HOW WE WORK IT OUT

The Business Traveller India Airline Survey 2018 gives you the information you need to choose the best airline, class and seat for your journey and budget.

1 AIRCRAFT TYPE AND CLASS

We have arranged the survey by aircraft type to allow you to compare products across the whole fleet in each class.

2 SEAT CONFIGURATION

This is the way seats are arranged throughout the plane.The layout is important to know as some airlines are squeezing more seats into their twin-aisle jets by configuring them 3-4-3 as opposed to 3-3-3, for example, meaning you have less space.

3 SEAT PITCH

This is the distance between seats, measured from a fixed point on one seat to the same point on the one in front.The measurement differs between airlines, but it indicates how much legroom you will get.

4 SEAT WIDTH

Airlines obtain the seat width either by measuring the cushion, the distance between the armrests or from the outside of one armrest to the outside of the other.

5 BED LENGTH

A measurement for fully-flat seats only. This is when the pitch becomes redundant — the length of your bed is what matters.

6 SEAT RECLINE

This can be measured from either a horizontal, a 90-degree or take- off position.

7 SEAT TYPE

This mainly depends on a seat's recline.We have identified five main types: standard (ST), cradle-style (CS), fixed-shell (FS), angled lie-flat (AF) and fully-flat (FF).

8 INDIVIDUAL SCREEN AND SIZE

With more airlines installing personal screens, it can be a shock to discover one that hasn't. But the size of the displays can differ.

9 AUDIO-VIDEO ON-DEMAND AVOD

in-flight entertainment (IFE) — the ability to stop, start, rewind and pause movies, music, games and TV shows — is a must-have feature across all cabin classes. It has largely replaced the old-fashioned system of playing a selection of movies on a loop.

10 POWER SOURCE

Many aircraft have in-seat power, be it the UK, EU, US, South African (SA), Japanese (Japan), USB or universal (UNI) sockets.

11 INTERNET

Many carriers are now either allowing passengers to connect in-flight to the web through GPRS (charged via network providers at international roaming rates) or, more commonly, by installing on-board wifi. Often you have to pay, but sometimes it's free.

I2 MOBILE PHONE USE

Some airlines allow passengers to use their mobile phones in-flight. Prices depend on network providers and not all carriers will permit all forms of communication