Cathay Pacific Airways

The shell seats offer a personal space in which nobody can intrude. There is good lumbar support if you keep your backside close to the cushion and don't slide. If you do slouch then a cushion is necessary to fill the gap. The shell is actually more reclined than regular airline seats.

I flew return from Vancouver to Delhi via Hong Kong in February. Although there were two different aircraft involved each with a different seat configuration the seats were the same - the worst I've ever experienced. Very little legroom but worst of all the seats didn't recline. All that could be done was to slide the seat bottom forward which only gave the illusion of leaning back a bit. This put my back into a painful slumped position and because the seat back was still upright my head and neck were pushed forward. Within half an hour I had excruciating back pain which I couldn't get rid of regardless of how I positioned myself. On such a long flight as Vancouver - Hong Kong such seats seem absurd since it's pretty much impossible to sleep. I was miserable the entire time and could only pray that the seats between Hong Kong and Delhi would be different. They weren't. When the agonising trip was finally over and I was finally in India I kept having the awful realisation that I was going to have to sit in the same torturous seats all the way home again.

I'm on the tall side (6' 2") and skinny and found the shell seats some of the worst airline seats I have ever sat in. The issue is the way they recline since the seat slides forward the headrest never allows your head's center of gravity to get behind your solders. This makes it very hard to sleep because your head keeps flopping forward. The other issue with the recline on these seats is that the seat base slides forward making it very hard to extend your legs out under the seat in-front of you. The overall result is a truly uncomfortable slouch.

We paid $100 extra for each flight to have "Extended Legroom Seats". Unfortunately this put us in Row 31 beside an exit door. The cold and the noise from the door were both unbearable throughout the trip. Cathay Pacific should not charge a premium for these seats despite the extra legroom. Our written complaint to the airline generated a reply but not a very satisfactory adjustment ($50 voucher for duty free on our next flight).

Los Angeles to Hong Kong. The seat is very good overall. The seat backs are fixed so that the person in front of you does not recline into your face. The recline and tray latch proved to be a little difficult. The personal TV screen was located at a comfortable level with the controller below.

I found the economy seat so uncomfortable that that after my return leg journey is completed I will never fly CX economy again. I cannot believe that the seat designers and management of CX actually tested these seats. Yes the passenger in front does not recline into your "space" but the downside is a terrible seat position - most uncomfortable non ergonomic position I have encountered on an aircraft.

Flew SYD-HKG and HKG-LHR on these seats. These "mini-shell" seats are just horrible. While the legroom is good and the seat width is average I spent 13 hours of suffering on the Hong Kong- London route due to a small hard cushion a firm backrest no neck support and almost no head support due to the awkward recline. Tried to sleep but couldn't and on both flights ended up with sore butt and neck/head ache as well. Just weak. Have two more flights with these seats both overnight and are dreading them both. Will not ever fly economy with CX again with these seats and I will not ever fly economy to London again as I barely survived the Economy crush.

The shell economy seats are terrible!! Cathay promote their shell seat as being better than previous as it doesn't recline into the seat behind. However it is not easy - almost impossible - for someone to sleep sitting bolt upright. The seat cushion - which is very slim - only slides down about 4" within the shell and this is the extent of the movement in the seat. I was not a happy traveller !

Having read these reviews I can only assume the 'shell' seat is unbearable at any height. I am a 5'6"female & travelled with my 15yo son (5'10") and husband (5'9") - all of slim to average build - from Melbourne to Hong Kong. This was our first experience of these seats and the torture they induce. We each tried to cope with the unnatural shapes the seat contorts your body into by adopting different positions - enduring neck back and/or tailbone pain as a result. These seats are unquestionably the worst we have ever experienced I am just glad we left our 6' plus son behind. We assumed this was an old plane/old design; having just visited the Cathay site I am shocked to learn they are being lauded particularly given all the negative reviews.

For an economy seat leg room was good even with the seat recline. The new seat doesn't give a good sleeping position but few economy seats do. My big gripe is the cushion thickness. While just about bearable on the LHR-HKG leg it became very painful on the HKG-AKL leg. Take cushions and break your journey!