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Air Plane seats

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Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    I only travel by jet ski. If it doesn't have an inlet, a canal or a fjord it isn't worth going to that is what I say.

    I've always wondered what people mean by "you can't get there from here."
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited November 2017
    jdlobb wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    I don't know why anyone flies unless they have some Godforsaken reason to have to go overseas. And for most people that never happens. I've never heard anyone say a good word about the flying experience, the costs associated with it or anything else having to do with flying. Continental U.S. and Europe have rail. Screw flying. You can be fat on a train and it's okay. Go Amtrak for God's sake.

    I love flying, I travel every opportunity I get. I honestly have a harder time understanding people who seem to think airline travel is so terrible.

    Also, Amtrak? Yeah, maybe if you love in the north east. When I lived in New York I took the train to Baltimore, DC, and Philly a lot, it was quicker than flying once you factor in time at the airport. But now I live in dallas, and literally nowhere is faster by train, including factoring time at the airport.

    My opinion, people make flying worse on themselves by telling themselves how bad it’ll be. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

    Yep, get outside the northeast Amtrak sucks if you really need to get someplace. My son moved 1100 miles away. There is an airport in my community. Also an Amtrak station. One of the trains goes directly to where my son lives. With one stop I can fly in 4 hours. I can drive it in 15. If I took Amtrak it would take 24 freaking hours.

    Since there are usually multiple family members going and we want a car when we get there we drive.

    With that said, 1100-1200 miles, a hard day of driving is about my limit for a driving trip, unless there are a lot intermittent stops involved
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,186 Member
    thecharon wrote: »
    I wonder what the future will bring.
    dzc2huy4bwtq.jpg

    I see a DVT in the making. Follow by a gigantic law suit.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    newmeadow wrote: »
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    I don't know why anyone flies unless they have some Godforsaken reason to have to go overseas. And for most people that never happens. I've never heard anyone say a good word about the flying experience, the costs associated with it or anything else having to do with flying. Continental U.S. and Europe have rail. Screw flying. You can be fat on a train and it's okay. Go Amtrak for God's sake.

    Next month I have to go audit warehouses in south Texas. I can make it an overnight trip flying. Driving would be a five day ordeal (26 hours each way + a day for the audits). Rail? 2 full days one way by rail and bus for the final leg, and more expensive then airfare.

    I actually like driving and taking trains when touring, but I don't want to waste a whole week on the road for a task I can knock out in a day.

    But you get a meat with a starch and a frozen vegetable medley for lunch and dinner, plus a newspaper included in the price. And panoramic sightseeing.

    Seriously though, if your employer isn't springing for 1st class nowadays, I'd renegotiate. Or audit warehouses within driving distance.

    Doubt many employers are paying for first class. The tight *kitten* where I work make you fly coach to Asia from the US on business.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited November 2017
    newmeadow wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    I don't know why anyone flies unless they have some Godforsaken reason to have to go overseas. And for most people that never happens. I've never heard anyone say a good word about the flying experience, the costs associated with it or anything else having to do with flying. Continental U.S. and Europe have rail. Screw flying. You can be fat on a train and it's okay. Go Amtrak for God's sake.

    Next month I have to go audit warehouses in south Texas. I can make it an overnight trip flying. Driving would be a five day ordeal (26 hours each way + a day for the audits). Rail? 2 full days one way by rail and bus for the final leg, and more expensive then airfare.

    I actually like driving and taking trains when touring, but I don't want to waste a whole week on the road for a task I can knock out in a day.

    But you get a meat with a starch and a frozen vegetable medley for lunch and dinner, plus a newspaper included in the price. And panoramic sightseeing.

    Seriously though, if your employer isn't springing for 1st class nowadays, I'd renegotiate. Or audit warehouses within driving distance.

    Doubt many employers are paying for first class. The tight *kitten* where I work make you fly coach to Asia from the US on business.

    How could anyone even stand to go through that? Especially if one has fat thighs.

    At one point they would pay for business class for a continuous flight of more that 9 hours. So from our location in the midwest you were coach to most of Europe, but could get business class to Asia. With business conditions, nobody gets business class now.

    Had to sit middle seat on the side of the plane seats right in front of the bathroom. Was next to a big guy that was having smoking withdrawals and restless . He was asking if I knew where you could smoke in O Hare while we were taxing to the runway in Brussels.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    I just don't think society should pressure them to do that as it is really against societies best interests to do so.

    Remember society isn't a single cohesive thing with distinct interests. It's made up of all the people, and all their competing interests. Short term ones like having accommodations available that can accommodate people, and long term ones like improving health and longevity.

    I don't think the obesity issue is going away any time soon. It will probably get worse not better. I don't think expecting obese people to just suck it up serves society's best interests at all. Making things that happen occasionally more inconvenient for the obese won't solve the problem and isn't enough incentive to compete against daily life.

    I don't think they're specifically saying "let's make things tough for fat people". But there are still enough customers at a body size capable of sitting comfortably enough that theyre willing to pay the airlines. I'm sure there's a tipping point, but is it the airlines shrinking them even more or a larger percentage of customers being too big for the existing size, I don't know.
  • WispyBlue
    WispyBlue Posts: 41 Member
    I think airplanes needs to have more leg space but idk about making seats wider. I guess it depends on demand. If the general population is obese, then they should make the seats bigger. I don’t think big companies bother catering to marginal groups.
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  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    JerSchmare wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    JerSchmare wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    TitoTim wrote: »
    Not for obesity reasons such, just customer service. Yes. Airplane seats should be bigger. Service should be better. All the nickel & dime fees need to stop. This will never happen because people keep looking for the lowest fares.

    Yep. Interesting article on air fares now vs 50 years ago:

    Excerpt:
    " A ticket on TWA in 1955 from Chicago to Phoenix, for example, cost $138 round-trip. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1,168. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, because the average salary in the United States is higher than it was in the 1950s. That round-trip ticket between Chicago and Phoenix would cost the average person today a little more than 1% of his yearly income to purchase. Comparatively, the average person in the 1950s would pay up to 5% of his yearly salary for a chance to fly."

    Full article:
    https://www.fastcodesign.com/3022215/what-it-was-really-like-to-fly-during-the-golden-age-of-travel

    Wow. That’s interesting.

    My gut reaction is that that seems true. Prices have not really increased in my lifetime. They just keep finding ways to keep costs low.

    Yep, you can get pretty good quality seats/service if you're willing to pay 5X the regular coach price on a flight.

    What are you talking about. First class is only 2x the coach price. The coach price hasn’t changed in 50 years. You kind of missed the whole point.

    The price difference will be all over the place. Sometimes 2X coach sometime quite a bit more.

    My was in the 1950's/60's one paid 5% of typical annual pay for a normal domestic flight. Now it's 1% of annual pay. Point being if people were willing to pay 5X the price of a coach ticket now (which would be 5% of annual pay) I bet the seating room/service would be improved at that price point.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    If people were charged extra for being over a certain weight on the plane, for sure there would be more people trying to lose it. I don't think that really gets to the issue of obese people taking up more than their seat, although I definitely understand your point about excess baggage having an extra fee, but none for excess personal weight. Someone could be broad shouldered and might not weigh that much but still infringe on someone else's space. There are already bigger seats in Business Class and First class, and even some in coach but they cost extra. If someone is big but isn't wealthy they are aren't going to buy that bigger seat (even in coach) but just squeeze into the regular seat to avoid paying more.

    In my experience going overseas, if the plane is not full they will move people so that they aren't as cramped sitting in a middle seat.
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  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    ilfaith wrote: »
    http://www.travelstart.co.za/blog/these-are-the-airlines-who-charge-passengers-by-their-body-weight/

    I remember once seeing an episode of Candid Camera where rather than weighing the luggage, they weighed the passengers, and if the passenger was deemed overweight, they were given the choice of paying an extra fee or forfeiting their snack.

    I am a relatively small person, and even I don't find airplane seats particularly comfortable. I would hate to fly if I were over six feet tall or over 200 pounds...but my husband is both, yet travels by plane nearly every week. i don't envy him.

    But the issue isn't necessarily limited to air travel. Years ago, when I took public transportation to and from work, there were plenty of occasions where larger commuters would take the seat next to mine, then spill over into my space. Busses and trains don't usually have an armrest between the seats, and I think some passengers would see me as someone who didn't take up much room. Never mind the fact that I paid for an entire seat, not 75% so that the remaining quarter could be occupied by someone else. (And don't even get me started on "manspreading.")

    the bolded above is, imo, unnecessary and shaming. i don't think the fee is irrelevant but asking them to forfeit a 45 calorie pack of pretzels is just ridiculous. it does nothing to alleviate whatever additional fuel costs may be incurred with a heavier flight and has only the intent to embarrass and demean. gross.

    It was on Candid Camera, a practical joke TV show....ie it was a stunt, a joke to catch people's reaction. It wasnt real. It was intentionally done to be demeaning and ridiculous in order to film people's reactions.

    but who was in on it? if it was a practical joke on the passengers then it's horrible. if it was filmed with actors for the 'benefit' of people walking by, i guess it's slightly less terrible, but i know that if i was waiting in line for a ticket and saw people being weighed i wouldn't think it was funny, i would feel anxious and embarrassed for my own turn. not everything that's meant to be funny is.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    edited November 2017
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    ilfaith wrote: »
    http://www.travelstart.co.za/blog/these-are-the-airlines-who-charge-passengers-by-their-body-weight/

    I remember once seeing an episode of Candid Camera where rather than weighing the luggage, they weighed the passengers, and if the passenger was deemed overweight, they were given the choice of paying an extra fee or forfeiting their snack.

    I am a relatively small person, and even I don't find airplane seats particularly comfortable. I would hate to fly if I were over six feet tall or over 200 pounds...but my husband is both, yet travels by plane nearly every week. i don't envy him.

    But the issue isn't necessarily limited to air travel. Years ago, when I took public transportation to and from work, there were plenty of occasions where larger commuters would take the seat next to mine, then spill over into my space. Busses and trains don't usually have an armrest between the seats, and I think some passengers would see me as someone who didn't take up much room. Never mind the fact that I paid for an entire seat, not 75% so that the remaining quarter could be occupied by someone else. (And don't even get me started on "manspreading.")

    the bolded above is, imo, unnecessary and shaming. i don't think the fee is irrelevant but asking them to forfeit a 45 calorie pack of pretzels is just ridiculous. it does nothing to alleviate whatever additional fuel costs may be incurred with a heavier flight and has only the intent to embarrass and demean. gross.

    It was on Candid Camera, a practical joke TV show....ie it was a stunt, a joke to catch people's reaction. It wasnt real. It was intentionally done to be demeaning and ridiculous in order to film people's reactions.

    but who was in on it? if it was a practical joke on the passengers then it's horrible. if it was filmed with actors for the 'benefit' of people walking by, i guess it's slightly less terrible, but i know that if i was waiting in line for a ticket and saw people being weighed i wouldn't think it was funny, i would feel anxious and embarrassed for my own turn. not everything that's meant to be funny is.

    I don't know I didn't watch the episode, all I know is that the person who mentioned it said it was on Candid Camera which is a practical joke show so in other words what came after was the description of the practical joke, not of actual airline policy.

    right, i get that, i guess i went off on a bit of a tangent about the snack being irrelevant to actual airline policies, but i stand by my feeling that it's shaming and demeaning regardless of whether it's a reality or a joke. i just don't find 'laugh at the fat person for being fat' jokes funny.

    i actually just tried to google the show to find out more about it, because i'm bored at work and because i wanted clarity and i can't find anything about a prank like that on candid camera or otherwise, just that Finnair (and a few others) want to weigh passengers. nothing about the snacks obviously.

    i did learn that the host of candid camera was on a hijacked flight and nobody believed the hijacking was real. so, i've got that going for me.
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    ilfaith wrote: »
    http://www.travelstart.co.za/blog/these-are-the-airlines-who-charge-passengers-by-their-body-weight/

    I remember once seeing an episode of Candid Camera where rather than weighing the luggage, they weighed the passengers, and if the passenger was deemed overweight, they were given the choice of paying an extra fee or forfeiting their snack.

    I am a relatively small person, and even I don't find airplane seats particularly comfortable. I would hate to fly if I were over six feet tall or over 200 pounds...but my husband is both, yet travels by plane nearly every week. i don't envy him.

    But the issue isn't necessarily limited to air travel. Years ago, when I took public transportation to and from work, there were plenty of occasions where larger commuters would take the seat next to mine, then spill over into my space. Busses and trains don't usually have an armrest between the seats, and I think some passengers would see me as someone who didn't take up much room. Never mind the fact that I paid for an entire seat, not 75% so that the remaining quarter could be occupied by someone else. (And don't even get me started on "manspreading.")

    the bolded above is, imo, unnecessary and shaming. i don't think the fee is irrelevant but asking them to forfeit a 45 calorie pack of pretzels is just ridiculous. it does nothing to alleviate whatever additional fuel costs may be incurred with a heavier flight and has only the intent to embarrass and demean. gross.

    It was on Candid Camera, a practical joke TV show....ie it was a stunt, a joke to catch people's reaction. It wasnt real. It was intentionally done to be demeaning and ridiculous in order to film people's reactions.

    but who was in on it? if it was a practical joke on the passengers then it's horrible. if it was filmed with actors for the 'benefit' of people walking by, i guess it's slightly less terrible, but i know that if i was waiting in line for a ticket and saw people being weighed i wouldn't think it was funny, i would feel anxious and embarrassed for my own turn. not everything that's meant to be funny is.


    But yes jokes can be mean. That is true. Just not sure what the relevance is.

    wires crossed i guess, i saw in the post that airlines DID want to weigh passengers, that the show did a prank involving snacks, tangent happened.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    I thought Candid Camera went off the air decades before flight was invented.

    I too thought it went out in the 1960's replaced with YouTube videos. Apparently it's been revived on one of the higher channels:
    http://www.candidcamera.com/
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