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New seats let airlines squeeze in more passengers
It's not your imagination. There really is a tighter squeeze on many planes these days. The big 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. (www.usatoday.com) Plus d'info...
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I loved the line - "airlines say the new seats are just as comfortable".
Just another way to screw the customer.
You'd think they would have reached the critical point of this aspect by now...from the customer's perspective, there must be more effective ways to save money.
But people keep buying tickets and the airlines know they will, so they can continue to do this kind of thing. Where else will the passengers go? Greyhound? Amtrak? Hitchhike? The customers' perspective is of no concern to the airlines because they have a monopoly on long-distance travel. Boycotting them means you don't go anywhere.
Even if a few airlines provided more room than all the others, most people, when offered a choice of 2" more legroom for X amount of dollars more, will decide they can tough it out for a few hours for the cheaper fare. There is no incentive to the airlines to stop squeezing in more people -- except in First Class, but to have that much space, you pay a small fortune.
Even if a few airlines provided more room than all the others, most people, when offered a choice of 2" more legroom for X amount of dollars more, will decide they can tough it out for a few hours for the cheaper fare. There is no incentive to the airlines to stop squeezing in more people -- except in First Class, but to have that much space, you pay a small fortune.
Unfortunately, you are so correct. When considering a trip from either coast to the other one, 4-5 hours vs 2-3 days by bus or train at a nearly equal price, there is no choice. My kids elected to drive awhile back from AR to West TX and comparable airline fare was about $1200 for both of them on short notice. Their trip cost was within $20 of being the same. The difference was that it took them 15 hours one way and they were wasted, needing a couple of days to rest up for the return. Flight time would have been about 4 hrs.
I see nothing to complain about. If given a choice, many if not most passengers will choose the cheapest airfare without regard to differences between airlines. So airlines have to be able to compete for these lowest fare passengers. Airlines are also increasingly offering plus and premium seating options for those willing to pay for them.
That's a free choice in an open marketplace. Folks don't have to choose between the bus and an expensive airplane seat alone. With a greater variety of aircraft seating, they can add a lower cost airplane seating option to the mix.
And if some airline's seats are indeed much less comfortable than others, they'll lose some passengers to other carriers. So there is an incentive to make the seats as comfortable as possible as they're redesigning the concept of the airplane seat and making them lighter and less bulky.
That's a free choice in an open marketplace. Folks don't have to choose between the bus and an expensive airplane seat alone. With a greater variety of aircraft seating, they can add a lower cost airplane seating option to the mix.
And if some airline's seats are indeed much less comfortable than others, they'll lose some passengers to other carriers. So there is an incentive to make the seats as comfortable as possible as they're redesigning the concept of the airplane seat and making them lighter and less bulky.
They've only recently actually begun significantly reducing weight and bulkiness of seats with the current cycle of seat upgrades.
If the seat is 2 inches less thick, you should be able to reduce pitch about 2 inches without altering legroom significantly. But you'll be able to add row(s) of additional seats.
Some redesigned seats may actually provide more legroom by moving the magazine pocket above the IFE screen and not keep it down where it interferes with passengers' knees.
If the seat is 2 inches less thick, you should be able to reduce pitch about 2 inches without altering legroom significantly. But you'll be able to add row(s) of additional seats.
Some redesigned seats may actually provide more legroom by moving the magazine pocket above the IFE screen and not keep it down where it interferes with passengers' knees.
