carriers.

The Envoy class seat on US Airways is marginal at best for any reputable airline. The Envoy class seats on the 767 recline flat but do not lie horizontal. They are narrower than most competitors and the actual functions of the seat appeared to be halfway working and then stopped (had to actually switch seats). The video function was very marginal and the entertainment selection few. The product is sub-standard by most international airline standards.

It's true that the seats are the old-fashioned angled type but they are very wide and fairly comfortable for that design. If you fiddle with the buttons it's possible to get comfortable for sleeping. The pillow was fresh and plump, blanket was better than United's blankets. While it was not like the completely flat pod sleeping experience and the aircraft was pretty beat up and the bathroom had seen better days, everything was clean and electronics worked, including in-flight entertainment.

Worst business class around. Entertainment system has a limited selection of +/- 8 movies and maybe 2/3 newer ones. Entertainment system only switched on after 1 hour. No massage function on chair, no privacy with neighbour and chair reclines only at 30deg angle. Several function on my chair was broken.

PHL-GLA roundtrip. Overall decent experience. The in flight entertainment is well past use by date. For what you pay, the overall product is reasonable, although will never win an award.

MAD-PHL Crowded cabin though with reasonable luggage space. Seat with a number of positions that initially seemed difficult to arrange but finally became easier - it would become flat but angled and was noticeably narrower than other airlines. Entertainment was VOD with a good image but was a touchscreen that often didn't respond. Overall, a number of good features but the narrow seat and crowded cabin "feel" are disadvantages.

 
Earlier reviews have been archived (prior to the date of last review above).