Business class seat guide - Middle East

In the second part of a series, Business Traveller has compiled a summary of business class seats on airlines flying long haul out of the Middle East

- TOM OTLEY

 Welcome to our round-up of the long-haul business class seats currently available on Middle East airlines. Last issue we looked at the European airlines, and once again we are focusing on the seats available rather than service elements, such as food and drink, inflight entertainment, amenity products or whether there is wifi available onboard. In part this is because these elements change frequently, and often depend on the length of the flight sector, and also for reasons of brevity. If you visit businesstraveller.com you will find numerous reviews of most of the airlines mentioned here, where all aspects are discussed and assessed in detail.

The good news for travellers is that the majority of airlines offering long-haul flights now have seats that recline fully flat in business class. Most airlines choose from one of several designs, and then, to a greater or lesser extent, add bespoke elements to those seats. This may mean just choosing a distinctive colour scheme to fit in with their brand, or it might mean adding a door to a seat and calling it a suite. The balance for the airline is how to stay price competitive while at the same time differentiating itself from competitors by offering a distinctive experience.

El Al El Al has a long-haul fleet of B777s and B787s with two different types of business class, though it is gradually retrofitting the older aircraft with its new business class seat. The seat being replaced is currently on its B777 aircraft and is an angled lie-flat seat in a 2-2-2 configuration. These are being replaced by a 1-2-1 fully-flat seat the Recaro CL6710 - which has direct aisle access and a staggered formation alternating in the cabin, so that some seats are closer to the aisle and in the next row they will be closer to the window.