Beverly Lynn
comfortably numb
- Joined
- Oct 17, 1999
- Messages
- 1,337
Can First Class
Like many frequent travelers, Violet Horvath has watched economy class devolve from a cheap but civilized way to travel to the trash compactor it is now.
"I would gladly give up being served food if I could just have a little more room," offers the Washington University graduate student. I think I've got a solution for Horvath and millions of other tortured travelers in the sardine seats: Let's can first class.
Get rid of those oversized seats, space the economy class seats further apart and for goodness sake treat passengers like people instead of animals.
Airlines know that it's the right thing to do, but they're hiding behind a number of tired excuses. They claim their frequent fliers wouldn't tolerate the elimination of first class and that they couldn't turn a profit with a one-class configuration. (In fact, more than half of first-class seats are filled with passengers using upgrades, which erodes the profit argument).
So convinced are the carriers that first class is indispensable to their operations that they're actually expanding the front of their planes. Lufthansa, TWA and US Airways have added seats with extra amenities to their aircraft-sometimes at the expense of their economy class travelers, who end up with less legroom in the reshuffled cabins.
The airlines are hyping the upgrades in newspaper and magazine ads. There's no mention, of course, of the fate awaiting the unfortunate majority that doesn't get a preferred seat.
I ran my idea of zapping first class by a few frequent travelers.
"If airlines would truly use the space to provide more leg and seat room, I would be in favor of removing the first class seats and restructuring the rest of the seats," says Minneapolis computer consultant Victor Parker.
But he's skeptical. "If this were to happen," he says, "I believe that the airlines would, after a suitable delay, return to using small seats and less leg room in order to get more seats on the plane." Ronald Bude, an associate professor of radiology at the University of Michigan, likes the idea of getting rid of the fancy seats but he, too, worries about the fallout.
"If the airline has to increase coach fares to compensate for the lost first class revenue, I would not be willing to pay more for domestic travel," he says.
It might not come to that. There are plenty of examples of carriers that thrive with just one class of service.
Take Southwest Airlines, for example, which operates three flavors of Boeing 737 with modest, but not cramped seats (the space between seats is about 30 to 33 inches, while legroom in other carriers can be as little as 29 inches).
Says spokeswoman Linda Rutherford: "I don't think the key to making money in the airline business is having a first-class section." She should know. Southwest has recorded 25 straight years of profitability.
Kiwi International, the regional carrier based in Newark, N.J., is in the black, too. The seats on its 727s are so spaced apart that passengers can cross their legs, which is something I wouldn't try in one of the major carriers' economy class sections.
"We don't have people asking us, 'Hey, when are you going to get first class?' Because we give everyone legroom and treat them well. And we don't overcharge them for their ticket," says spokesman Rob Kulat.
Lisa Bailey of Midwest Express Airlines in Milwaukee says it comes down to a carrier's philosophy. "There are those that pack 'em in and try to turn the most profit, but that doesn't work for us. We're a premium product for business travelers. We have more of a service strategy."
The two-by-two seat configuration on its DC-9s and MD-80s offers travelers 21 inches of width and about the same amount of legroom as Kiwi and Southwest. And Midwest Express has been profitable for the past 11 years.
Don't expect any of the major carriers to rip their first class seats out on my account. Knowing them, they'll come up with a whole new set of arguments against icing first class ("What are we, communists?") But as a passenger and someone who writes about planes from time to time, I think it's the only humane and sensible thing to do.
Like many frequent travelers, Violet Horvath has watched economy class devolve from a cheap but civilized way to travel to the trash compactor it is now.
"I would gladly give up being served food if I could just have a little more room," offers the Washington University graduate student. I think I've got a solution for Horvath and millions of other tortured travelers in the sardine seats: Let's can first class.
Get rid of those oversized seats, space the economy class seats further apart and for goodness sake treat passengers like people instead of animals.
Airlines know that it's the right thing to do, but they're hiding behind a number of tired excuses. They claim their frequent fliers wouldn't tolerate the elimination of first class and that they couldn't turn a profit with a one-class configuration. (In fact, more than half of first-class seats are filled with passengers using upgrades, which erodes the profit argument).
So convinced are the carriers that first class is indispensable to their operations that they're actually expanding the front of their planes. Lufthansa, TWA and US Airways have added seats with extra amenities to their aircraft-sometimes at the expense of their economy class travelers, who end up with less legroom in the reshuffled cabins.
The airlines are hyping the upgrades in newspaper and magazine ads. There's no mention, of course, of the fate awaiting the unfortunate majority that doesn't get a preferred seat.
I ran my idea of zapping first class by a few frequent travelers.
"If airlines would truly use the space to provide more leg and seat room, I would be in favor of removing the first class seats and restructuring the rest of the seats," says Minneapolis computer consultant Victor Parker.
But he's skeptical. "If this were to happen," he says, "I believe that the airlines would, after a suitable delay, return to using small seats and less leg room in order to get more seats on the plane." Ronald Bude, an associate professor of radiology at the University of Michigan, likes the idea of getting rid of the fancy seats but he, too, worries about the fallout.
"If the airline has to increase coach fares to compensate for the lost first class revenue, I would not be willing to pay more for domestic travel," he says.
It might not come to that. There are plenty of examples of carriers that thrive with just one class of service.
Take Southwest Airlines, for example, which operates three flavors of Boeing 737 with modest, but not cramped seats (the space between seats is about 30 to 33 inches, while legroom in other carriers can be as little as 29 inches).
Says spokeswoman Linda Rutherford: "I don't think the key to making money in the airline business is having a first-class section." She should know. Southwest has recorded 25 straight years of profitability.
Kiwi International, the regional carrier based in Newark, N.J., is in the black, too. The seats on its 727s are so spaced apart that passengers can cross their legs, which is something I wouldn't try in one of the major carriers' economy class sections.
"We don't have people asking us, 'Hey, when are you going to get first class?' Because we give everyone legroom and treat them well. And we don't overcharge them for their ticket," says spokesman Rob Kulat.
Lisa Bailey of Midwest Express Airlines in Milwaukee says it comes down to a carrier's philosophy. "There are those that pack 'em in and try to turn the most profit, but that doesn't work for us. We're a premium product for business travelers. We have more of a service strategy."
The two-by-two seat configuration on its DC-9s and MD-80s offers travelers 21 inches of width and about the same amount of legroom as Kiwi and Southwest. And Midwest Express has been profitable for the past 11 years.
Don't expect any of the major carriers to rip their first class seats out on my account. Knowing them, they'll come up with a whole new set of arguments against icing first class ("What are we, communists?") But as a passenger and someone who writes about planes from time to time, I think it's the only humane and sensible thing to do.
.With as many people traveling now it is usually not glamorous and just something to endure. I hope you all have happy travels.
