I flew from JFK to MNL with my wife and infant daughter in January. The flight from JFK to HKG was on a 77W, as expected. We were seated in Row 40, which was behind the wing. So then we get on a 773 to fly from HKG to MNL, and are seated in Row 39. After we got seated, I looked out the window expecting to see the wing. I cannot see it anywhere. Finally I see it about 10 rows behind me. I am trying to figure out what is going on; does the 77W have some super first class that takes up half the fuselage in front? Then I recall that the other 77Ws {EVA} that I have been on had similar seat numbers to the CX one I had just left. I finally looked at the seat numbers for the seats in front of mine {row 39 is a bulkhead row in both the 77W and the 773} and the row in front of me is like row 20. So the mystery is solved; they have omitted something like 18 rows. My question is why?

a quick review of seatguru.com gives you the answer to this and you can very quickly see the difference.
The JFK-HKG was a 4 class 773
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... 00ER_A.php

however HKG-MNL they use one of their regional versions
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... -300_B.php

it has always struck me as odd some of the row numbering scenarios that go on, this is most definitely one of those oddities.

Thanks, that explains it. I notice that they also skip a number of seat rows in the front on both versions. Did they never learn to count, or can their computers only deal with certain rows being certain classes? Even that is not very consistent.

SEPilot wrote:

Thanks, that explains it. I notice that they also skip a number of seat rows in the front on both versions. Did they never learn to count, or can their computers only deal with certain rows being certain classes? Even that is not very consistent.

Skipping row numbers is very common across airlines to help keep consistency between fleet types. In addition to the 777s look at CX's A330s:

https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... 30_33P.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... _E_new.php

You will notice that for all CX aircraft Y starts at row 39, and J starts at row 11 (Premium Y at row 30). That way if someone is in row 24, for example, they are always in J and not in Y, and if there is an equipment swap to a different type/configuration with less J they now no longer have a seat so employees have to deal with them before they get on board and find their J seat is now a Y seat (better customer service). Some airlines (i.e. UA) also skip row numbers to keep exit row numbering common across different fleets/configurations. Its weird to the passengers especially if they are not paying attention, but it makes things much easier behind the scenes especially in equipment swap situations.

Skipping row numbers is very common across airlines to help keep consistency between fleet types. In addition to the 777s look at CX's A330s:

https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... 30_33P.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Catha ... _E_new.php

You will notice that for all CX aircraft Y starts at row 39, and J starts at row 11 (Premium Y at row 30). That way if someone is in row 24, for example, they are always in J and not in Y, and if there is an equipment swap to a different type/configuration with less J they now no longer have a seat so employees have to deal with them before they get on board and find their J seat is now a Y seat (better customer service). Some airlines (i.e. UA) also skip row numbers to keep exit row numbering common across different fleets/configurations. Its weird to the passengers especially if they are not paying attention, but it makes things much easier behind the scenes especially in equipment swap situations.[/quote]
Thanks for the excellent, logical explanation. I can understand it now.

You occasionally find odd seat numbering conventions. Skipping row 13 is fairly common. I recently found some old TW boarding passes that weren't alpha-numeric, but purely numeric eg 4-06, that would be far more confusing. I actually like the numbering convention on CX, as mentioned above it is clearer for pax & airport where a pax is/should be sat and accommodated as sick in case of change of gauge etc.