Couldn’t it be said that this is Boeing’s fault? I mean, they are the ones that are giving the airlines the option of installing seats that are smaller than what the plane is designed for, why not just tell the airlines “No, we won’t build your disease spreading, fat shaming, cost cutting seats. You get eight seats per aisle, take it or leave it.”
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Just because you’re a real person doesn’t mean you get to tell the airlines what’s profitable. Read the rest of the thread.
I appreciate you can imagine a world where economy is both comfortable and cheap. I too can imagine a world where fuel is 50c a gallon and doesn’t pollute the environment. Doesn’t mean that either of those things are actually tied in reality.
I’m not very old but I recall a time when flying wasn’t for everyone, and certainly wasn’t the sort of thing anyone but the super-rich did for weekends away. Now we’re complaining that the cheap option isn’t comfortable? How far we’ve come…
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When I travel on business (most of my travel) this is not generally a practical option. Its not like I get to choose to stay in hotel rooms with a kitchen, much less one which is already kashered, that I can prepare my food for the return flight. Since business districts are often not near food markets I can’t depend on being able to even buy enough prepackaged food to bring on the flight either.
I do usually make a “just in case” bento box before leaving home for the outbound flight since I’ve learned the hard way that airlines sometimes don’t process my meal request or otherwise screw up but as above, your solution is not always entirely viable for me.
Yeah. I am definitely not defending the flying cattle car industry but you’re right. Flying is horrible for the environment. I don’t own a car and do my best in other ways but just a few flights a year probably cancels out all my other good planetary deeds.
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It’s just business. Airlines will keep shaving down until it causes them to make less money. The only way to reverse this trend is with your pocketbook. If your frugality causes you to choose these skinny seats, then you are getting exactly what you pay for.
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I don’t mind seats being narrow, what really annoys me on airplanes (and buses or trains) is how the seat of the passanger in front of you can recline and take away the little space you have. You don’t need to recline a seat to sleep, and occupying someone’s space to slightly increase your own comfort is obnoxious.
At the very least, seats should be designed to move forward as you incline them, therefore sacrificing your OWN leg space and not someone’s else.
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My problem is that they don’t make a usably nicer seat. Personally I don’t care about leg room. My shoulders (not my butt, hell I’m actually rather skinny) are several inches wider than the seats allow for and except on the planes that offer first class (which is an order of magnitude more expensive to provide lots of amenities I really don’t care for or even want) I can’t even buy a large enough seat.
Much of this comes from the fact that airlines are the one industry that is explicitly exempted from the ADA so the airlines can’t be made to accommodate anyone, regardless of need whether it’s simple or significant.
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I’m not imagining it, Emirates does not offer a kosher meal option.
Considering their origin, this is unsurprising.
Forgive me if I’m being ignorant here, but is a halal meal not acceptable in a pinch? I’ve known many who keep kosher, but will settle for halal when there is no other option (and vice-versa, for that matter).
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily solve the problem of edibility…
So. One extra seat per row. And, what? Zero extra overhead bin space, I assume?
It’s not just coach – I’ve read that 777s are being ordered with 10 seats per row in business class. I’m fortunate enough to have an employer that puts me in business class for long-haul flights and I can say that Air France currently has just 7 seats per row in business in its 777s. I know, I know, boo hoo, tiny violins, etc.
I have also read elsewhere that while the seats are becoming smaller, the amount of room that each passenger will have is not necessarily getting smaller because the seats are becoming less bulky and more smartly designed. I won’t believe it until I see it – it is the airlines and plane manufacturers making the claim, after all – but I thought it a fair thing to mention.
And, of course, if you cut service to an underpeforming route, the local congresscritter will IMMEDIATELY throw a fit. . . there’s already a huge amount of pork sent to “Underservered Airports”, actually meaning ones that cannot sustain service. . .
You’ve obviously never flown on military airlift.
Oh, and wear winter clothing and a coat. It gets cold back there. The simplest measure of a seasoned soldier is the ability to fall asleep, and stay asleep, in the cargo compartment of an airlifter. . .
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It may be time to re-regulate the airlines.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_03/is_it_time_to_reregulate_the_a036023.php
I still say they’re missing a bet by not reintroducing sleeper berths. Stack the passengers up like packages, and you can actually give each of them MORE personal space. Something similar to capsule hotels ought to work Just Fine.
Claustrophobes might not be happy, admittedly. And you’d have to prove that emergency evacuation and crash safety weren’t impaired. You might not be able to feed them very well in that position. But I’d take elbow room and freedom to change my position over food on almost any flight.
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I’m sure the airlines agree wholeheartedly.
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Would you be kind enough to let me know which bus or train line goes from Tokyo to cities in the US, UK, Europe, etc.?From Tokyo, take the San'yô Shinkansen to Okayama. Transfer to the Yakumo Express train to Yonago. Take the JR Sakai line to Sakaiminato. Take the Eastern Dream ferry to Vladivostok, Russia. From there, the Transsiberian Railway will take you to Moscow. Any number of trains will take you to continental Europe. For the UK, take the direct train from Moscow to Paris. Go to Gare du Nord and hop on the Eurostar train to Ashcroft, Ebbsfleet (both in Kent) or St Pancras (Greater London).
Hey, you asked…
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Hell, make the capsules MODULES, and load 'em like cargo. Service corridor down the center, for meals and toilet access, but pretty much, you and your luggage get in the module, module gets loaded, and after landing, gets unloaded, where you can take your luggage and go. . . Standardize them enough, and eliminate check-in: get to the airport, slot your ticket (or bluetooth your e-ticket, more likely), and your module gets loaded on the jet. . .
It would take a massive retooling of airports, and several different sized modules (single, pair, family, and, oh yes, the “mile-high club” module), but I could see it working. . .
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The problem with the “vote with your wallet” approach to solving this is the lack of transparency to the consumer. In addition to airline, date, time, flight number, and price, what if ticket agents were required to provide berth details, like seat sizes, extra fees, meal options and prices, etc.
Then flyers could make an informed decision to get X comfort for the given price.
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Lots of connections to miss. And last time I checked, the Trans-Siberian is daily, at best, so if you miss a connection, it’s a night in Vladivostok. . .
