Slashdot Mirror
Redesigned Seats Let Airlines Squeeze In More Passengers
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "AP reports that U.S. airlines are taking out old, bulky seats in favor of so-called slimline models that take up less space from front to back, allowing for five or six more seats on each plane. This gives airlines two of their favorite things: more paying passengers, and a smaller fuel bill (the seats are slightly lighter). Whether the new seats are really closer together depends on how you measure. By the usual measure, called 'pitch,' the new ones are generally an inch closer together from front to back as measured at the armrest. The seats Southwest has put on nearly its entire fleet are 31 inches apart, about an inch less than before, allowing them to to add an extra row of six seats to each plane. International passengers are feeling crowded, too. As recently as 2010, most airlines buying Boeing's big 777 opted for nine seats across. Now it's 10 across on 70 percent of newly-built 777s, Boeing says. American's newest 777s are set up 10-across in coach, with slightly narrower seats than on its older 777s. Airlines say you won't notice. And the new seats are designed to minimize this problem. Airplane seats from 30 years ago looked like your grandmother's BarcaLounger, says Jami Counter, senior director at SeatGuru.com, which tracks airline seats and amenities. 'All that foam cushion and padding probably didn't add all that much comfort. All that's been taken out,' he said. 'You haven't really lost all that much if the airline does it right.'"
I recently flew on a rather old African owned plane (run by a state airline). It being my first experience with this style of airline (the only other African airline I'd flown was SAA, which is no better or worse than the average European airline), it was interesting. E.g. there was heaps of leg room! It was amazing compared to the other airlines I'd been flying. Economy class was actually comfortable for me, even without pushing the seatback back (which I never like doing if there is someone behind me, I think airlines should remove that option).
On the newer planes though, I always have to get an aisle seat, otherwise I am uncomfortable the entire flight.
Fuck the airlines.
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
I'd start by saying that I'm bigger than the average. Still, having sat in the slim seats for several travels, I have to say they are more comfortable than the old ones, even in a 3-4-3 row setting. I actually feel like having more leg space (especially for my knees) even if the seat in front of me is reclined. If they all will be like the slim seats on transatlantic LH flights, then I'd take them anytime over the old style seats.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Funny you're so confident about that. You should go back and look at the water landings and ask the survivors if they used their flotation seats or life jackets. Life jackets and flotation seats were added, FAA rules making them mandatory, for a reason. While most of the water landings included fatalities, I'm confident the fatality rate would have been higher without the life jackets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Idd32nyf1pc
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
If people just go to their favorite travel website and sort flights by cost this will continue to happen. Consumers are giving the signal they care about nothing other than cost. If it becomes uncomfortable enough that people select airlines based on comfort over price the airlines will respond. They just want the money. If they could get away with charging more for bean bag seats they would respond.
Is there even a way to sort flights by leg room (or other seat size parameter) on any travel website? Even if one knew the seat pitches in the aircraft that a given airline uses from external sources, one doesn't necessarily know what "equipment" is being used for any given flight. And even then, they're not all necessarily furnished identically. And your plane could change any time between booking and boarding. If you know of a way to do it, I want to know.
And besides, even wishing for this sort of thing will surely prompt some Slashdot griefer to call me "entitled" for stating my product and service preferences.
I am not a crackpot.
No, more of them will need to buy two seats.
No, they'll just take up half my seat while the airline expects me to suffer in silence.
The american airlines should just carry things to their logical conclusion, sedate everyone, and then stack them like firewood.
The armrest can keep the solid parts of them away from you, but you still need to fight off the gooey parts.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
That was a marketing ploy by Ryanair. They're regularly doing things like this (also charging for the use of the toilet) and slip in that "it'll be trialled on their new route from X-Y". Bingo, free advertising as all the tabloids lap it up.