The best business class seats on Air Canada's revamped Boeing 777-200LRs

Australian travellers are in for a treat next month with Air Canada's Boeing 777-200LRs sporting all-new business class seats on Sydney-Vancouver flights from May 16th.

That's ahead of the airline's Boeing 787 debut on the Brisbane-Vancouver route come June, on which high flyers will also find these new fully-flat business class 'Executive Pods'.

But choose wisely: a few choice seats aboard the Boeing 777 are better than others, while some sport restroom-adjacent noise and light to keep you awake. Here are our top picks whether your flight leans towards working, sleeping or a mixture of both.

Air Canada Boeing 777-200LR business class

Regardless of where you sit, business class guests on Air Canada's Boeing 777-200LRs are all assured a fully-flat bed with direct and uninterrupted aisle access, courtesy of the cabin's 1-2-1 layout.

Passengers in the A and K seats line the windows and those in the D and G pairs form the centre, with the cabin divided into a forward section with seven rows, fittingly numbered 1-7, and a rear cabin with rows 8-11 (or 9 to 11 for the window seats, skipping 8A/8K):

Between the two cabins are galleys and lavatories, while an additional bathroom can be found at the forward left of the aircraft ahead of row one, among the larger galley space.

Best seats in Air Canada Boeing 777 business class

1A, 1K: Right at the front of the main cabin, the experience in these seats is a little more 'private jet'-like and reminds us of Qantas A380 first class ever so slightly:

There's nobody in front of you, you're served as soon as there's food available and the space nearest your seat is given over to a closet, not a noisy galley. Just note the baby bassinet at seat 1D...

7A, 7K, for privacy: Located at the rear of the forward front cabin, many travellers in this area will naturally gravitate to the front-most lavatory rather than venturing further back, which means less aisle traffic to pass you by. A central galley space also means you're not sitting 'next to' any other passenger, but be prepared to don the noise-cancelling headphones if things get a little noisy.

Forward cabin, for a quieter boarding: Even with two aerobridges attached to the aircraft, economy passengers enter via the doors between business class rows seven and eight, making for full and cluttered aisles from there back until everybody takes their seats.

Choosing a spot in the forward cabin (rows 1-7) gives you a much greater chance of relaxing before take-off with no rush to sit down, buckle up and get out of the way – unless of course, you luck out and the sole aerobridge is attached to the very front aircraft door, but even then you're no worse off than you'd be furter back.

Row 4, for light sleepers: With galleys and restrooms at the front of both business class cabins, row 4 is as far as you can get away from them before you start getting closer to the next.

Avoid 8D, 8G: Positioned directly between both central lavatories, you'll be exposed to flashes of light as passengers open the bathroom door throughout the night, noise from the restroom itself and more foot traffic than if you were further back.

Avoid 11D: Directly behind this seat is the premium economy baby bassinet, and while 11A and the other seats aren't immune to the noise, sleeping or sitting here places your ears within centimetres of the baby's immediate 'scream zone' and is best avoided.

Also read: Air Canada boosts Sydney business class on Boeing 777

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.