Space encroachment on flights

[Alan]

Each passenger should have a wall instead of the arm rests, going about 1->2 feet from the seat upwards. Sort of like sitting in a toilet stall with short walls.
After all flying is crappy anyhow

In January we flew Business Class, Singapore Airlines, IAH to Manchester, England and this is exactly what it was like except that the "wall" was a sliding panel. The seats also converted to flat beds and I slept extremely well, although when I woke up I saw that DW had put up the wall so maybe I'd been snoring

 

[Dash man]

Flying British Airways premium economy next month. I'm hoping my experience isn't a nightmare after reading all these posts.

 

[Meadbh]

Flying British Airways premium economy next month. I'm hoping my experience isn't a nightmare after reading all these posts.

Just be thankful that you are not trying to fly British Airways this weekend!

 

[Dash man]

Just be thankful that you are not trying to fly British Airways this weekend!

Believe me, I am!!!!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Flying British Airways premium economy next month. I'm hoping my experience isn't a nightmare after reading all these posts.

Premium economy is awesome--you should have a great flight.

 

[Sunset]

How much would you pay to upgrade from economy to Business Class on a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam for 2 people ?

I was thinking about toughing it out for the 8 hrs (?) but maybe not...

 

[Packman]

We fly Southwest often. Boarding is so much fun. My DW and I board early and I ask the flight attendant if the plane is full. If it isn't, we take the aisle and window seat near the back and don't make eye contact with anyone boarding after us (along withe everyone else doing the same thing).

If the flight is full, we take a window and aisle seat further to the front, then I watch for a small female traveling alone and when she gets to our row I ask if she would like the window and my DW will move into the middle seat and give them the window. We all have more room and none of us have to sit next to the fat guy with B.O.

 

[CountryGal]

Aint it grand that after all this aggravation, they serve alcohol on the flights? Kind of like adding fuel to the fire. No wonder there are so many in-flight incidents these days.

 

[athena53]

Aint it grand that after all this aggravation, they serve alcohol on the flights? Kind of like adding fuel to the fire. No wonder there are so many in-flight incidents these days.

The in-flight drinkie (provided it's late enough in the day) is my reward for surviving the check-in, the TSA line, the overcrowded waiting area with its blaring announcements and infernal beeping carts, and FINALLY getting airborne. Don't take that away from me!

I know what you mean, though. Sometimes flight attendants over-serve, particularly in Business Class, and not everybody is a mellow drunk.

 

[Souschef]

I would like to share a positive experience about a flight we took on SWA. DW and I took aisle seats for more legroom, so we had 2 people sitting with us on both sides.
On my side was a couple where the man had never flown before. After we landed, I think it took 15 minutes for his wife to get the circulation back in the hand of hers he was gripping. DW was sitting next to a grandmother and a young girl who had never flown. She was really excited about the flight, and after we took off, DW told her we would be flying above the clouds. The little girl said,"I think I am going to faint".

 

[Scrapr]

How much would you pay to upgrade from economy to Business Class on a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam for 2 people ?

I was thinking about toughing it out for the 8 hrs (?) but maybe not...

I would guess $4-5k. Round trip

We just did Portland-LAX- Stockholm and return was Paris-Chicago-Portland

We flew SAS Business. It was beyond wonderful. Lay flat beds. Personal attention. Lots and lots of (good) food. Chicago-Amsterdam is shorter so maybe a bit less?

 

[Souschef]

THis is what a Business Class seat looks like on British Airways. It is fantastic!
Here is my thought- We used to travel quite a bit about 10 years ago. As we have aged, and with some health issues, we have slowed down and do not go on organized tours any more.
In October we will be going to Hawaii (big island) and flying first class. It costs about $1K more than coach, but the comfort is well worth it and inside our travel budget.

 

[Fedup]

How much would you pay to upgrade from economy to Business Class on a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam for 2 people ?

I was thinking about toughing it out for the 8 hrs (?) but maybe not...

You can check on Google flight. But sometimes they may give you cheaper upgrade.

 

[Scuba]

We fly Southwest often. Boarding is so much fun. My DW and I board early and I ask the flight attendant if the plane is full. If it isn't, we take the aisle and window seat near the back and don't make eye contact with anyone boarding after us (along withe everyone else doing the same thing).



If the flight is full, we take a window and aisle seat further to the front, then I watch for a small female traveling alone and when she gets to our row I ask if she would like the window and my DW will move into the middle seat and give them the window. We all have more room and none of us have to sit next to the fat guy with B.O.

Good strategy, packman!

 

[Koolau]

THis is what a Business Class seat looks like on British Airways. It is fantastic!
Here is my thought- We used to travel quite a bit about 10 years ago. As we have aged, and with some health issues, we have slowed down and do not go on organized tours any more.
In October we will be going to Hawaii (big island) and flying first class. It costs about $1K more than coach, but the comfort is well worth it and inside our travel budget.

If I may ask, what does the 1st class ticket cost? We have typically found 1st class to be around 3X coach (through Expedia or similar) but we fly to the midwest FROM Hawaii. So our $900 round-trip coach (one stop) is in the $2500 to $3000 range with 1st class. So far, we've never paid the extra, but still think about it each time. Thanks for any help.

 

[sengsational]

We fly Southwest often. Boarding is so much fun. My DW and I board early and I ask the flight attendant if the plane is full. If it isn't, we take the aisle and window seat near the back and don't make eye contact with anyone boarding after us (along withe everyone else doing the same thing).

If the flight is full, we take a window and aisle seat further to the front, then I watch for a small female traveling alone and when she gets to our row I ask if she would like the window and my DW will move into the middle seat and give them the window. We all have more room and none of us have to sit next to the fat guy with B.O.

Good strategy, packman!

I've never flown Southwest, but if I do, I'm TOTALLY stealing this tactic!

 

[timo2]

I'm wondering if plane seats have gotten much narrower, or what is driving this.

yes. and people bigger, like others pointed out.

one time I was in the middle seat with the male person on either side whose mid-sections were overlapping the armrest, and a crying baby directly behind, from Raligh NC to Denver. I did my best impersonation of a person who was experienced at meditation to get through it. If I had long legs like some of the posters here, it obviously would have been even worse.

 

[timo2]

Premium economy is awesome--you should have a great flight.

+1

 

[Souschef]

If I may ask, what does the 1st class ticket cost? We have typically found 1st class to be around 3X coach (through Expedia or similar) but we fly to the midwest FROM Hawaii. So our $900 round-trip coach (one stop) is in the $2500 to $3000 range with 1st class. So far, we've never paid the extra, but still think about it each time. Thanks for any help.

Unfortunately, the answer is it depends. Our anniversary is in early November, but there was a $1000 per person difference between October and November. I guess October is the shoulder season. So we are going in October, and the fare difference will pay for 10 days in Hawaii.
BUT we booked it some time ago, and now the October fare is about $1500.
I tried using my BA miles, but there were so few first class seats it was impossible.
A few years ago, we flew coach to Kauai for $10 each using BA miles.

 

[novaman]

Same story here... had the middle seat between 2 very obese men. The 2 of them combined probably encroached on a third to a half of my total seating space. I'm a normal sized man and I actually had to squeeze my legs together to sit and then lean forward as it was physically impossible for me to actually sit with my Back to my seat. There just wasn't enough room. So I sat there crouched forward and as the flight attendant did the final check prior to takeoff she saw my plight and told me she would move me to an open seat once we were safely in the air. Thank God I was able to move as I didn't t see how I was going to be able to sit in that position for the entire 3 hour flight

 

[MooreBonds]

Back in the mid-90s I was flying to Las Vegas for a business meeting, in the aisle seat. A very beautiful woman sat in the window seat. The middle seat was empty. I just said hello and left it at that. I'm not one for conversing on flights. After takeoff she said something about being nervous on planes, I made some reply that she found funny, and she started conversing with me. Halfway through the flight she decides she doesn't want to lean over to chat, so she moves into the middle seat to talk with me. I'm trying to give her space, but she was a very animated, touchy-feely talker. To top it off... she was an "exotic dancer" (she made the air quotes when saying that) heading in to do some shows. We had one of the more interesting conversations I have had in my life.

After we landed there was further adventure of her and her manager/bodyguard trying to convince me to attend one of her shows, offering free admission and drinks ... but that part strays too much from the thread topic, so I'll stop here.

This is extremely rude internet forum posting protocol behavior - while you correctly observed that you were straying from the original thread topic, [-]men wishing to be in your shoes [/-]forum decorum demands that you continue with your story with every minute detail in a new thread.

 

[Sunset]

Same story here... had the middle seat between 2 very obese men. The 2 of them combined probably encroached on a third to a half of my total seating space. I'm a normal sized man and I actually had to squeeze my legs together to sit and then lean forward as it was physically impossible for me to actually sit with my Back to my seat. There just wasn't enough room. So I sat there crouched forward and as the flight attendant did the final check prior to takeoff she saw my plight and told me she would move me to an open seat once we were safely in the air. Thank God I was able to move as I didn't t see how I was going to be able to sit in that position for the entire 3 hour flight

I always have insisted the arm rests remain down, as they are arm rests, it helps somewhat to hold back the tide of flesh that wants to wash over my seat.

Of course I have not flown in about 5 years so the problem has gotten larger so to speak.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I always have insisted the arm rests remain down, as they are arm rests, it helps somewhat to hold back the tide of flesh that wants to wash over my seat.

Of course I have not flown in about 5 years so the problem has gotten larger so to speak.

sometimes that doesn't work - I recall one time a lady next to me kept trying to lower the armrest and it kept bouncing off my leg. She gave up after a while.

 

[Amethyst]

How do you handle it, if the people on either side insist on putting up the armrest? Does "size" come into the conversation?

I always have insisted the arm rests remain down, as they are arm rests, it helps somewhat to hold back the tide of flesh that wants to wash over my seat.

Of course I have not flown in about 5 years so the problem has gotten larger so to speak.

 

[Fedup]

How do you handle it, if the people on either side insist on putting up the armrest? Does "size" come into the conversation?

That's what elbows are for. I got some mean ones.