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Air Plane seats
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I really have no opinion on the seat sizes. Flying economy is not the most comfortable but I don’t really care that much. If the seats are bigger, there are fewer seats, prices would go up. Of course I would prefer more room, but if it were to make airfare prices go up then no thanks. And I don’t like her comment about “real sized” people. So a person of a healthy weight isn’t a “real” size? You’re only “real” if you’re morbidly obese?5
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I'm a small person and feel the seats are too small. My boyfriend is a tall skinny guy and has to sit in the aisle with his feet sticking out. I feel the seats are too small. I would pay a bit more for a bigger seat but the price of first class is not affordable to me.
United offers a Premium Coach seat with additional leg room and it's usually very affordable and well worth it. At 6'4" my knees are intruding on my neighbor on standard coach.
Ah good to know. I wonder if other airlines do this. The service for me has been so bad that I won't fly United any more.
Premium coach/economy is a standard offering for all of the major airlines anymore.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »tbright1965 wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Friend was complaining on social media that the seats at a local theater weren't comfortable for someone who was "fluffy" like her. Fact of the matter is she is close to, if not, morbidly obese (guess that's what fluffy means to her). Problem isn't with the theater seats.
That problem is solved in our market. Most of our theaters have gone to reserved seats and you get a recliner. Plenty of room for all but those on My 600 Pound Life.
I loathe the reserved recliner seating! They're too big for me to get comfortable and too much of the seat touches me. I know they aren't cleaned between movies Our local independent theater has perfectly sized seats. Big enough my 250# husband doesn't complain but not so large I feel lost in them.
What seats in any public place are cleaned between patrons?
None, but most of them aren't recliners that envelop me0 -
Coach seats are small but prices are also really low considering what you get. (You’re traveling in a metal tube through the sky and can end up halfway around the world in less than a day!)
If you want bigger seats then upgrade. If you can’t afford to upgrade regularly then travel less often. Alternatively, check SeatGuru to figure out which airlines/flights have horrifically small seats versus tolerably small seats and also use them when selecting your seats.
I do think that if you’re aware that you’ll spill into half the next seat or your femurs are so long you’ll be jamming your knees into the seat in front of you then you have a responsibility to factor the cost of upgrading into your travel budget. It’s courtesy for your fellow travelers. (Does not apply if you unknowingly get caught on a flight with microseats like those horrifying pictures of the Chinese flights.)2 -
The lack of leg room is a real issue for me. Being wedged in, on tiptoes, with my lower back arched is so damaging I wouldn’t contemplate a flight of more than an hour, tops, these days.
I got married in Barbados (a nine hour flight). Took me 2 days before I could walk fully upright. Spent so much of an otherwise glorious 2 weeks, worrying about how I was going survive the flight back. I’ll never go back there, unless someone posts my ashes!1 -
DearestWinter wrote: »I do think that if you’re aware that you’ll spill into half the next seat or your femurs are so long you’ll be jamming your knees into the seat in front of you then you have a responsibility to factor the cost of upgrading into your travel budget. It’s courtesy for your fellow travelers. (Does not apply if you unknowingly get caught on a flight with microseats like those horrifying pictures of the Chinese flights.)
Absolutely not. The fact that I'm 6'3" with legs that don't fit coach and barely fit economy plus on domestic flights does not make it my responsibility to worry that my knees jamming into the hard plastic seat back will annoy the person sitting in front of me.
If anything, I want other people to be annoyed by the fact that I can't sit normally in an airplane seat. Since there are fewer above-average height people in the world than there are average height people, we of the taller persuasion need to give those of shorter stature a reason to take up our fight.11 -
DearestWinter wrote: »I do think that if you’re aware that you’ll spill into half the next seat or your femurs are so long you’ll be jamming your knees into the seat in front of you then you have a responsibility to factor the cost of upgrading into your travel budget. It’s courtesy for your fellow travelers. (Does not apply if you unknowingly get caught on a flight with microseats like those horrifying pictures of the Chinese flights.)
Absolutely not. The fact that I'm 6'3" with legs that don't fit coach and barely fit economy plus on domestic flights does not make it my responsibility to worry that my knees jamming into the hard plastic seat back will annoy the person sitting in front of me.
If anything, I want other people to be annoyed by the fact that I can't sit normally in an airplane seat. Since there are fewer above-average height people in the world than there are average height people, we of the taller persuasion need to give those of shorter stature a reason to take up our fight.
How many people have you inspired in this manner?12 -
I haven't read the whole thread, and I don't mean to sound callous, but if a person is too wide to fit into an economy class aircraft seat ( typically 43–46cm (17–18 in)) then for their own health I think they'd need to loose weight.3
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Stockholm_Andy wrote: »I haven't read the whole thread, and I don't mean to sound callous, but if a person is too wide to fit into an economy class aircraft seat ( typically 43–46cm (17–18 in)) then for their own health I think they'd need to loose weight.
Ok, but should overly tall people loose inches before they fly? Like the guy who likes to nuzzle his knee bones into the seat in front of him as inspiration? I think the best thing these annoyingly tall outliers should do is wait until they're over 70 to fly, when they've loosed some inches, for all our sakes.
I believe most airlines give taller people first dibs on exit rows and failing the at least the aisle.
As I said in my post "for their own sakes" I don't think tall people can make themselves shorter for health reasons can they?0 -
Stockholm_Andy wrote: »I haven't read the whole thread, and I don't mean to sound callous, but if a person is too wide to fit into an economy class aircraft seat ( typically 43–46cm (17–18 in)) then for their own health I think they'd need to loose weight.
Ok, but should overly tall people loose inches before they fly? Like the guy who likes to nuzzle his knee bones into the seat in front of him as inspiration? I think the best thing these annoyingly tall outliers should do is wait until they're over 70 to fly, when they've loosed some inches, for all our sakes.
I think airlines should automatically upgrade anyone who's tall to premium economy or an exit row or somewhere they can sit more comfortably. I believe many airlines already do this but it's inconsistent. I do think a tall person is responsible for trying to get a "tall friendly" airline that will do an upgrade or paying for an upgrade themselves or, lastly, "manspreading" (can apply to men or women) to avoid as much knee jabbing as possible. I would prefer to sit next to a manspreader who is trying to be considerate of the person in front of them than someone who is jabbing their knees into my back.1 -
DearestWinter wrote: »DearestWinter wrote: »I do think that if you’re aware that you’ll spill into half the next seat or your femurs are so long you’ll be jamming your knees into the seat in front of you then you have a responsibility to factor the cost of upgrading into your travel budget. It’s courtesy for your fellow travelers. (Does not apply if you unknowingly get caught on a flight with microseats like those horrifying pictures of the Chinese flights.)
Absolutely not. The fact that I'm 6'3" with legs that don't fit coach and barely fit economy plus on domestic flights does not make it my responsibility to worry that my knees jamming into the hard plastic seat back will annoy the person sitting in front of me.
If anything, I want other people to be annoyed by the fact that I can't sit normally in an airplane seat. Since there are fewer above-average height people in the world than there are average height people, we of the taller persuasion need to give those of shorter stature a reason to take up our fight.
How many people have you inspired in this manner?
How many times have you blamed and/or taken pain upon yourself because somebody else felt appropriate to impose upon you?6 -
"Seats were 18 inches wide before airline deregulation in the 1970s and have since been whittled to 16 and a half inches, he said, while seat pitch used to be 35 inches and has decreased to about 31 inches. At the same time, the average man is 30 pounds heavier today than he was in 1960 (196 pounds compared with 166 pounds) and the average woman is 26 pounds heavier (166 pounds, up from 140 pounds), Mr. Cohen said, citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smaller seats and larger passengers mean planes may not be capable of rapid evacuation in the event of an emergency, he said. “This affects safety and health.”"
from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/travel/shrinking-airline-seats.html
Seems to me there are problems on both sides--people getting heavier and airlines putting profits ahead of safety as well as comfort.3 -
Stockholm_Andy wrote: »Stockholm_Andy wrote: »I haven't read the whole thread, and I don't mean to sound callous, but if a person is too wide to fit into an economy class aircraft seat ( typically 43–46cm (17–18 in)) then for their own health I think they'd need to loose weight.
Ok, but should overly tall people loose inches before they fly? Like the guy who likes to nuzzle his knee bones into the seat in front of him as inspiration? I think the best thing these annoyingly tall outliers should do is wait until they're over 70 to fly, when they've loosed some inches, for all our sakes.
I believe most airlines give taller people first dibs on exit rows and failing the at least the aisle.
As I said in my post "for their own sakes" I don't think tall people can make themselves shorter for health reasons can they?
Nope...airlines only give preference based on rewards status and paid upgrades. Physical characteristics don't really come into play.6 -
DearestWinter wrote: »DearestWinter wrote: »I do think that if you’re aware that you’ll spill into half the next seat or your femurs are so long you’ll be jamming your knees into the seat in front of you then you have a responsibility to factor the cost of upgrading into your travel budget. It’s courtesy for your fellow travelers. (Does not apply if you unknowingly get caught on a flight with microseats like those horrifying pictures of the Chinese flights.)
Absolutely not. The fact that I'm 6'3" with legs that don't fit coach and barely fit economy plus on domestic flights does not make it my responsibility to worry that my knees jamming into the hard plastic seat back will annoy the person sitting in front of me.
If anything, I want other people to be annoyed by the fact that I can't sit normally in an airplane seat. Since there are fewer above-average height people in the world than there are average height people, we of the taller persuasion need to give those of shorter stature a reason to take up our fight.
How many people have you inspired in this manner?
It's obviously working based on the fact that this thread exists and has participants that are neither tall nor overweight.2 -
Just ran across this thread and it's been an interesting read with my morning coffee.
I don't think OP's original post was rude, just sharing her opinion. Skinny seats are just part of the equation and you will be more comfortable, as will others around you, if you fit into them. Sometimes this is weight related and sometimes it's genetics (tall or large boned), but I don't see seats getting bigger unless you pay extra.
While I don't fly super often (once a year or every 18 months of so) I've certainly had my share of uncomfortable flights. Some of my least favorites includes the arm rest hog, little kid behind me kicking the seat, seats in the last row (which don't recline) and right in front of the stinky toilets, lady with the fake fingernails clicking on her laptop for hours during an all night flight. (Guess I paid for that one looking for a cheaper fare.) Don't even get me started on how many people fly when they're sick as dogs, hacking and sneezing into the recirculated air. That guy/gal is usually also the one hogging my arm rest.
Bottom line is that you are crammed into an airplane with hundreds of other people in a very small space. Nobody is really enjoying it. If you're going to fly you must have a measure of tolerance for being inconvenienced or uncomfortable for a brief period of time. If you don't have that ability then you should drive or take the train. Train seats are pretty darn comfortable and have lots of leg room!7 -
So a lot of this discussion seems to come from a root question which I'm wondering if people would like to address first.
Is air-travel a right or a privilege?
If it is a right then air-travel should be government managed or regulated to accommodate anyone who wishes to fly. If it is a privilege then the only thing that determines what an airline "should" do is their bottom line and I'm not sure why they would want to lose seats on planes to accommodate minor portions of the population (people 6'3'' and above or people morbidly obese enough to not fit into the seats. As long as they can fill 100 seats they aren't going to make planes have 80 seats just to give people more room. The only way that changes is if people are willing to pay more than 20% more for that extra room in which case the market will adjust to providing more space rather than more seats.10 -
Generally speaking I think air travel is a privilege and the market likely works to allocate what people actually care about most (cheaper fares), and the current model seems to be more options to pay more for better (more roomy) seats even beyond the old first class option.
Complicating factor is that you have a very restricted market due to limited airport gates and thus limitations on the ability of new airlines to enter into the market. Also, whoever decides how to allocate the gates (airport authorities = the gov't) has a lot of control over the market.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Generally speaking I think air travel is a privilege and the market likely works to allocate what people actually care about most (cheaper fares), and the current model seems to be more options to pay more for better (more roomy) seats even beyond the old first class option.
Complicating factor is that you have a very restricted market due to limited airport gates and thus limitations on the ability of new airlines to enter into the market. Also, whoever decides how to allocate the gates (airport authorities = the gov't) has a lot of control over the market.
I feel like air travel is one of those areas where what we *do* doesn't match what we say we want. We say we want more space, but how many of us actually buy tickets based on that criteria? I hate being squished into a seat (and I'm pretty small), but I'm still looking for the cheapest ticket when I have to fly. When I'm offered the chance to pay more for a better seat or nicer amenities, I never take it.
I got randomly upgraded to first class a few years ago and it was wonderful . . . but somehow not something I think is worth paying for. Maybe I'm weird that way.
(I am sure there are people who make their purchases based on those criteria, I just think the bulk of people are more like me and looking to get to their destination for a cheap price).6 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Generally speaking I think air travel is a privilege and the market likely works to allocate what people actually care about most (cheaper fares), and the current model seems to be more options to pay more for better (more roomy) seats even beyond the old first class option.
Complicating factor is that you have a very restricted market due to limited airport gates and thus limitations on the ability of new airlines to enter into the market. Also, whoever decides how to allocate the gates (airport authorities = the gov't) has a lot of control over the market.
I feel like air travel is one of those areas where what we *do* doesn't match what we say we want. We say we want more space, but how many of us actually buy tickets based on that criteria? I hate being squished into a seat (and I'm pretty small), but I'm still looking for the cheapest ticket when I have to fly. When I'm offered the chance to pay more for a better seat or nicer amenities, I never take it.
I got randomly upgraded to first class a few years ago and it was wonderful . . . but somehow not something I think is worth paying for. Maybe I'm weird that way.
(I am sure there are people who make their purchases based on those criteria, I just think the bulk of people are more like me and looking to get to their destination for a cheap price).
When I fly I go off price I know that much. Not even sure if there is an option to pay a little bit more for some more leg room or not other than first-class which is a big price difference.
Either way I am sure that airlines have done market research to determine if people would pay more for more legroom and they have clearly determined that they would not. If they could get people to pay more then why wouldn't they offer it?1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Generally speaking I think air travel is a privilege and the market likely works to allocate what people actually care about most (cheaper fares), and the current model seems to be more options to pay more for better (more roomy) seats even beyond the old first class option.
Complicating factor is that you have a very restricted market due to limited airport gates and thus limitations on the ability of new airlines to enter into the market. Also, whoever decides how to allocate the gates (airport authorities = the gov't) has a lot of control over the market.
I feel like air travel is one of those areas where what we *do* doesn't match what we say we want. We say we want more space, but how many of us actually buy tickets based on that criteria? I hate being squished into a seat (and I'm pretty small), but I'm still looking for the cheapest ticket when I have to fly. When I'm offered the chance to pay more for a better seat or nicer amenities, I never take it.
I got randomly upgraded to first class a few years ago and it was wonderful . . . but somehow not something I think is worth paying for. Maybe I'm weird that way.
(I am sure there are people who make their purchases based on those criteria, I just think the bulk of people are more like me and looking to get to their destination for a cheap price).
When I fly I go off price I know that much. Not even sure if there is an option to pay a little bit more for some more leg room or not other than first-class which is a big price difference.
Either way I am sure that airlines have done market research to determine if people would pay more for more legroom and they have clearly determined that they would not. If they could get people to pay more then why wouldn't they offer it?
It's called various names, but several airlines offer a mid-size between first class and coach. You pay a bit more and you aren't quite as cramped.0
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