Middle East Airlines

Middle East Airlines is Lebanon's flag carrier, flying from Beirut to a network shaped by the Lebanese diaspora: Western Europe, the Gulf and a string of West African cities. It is a SkyTeam member with an all-Airbus fleet, and for an airline of its size it runs an unusually consistent product, since nearly every aircraft carries the same two cabins.

The front cabin is Cedar Class, named for the tree on the national flag, and it is a physically separate business cabin rather than a blocked-middle fare. On the narrowbodies that means a two-by-two cabin ahead of a standard three-by-three economy; on the A330 widebody it widens into a six-abreast arrangement. One A320 in the fleet is the exception, flying as a single economy cabin nose to tail, so the published layout is worth a glance before you pay for the front.

The published layouts cover the A320 in two fits, the A321neo, and the A330-200 in two registration variants that differ so slightly a passenger would struggle to tell them apart. The A321neo is the newest jet and carries the longest Cedar Class cabin on a single-aisle aircraft in the fleet.

The standard A320 pairs a two-by-two Cedar Class with a three-by-three economy, while its single-class sibling trades the front cabin for extra economy rows. The A330-200 is the long-haul aircraft, with Cedar Class in a wide two-two-two arrangement up front and a two-four-two economy behind it, which gives couples a two-seat window pair with no stranger in the row.

Cedar Class on the narrowbodies is a generously pitched recliner, built for the two-to-five-hour sectors that make up most of the network: Beirut to Paris, the Gulf, or down the West African coast. It is a seat you settle into rather than sleep in, with the space and service to make a mid-length sector easy.

On the A330 the cabin steps up in width and openness, though only the window seats have to step past a neighbour to reach the aisle. Economy is a tidy, conventional cabin on every type: three-by-three on the single-aisle jets and two-four-two on the widebody, where the outer pairs are the seats regular flyers ask for first.

In Cedar Class the seats are broadly matched, so position decides: the front rows board and clear first, while the rear of the cabin sits further from the galley. On the A330, the centre and aisle seats reach the aisle directly and the window seats step over one neighbour, which matters more on an overnight sector than a lunchtime hop.

In economy, the over-wing exit rows are the legroom pick on the narrowbodies, and the last few rows by the rear galley and lavatories are the weakest choice. On the A330, a window pair suits couples and the bulkhead rows add knee room at the cost of under-seat stowage. And since one A320 flies with no Cedar Class at all, check the layout for your flight before assuming there is a front cabin to upgrade into.