3 ms·
I suspect that part of the problem is that airline seats aren't advertised in a way that allows consumers to effectively comparison shop. Consumers aren't aware
by Pyxl101 9y ago
I suspect that part of the problem is that airline seats aren't advertised in a way that allows consumers to effectively comparison shop. Consumers aren't aware of or can't tell the difference between the "economy" seats offered by different airlines, and so there's a race to the bottom.
Imagine if regulation required describing the seat with a couple of factors such as the "pitch", the width of the seat, and/or the total volume of space dedicated to the passenger. When shopping for tickets, instead of displaying purely the cabin class, the tickets would be characterized by their space and comfort (measured objectively).
Consumers might think twice before selecting the ticket that's cheaper by $25 if they can see up front that it has 3 inches less legroom.
- tomhschmidt 9y agoGoogle Flights actually does a great job at this, displaying seat width and pitch and calling out when it's above or below average.
- alonmower 9y agoYes! I now exclusively use Google Flight Search because of this (and as a result routinely and happily pay more to fly on airlines that have sane seat pitches)
- ghaff 9y agoSeatguru etc. I assure you that frequent travelers are very aware of this sort of thing.
- saryant 9y agoHere's an 800 post thread—with wiki!—on the best seat on United's three-class 772: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1360456-everything-you-wanted-know-about-where-sit-pmua-3-cabin-777-version-2-a-12.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1... Yes, the frequent flyers know this stuff by heart.