Today’s premium-fare travellers luxuriate in the sort of onboard comfort that was beyond the wildest dreams of flyers in earlier decades. The bad news is that this is at the expense of those at the back of the plane.
As Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline and Co are rolling out onboard suites and residences, economy cabin passengers are being squeezed like never before.
Rising costs and increased competition have meant the economy cabin has become less lucrative, and passengers are making do with less space even though the average traveller takes up more room than they did several decades ago. According to the US National Transportation Safety Board, the average passenger weighed 64kg in the 1960s. Today that figure is 75kg.
It wasn’t meant to happen this way. The first Boeing 747 jumbo jet took to the skies in January 1970 operated by now defunct Pan Am, it plied the New York/London route. The jet’s design team focused on providing economy passengers with more space and increasing comfort because the average traveller was getting larger after World War II, writes Clive Irving in his book
Wide-Body.
Alex McWhirter fondly remembers his first flight on the B747 in the early ’70s, when the seat configuration was a spacious 2-4-3 and the experience of flying economy was not far removed
from today’s premium economy products. Not an experience travellers of today’s generation are likely to replicate.
From the ’70s through to the ’90s, passengers had every reason to think the economy experience would continue to improve, with the advent of wide-body planes and industry talk of consigning narrow-body aircraft on long-haul flights to the dustbin.
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
In 1970, trade body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) controlled pricing worldwide and carriers enjoyed guaranteed revenue streams. IATA lost control in 1978 following US air market deregulation, and competition between carriers saw ticket prices tumble. The free aviation market was born.
However, although paying less for their tickets, economy passengers faced deteriorating onboard comfort as airlines squeezed in more seats to offset the lower profits earned from sales. Boeing’s 747 went from nine- to ten-abreast while its other wide-body rivals, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar – commonly referred to as the L-1011 (pronounced “L-ten-eleven”) – moved from eight to nine.
Unable to squeeze in more seats, airlines next took aim at legroom (or pitch), which has been whittled down from an average of 34-36 inches (86-91 cm) on the original B747s to a more cramped 30-31 inches (76-79 cm) today.
It doesn’t end there. Now airlines have turned to “slimline” seating, so while the legroom may remain roughly the same, passengers end up being bunched closer together.
The space required for expanded business class – and more recently premium economy, which arrived in the mid-2000s – has been taken from the economy cabin.
A case in point is the B777, which the US-based manufacturer devised as a nine-across, 3-3-3 aircraft for economy passengers. The aircraft is reasonably comfortable when configured this way and many airlines, including major carriers Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air and Air China, retain
that configuration.
But in 1995 Emirates broke ranks with its B777 fleet, which it configured in rows of 10-across (3-4-3). Many passengers complained, including our readers, as the B777’s fuselage is narrower than that
of the B747.
There is no going back. Over the years, more airlines have followed suit. Some are now retrofitting their older B777s with the tighter layouts, including Skyteam alliance members China Eastern Airlines of Shanghai, and its southern neighbour from Guangzhou, China Southern Airlines.
Meanwhile, the seat width on some Asia-Pacific airlines has shrunk to just 16.5 inches (42 cm). For example, Japanese heavyweights All Nippon Airways (ANA) and JAL installed 16.5-inch wide seats on their B777-300ERS fleet flying to Europe and the US after fitting the aircraft with their latest premium economy and business class products in 2009.
An end to the big squeeze looked possible in 2011 with the launch of Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner and its spacious 2-4-2 configuration. The marketing campaign promised standards of hitherto unknown cabin comfort, and when the first two customers, Japan’s ANA and JAL, showed off their B787s, the world’s press cooed at the comfortable eight-across layout.
However, this dream quickly evaporated as every other Dreamliner customer installed a tighter 3-3-3 configuration. ANA has since followed suit – only its older B787 aircraft continue to feature the eight-across format.
The new Airbus A350 also has 3-3-3 seating, but it is said to be slightly roomier than the Dreamliner. However, Malaysia’s long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X has ordered a ten-across version from Airbus that will enter service in a few years’ time.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
US studies show that shrinking space in the back of airplanes is not only uncomfortable, but it might be dangerous for passengers’ health and detrimental to onboard safety.
While reports suggest cramped conditions don’t inherently increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) it may deter passengers from walking around or stretching, which helps to prevent clots forming.
In the US, a consumer advisory group set up by the Department of Transportation (DOT) discussed these concerns in April at a public hearing as part of its role to issue non-binding suggestions to government regulators.
The event was attended by bodies including the FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration).
Charlie Leocha, the consumer representative on the committee, pointed to the fact that the US authorities set minimum standards for the conditions of cats and dogs flying as cargo but, paradoxically, do not dictate minimum space requirements for human passengers.
“In a world where animals have more rights to space and food than humans,” Leocha said, “it is time the DOT and FAA take a stand for the humane treatment of passengers.”
Leocha’s statement might have been a jab at budget carriers that have boomed in the past decade. With standard checked-bag fees, more passengers are bringing luggage into cabins and fighting for overhead bin space. This frustration grows as passengers bump elbows on armrests and bang their knees against tray tables, leading to an increase in cases of air rage, as reported by flight attendants present at the hearing.
It’s enough to make one wonder how airlines can keep offering passengers declining levels of seat comfort – and get away with it.
Space isn’t everything, though. One consolation is the better provision of personal in-flight entertainment screens and power points. After all, today’s average passenger would easily get bored irrespective of the amount of space offered if there were no entertainment options.
“With food and TV, people are mesmerised,” says Emirates CEO Sir Tim Clark. In truth, however, it costs the airlines less to offer these than roomier surroundings.
So what about premium economy? This resembles what passengers were promised in standard economy back in the wide-body age of the late 1990s. It’s true that, where offered (Gulf carriers continue to shun the product), premium economy does provide a civilised standard of space. The downside is that you typically have to pay more than double economy fare for it, but then again, it might just be worth splashing out.
EIGHT TIPS FOR SURIVING ECONOMY
It would be great if we could simply tell you which airline offers the most legroom, but each aircraft model has its own configuration. Both Airbus and Boeing recommend a 32-inch seat pitch in economy, but what the airlines actually offer is another thing altogether. See the table on p56 for a rundown of the best and worst products in Asia-Pacific. Here are some tricks to avoid feeling like cattle squeezed into the back of the bus:
1. Build status with your airline and alliance of choice as this boosts the chances of a complimentary upgrade. If you’re based in Hong Kong, consider Cathay Pacific’s Marco Polo Club, or if in Singapore, Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer may be suitable. If you travel frequently to South Korea, you might also want to join Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club, or Korean Air’s Morning Calm.
2. Reserve seats either online when booking, or if this function is unavailable, call the airline offices. Choose exit and bulkhead row seats as these offer extra inches of precious legroom. Some airlines might charge extra for selecting these seats, but it can be money well spent.
3. Avoid sitting at the very back of the plane. Not only is it much noisier, it will also take significantly longer to board and disembark.
4. For further research on seat selection, visit businesstraveller.asia or SeatPlans.com for a directory of the latest cabin product reviews.
5. Find a distraction. Airlines are rolling out initiatives to upgrade the economy experience. Many now offer wi-fi, though some charge for the service.
6. Take along your own creature comforts such as headphones, neck pillows, snacks and sleeping pills.
7. Some airlines have introduced upgraded inflight meals for pre-order. Malaysia Airlines offers six “MH Gourmet” menu options to choose from. Choices include grilled lamb cutlets, or cod teriyaki for an RM70 (US$19.50) supplement.
8. Brace yourself for the worst: go to the bathroom before the flight and get a window seat. That way you can lean in one direction without annoying anyone, and no one will be crawling over you.
