Seats on a plane, wishful thinking

[sam_gordon]

Yeah - that will go down really well - especially when you have people already complaining about how the airline treat larger people.
They also cant ask because people will lie - have seen that on smaller planes where its much more important.
Also - they are not going to weight people with their bags - they want the bags separate so they can charge more.

BTW - I am not against this and I think they should be more strict with larger people - its not fair to those that get stuck next to them. I'm no skinny Minnie - but I also don't take up my neighbors space and have an attitude about it. They really need to add an option to buy a second seat at a reasonable price.

Why should they give a discount for a 2nd seat though? I can see a refund if the plane isn't full, but if they sell a second seat to a "person of size", then it's not available to be sold to the public for "normal" cost. And, what prevents someone from claiming they're POS* in order to just have more room?

There needs to be some guidelines on what qualifies as "needing a 2nd seat". Requiring a seat belt extender? Can't lower the armrest? I don't know.

*POS = person of size, NOT Piece of **** just to be clear.

 

[tony67]

Why should they give a discount for a 2nd seat though? I can see a refund if the plane isn't full, but if they sell a second seat to a "person of size", then it's not available to be sold to the public for "normal" cost. And, what prevents someone from claiming they're POS* in order to just have more room?

There needs to be some guidelines on what qualifies as "needing a 2nd seat". Requiring a seat belt extender? Can't lower the armrest? I don't know.

*POS = person of size, NOT Piece of **** just to be clear.

Its a tough one no doubt.

One thing Airlines know how to do is figure out the price per square foot of the plane and how to monetize it.

I'm thinking they offer a second seat to anyone who wants to pay for it at a discounted price seems fine to me - for the Airline there needs to be some restrictions so its profitable - the airline is not a charity. So a second seat does not include extra luggage or extra carry on for example.
If folks buy a second seat its probably going to be the middle seat that no one wants anyway unless the plane is full - and even then they are not happy with the middle.
In the end how many people will pay for this - sometimes you cant even get people with a baby to buy an extra seat.

Will it reduce space on the plane yes - but it also means that the remaining seats cost more so that might be a negative with all the dynamic pricing. The airline does not care as long as its profitable to them.

One issue is many of those "people of size" who should have to buy an extra seat may not buy the extra seat because its "not fair to them", but having no consideration for the person stuck next to them.

Also some Airlines do offer this already - the problem is its not when you buy your seats but a few days before the flight - which is OK but does not help in the situation of those that are too big. I've never priced it out - but the next time I am stuck on a 3x3 plane to Europe with my wife I'll be pricing it out. On our first flight to Portugal after the boarders opened we had a guy in the middle who had covid and gave it to us. He coughed for the entire flight. He was even difficult about switching for the window seat - which is his prerogative - but if I was in the middle I'd be quite happy to get the window. They should not have allowed him on the plane in the first place - but that is a different topic.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Remembering what was as opposed to what now is re: airplane travel.

One of my first overseas flights was on TWA (seriously dating myself ) JFK to LHR. Truly a wide body plane…at least 10 seats across and a permanent haze of smoke overhead. The seats were actually comfy but the food was already on a downward trend. I recall the flight attendant grousing that the airline was like traveling on a Greyhound and helpfully warning us not to order the beef stew. She was right about the food and my girlfriend looked longingly at my lasagna, lol. As far as bus travel goes it’s actually more inviting than plane travel now .

I really don’t like domestic air travel anymore and take Amtrak whenever I can.

 

[tony67]

Remembering what was as opposed to what now is re: airplane travel.

One of my first overseas flights was on TWA (seriously dating myself ) JFK to LHR. Truly a wide body plane…at least 10 seats across and a permanent haze of smoke overhead. The seats were actually comfy but the food was already on a downward trend. I recall the flight attendant grousing that the airline was like traveling on a Greyhound and helpfully warning us not to order the beef stew. She was right about the food and my girlfriend looked longingly at my lasagna, lol. As far as bus travel goes it’s actually more inviting than plane travel now .

I really don’t like domestic air travel anymore and take Amtrak whenever I can.

Yeah - I wish trains were easier in the US. I'd be happy to get a train to Orlando - but it takes 24 hours (plus) - it cost more - and you have to change way too many times even from a major city. No offense - but I have zero interest in hanging around a NYC train station for a few hours changing trains.

 

[kdonnel]

Yeah - I wish trains were easier in the US. I'd be happy to get a train to Orlando - but it takes 24 hours (plus) - it cost more - and you have to change way too many times even from a major city. No offense - but I have zero interest in hanging around a NYC train station for a few hours changing trains.

Trains are decent for some in America, mainly those that live on the east coast up and down I-95 but for others they truly stink.

Family that lives in Savannah regularly take Amtrak to Disney. On average they say it takes about the same time as driving but they find they arrive much more rested compared to driving themselves.

On the other hand it would take me 35+ hours to travel the equivalent of a one hour flight or 8 hour drive. Because I would have to go up to Virginia, Washington DC, or North Carolina to transfer to a south bound train.

We did recently take the Brightline train from Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm because it was much cheaper to fly home from West Palm, enough so that we still saved money buying the train tickets. The train ride was convenient, comfortable, and cost effective.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Yeah - I wish trains were easier in the US. I'd be happy to get a train to Orlando - but it takes 24 hours (plus) - it cost more - and you have to change way too many times even from a major city. No offense - but I have zero interest in hanging around a NYC train station for a few hours changing trains.

Agreed to the nth!
Three of us are traveling to Orlando this December via Amtrak. All the family rooms sold out and tbh I worry what they’ll be serving on the Silver Star Service. Our last trip(pre pandemic), Amtrak was doing away with cooking to order in the dining car and although I hear it’s back I’m just gonna save some money($550 + tax, LGA-MCO, o/w!) and travel w/o the sleeping car. I’m sure the kiddos will keep me entertained
And none taken re: hanging out @Moynihan; I don’t like the clientele .
I think Silver Star service starts in NYC so we’ve that working in our favor. Flight prices go down after the New Year so it’ll be back to MCO for the return home.

 

[gmi3804]

I think you're looking for a conspiracy that's not there.

Ya think?!

 

[NYCgrrl]

We did recently take the Brightline train from Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm because it was much cheaper to fly home from West Palm, enough so that we still saved money buying the train tickets. The train ride was convenient, comfortable, and cost effective.

Good to hear the line is operating well. Trying to arrange a quick visit to the man’s brother during the holidays and Brightline would make it easier.

 

[tony67]

Remembering what was as opposed to what now is re: airplane travel.

One of my first overseas flights was on TWA (seriously dating myself ) JFK to LHR. Truly a wide body plane…at least 10 seats across and a permanent haze of smoke overhead. The seats were actually comfy but the food was already on a downward trend. I recall the flight attendant grousing that the airline was like traveling on a Greyhound and helpfully warning us not to order the beef stew. She was right about the food and my girlfriend looked longingly at my lasagna, lol. As far as bus travel goes it’s actually more inviting than plane travel now .

I really don’t like domestic air travel anymore and take Amtrak whenever I can.

Lets not forget how expensive Air Travel was back then.

I recall flying Banff to Muskogee Oklahoma for military training - it was 800 each way - that's about 2K if you adjust for inflation.

Flying to Florida was slightly more expensive than it is today - but that does not account for inflation.
If often was not direct either - so stop in Atlanta - or DC and change planes.

Flights to the UK and Ireland were more expensive than today for the most part - and again that is before inflation - so it was way more expensive. The London to Dublin flight before Ryan Air was outrageous - but was still cheaper than flying to Dublin Direct in many cases

So its easy to look back as it was all great, but as you point out, maybe not as great as we recall.

 

[jimmymc]

One of my unpopular opinions when talking to other aviation enthusiasts is that I like how cheap air travel has become. Airlines like Spirit and Ryanair use thin plastic seats with minimal padding and no recline, but that works because it means I can fly across the country for $100. Meanwhile if you want air travel like the days of old, you can still pay that price for premium economy, business, or first. The video describes a few things that have already been implemented in premium economy, like better armrests, footrests, and more legroom.

 

[kdonnel]

One of my unpopular opinions when talking to other aviation enthusiasts is that I like how cheap air travel has become. Airlines like Spirit and Ryanair use thin plastic seats with minimal padding and no recline, but that works because it means I can fly across the country for $100. Meanwhile if you want air travel like the days of old, you can still pay that price for premium economy, business, or first. The video describes a few things that have already been implemented in premium economy, like better armrests, footrests, and more legroom.

I love how we have the option for dirt cheap flights.

My wife and I just took what amounted to a day trip to Ft. Lauderdale.

We took the 5:30am Spirit flight out of Atlanta and returned on a noon flight the next day.

Round trip was less than $50 a person.

Since the trip was so short we did not need to buy any extras and made do with the free personal item which held a days change of clothes and bathing suits.

We got a free hotel on the beach using points and had a great day going back and forth from the beach to the pool. At night we had a good meal and then a leisurely morning the next day before flying home.

All for less or the same as than many people spend going out for the night at a bar, concert, or sporting event.

We have another similar day planned soon, this time going to Atlantic City.

Looking at the Spirit and Frontier flights out of Atlanta we plan to try the same to Tampa, Detroit, Chicago, and Boston in the future.