Since then, a certain type of seat has been helpful for couples and families who travel for leisure: “honeymoon seats.” These are the seats that are right next to each other, usually in a staggered layout where the seats in the middle section alternate between two seats right next to each other in the middle of one row (“honeymoon”) and two seats right next to the aisle in the next row (“divorce”).
Early examples of this were the British Airways Club World full flat bed in 2000 and 2006, where the centre pairs were right next to each other, and the Stelia Solstys stagger, which first appeared on Etihad and Asiana in the late 2000s and was called OZ Quadra Smartium, which I thought was a very clever name.
Both planes didn’t have the much-wanted double beds in business class, like the full beds that were added to Singapore Suite’s first class on the A380 around the same time. However, you could kiss your partner or child goodnight as you went to bed, and you could talk to your sweetheart or keep the kids busy during the flight.
Since the late 2000s, however, things have changed. Some airlines have kept their herringbone seats, while others have put in staggered seats that are all “singleton” seats, with seats next to the aisle and seats not next to the aisle in the middle section staggered in alternate rows.
This is a problem for people who move as a family for fun. Putting a small child in a business class seat by themselves, where the parents are strapped into a seat across a bulkhead, isn’t the best idea. Because of this, some parents of younger children choose to max out at premium economy until the child is old enough to entertain themselves.
Some airlines and seat makers have been coming up with new ideas in this area in recent years. In 2017, Qatar Airways introduced the Qsuite, which was made to be a family zone.
As premium leisure travel grows, seat makers and airlines will need to keep focusing on both the hard product and the soft product to make the honeymoon passenger experience really feel like “couple time” or “family time.” This includes serving drinks and meals at the same time, even if they are in different aisles, thinking about how dividers retract, figuring out how to watch a movie together, and more. It’s an interesting challenge, and if the business can meet it, it will gain a lot.
