Business Class on US Airways

Although US Airways is thought by many to be a semi-budget airline, with more limited services than some of the big carriers in the United States, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still offer upper classes of service on many of its flights. In fact, depending on the route you’re flying, you might even come across US Airways First Class. But for this article, we’re going to talk about the features of Business Class on US Airways, which is called Envoy.

As is the case with many airlines these days, US Airways is upgrading many of its Business Class cabins – so in some aircraft you’ll find the newer (nicer) seats and in some aircraft you’ll find the older (not as nice) seats. The upgraded seats are set to be in all A330-200 aircraft by summer 2012, and because of their increased privacy features they’re known as “Envoy Suites.”

The list of features below is all about the Envoy Suites, but there’s information at the bottom about the older cabins so you know what to expect if that’s what you find when you get on board your flight.

Seat & Bed

• Seats recline to a fully flat position (horizontal with the floor)
• Seats are partially surrounded by plastic shells for enhanced privacy
• Seats are 20.5″ wide with the armrest up, 25″ wide with the armrest down, and between 6’4″ and 6’8″ long when fully reclined (depends on the cabin location)
• Each seat has aisle access

Food & Beverages

• Menus vary depending on the route, but include three courses and several entree options made with seasonal ingredients
• Selection of fine wines and liquors available on flight
• “Snacking station” on board for light refreshments during flight

Entertainment

• Each seat has 12.1″ touch-screen monitor with on-demand movies, TV shows, games, and audio programming
• Each seat has 110-volt universal power outlet and USB port

Other Amenities

• Complimentary amenity kit features toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, eye shade, lotion, lip balm, ear plugs
• Many US Airways flights in the United States now have in-flight WiFi available

The amenities in US Airways Business Class will be essentially the same regardless of the cabin configuration you happen to get when you board your flight. What will be most notably different is the seat itself. Until US Airways completes the transformation of all of its A330-300 aircraft, some of them will still have the old seats. Those recline to 160-degrees – so not fully flat.

On other US Airways aircraft, you may get seats that recline to a lie-flat position but not fully flat, and some other aircraft besides the A330-300 have the seats that recline to 160-degrees. In all cases, the seats are larger and recline further than in coach, but it may be hard to settle for anything but the new upgraded Envoy Business Class suites now.