3 ms·

This, to me, is a discrimination of sorts. I'm 6'5, and I can't help that. I don't physically even fit on some plane seats because of this pinch. And when th

by axaxs 9y ago

This, to me, is a discrimination of sorts. I'm 6'5, and I can't help that. I don't physically even fit on some plane seats because of this pinch. And when these companies shrink economy seats, they offer the old economy size seats for extra. So I end up having to pay a lot of money just not to be in pain. If this gets worse, I'm afraid I won't be able to fly at all anymore....

xapata 9y ago
So you're saying a small person should subsidize your comfort? Don't get me wrong. We often decide it's right for healthy people to pay for the unhealthy. I just want to make sure you agree that's the issue.
- axaxs 9y ago
  It's not about comfort, it's about survival. I don't need a luxurious seat...I just want to fit. Would you make the same argument about heavy people? In my case, it's not even about me mostly. I feel sorry also for the person next to me, who has my splayed knee and shoulder in their seat, and the person in front of me, who has my knee in their back. I try to always choose an appropriate seat, but with only a handful on a plane, they're usually gobbled up. If I had my way, I'd pay double to have half the seats removed. But something like that doesn't exist. You either sit with the common folk, or pay 5-10x to sit in first class with catered service. I don't want to be catered to specifically, I just expect services to cater to a range and not the smallest possible. I've never found a bus seat I physically can't sit in, so I'll use that as an example.
  - xapata 9y ago
    > heavy people Yes. I remember some Pacific island airline making the news when it briefly considered charging tickets by passenger weight. It makes sense other me, but I guess some folks think that's rude.
    - axaxs 9y ago
      Just a question, I don't have a strong opinion. I will say that you CAN buy double width by buying two economy seats, but cannot do the same for legroom.
- foobarian 9y ago
  I wonder if a new kind of airline would be successful where seats were not sold by ID, but by femur length. That way, they could set the seat pitch according to a continuous distribution matched to the passenger height. Now not only would they be able to accommodate--on average--the tall passengers, but they could squeeze in more passengers overall and thus make more money because the shorter passengers would be packed more tightly. That is, everyone would get exactly the same amount of knee clearance.
  - axaxs 9y ago
    I would invest heavily in this idea. I absolutely do not mind paying more for legroom without the extra services associated with higher classed seats.
  - shpongled 9y ago
    I would love this. I'm only 6'2, but I have femurs that are above average length (what can I say, I'm leggy)
- lovich 9y ago
  I'd be fine if small people didn't subsidize large people's seats if you could actually reserve roomier seats based on size. If you're going to allow any random sized person take the roomier seats then you are not pricing based on of pragmatics concerns like $/cubic volume of airplane. In the US we've already decided that this is not an ok reason to discriminate or businesses would be charging people in wheelchairs extra for ramps

by axaxs 9y ago

xapata 9y ago

So you're saying a small person should subsidize your comfort? Don't get me wrong. We often decide it's right for healthy people to pay for the unhealthy. I just want to make sure you agree that's the issue.

axaxs 9y ago
It's not about comfort, it's about survival. I don't need a luxurious seat...I just want to fit. Would you make the same argument about heavy people? In my case, it's not even about me mostly. I feel sorry also for the person next to me, who has my splayed knee and shoulder in their seat, and the person in front of me, who has my knee in their back. I try to always choose an appropriate seat, but with only a handful on a plane, they're usually gobbled up. If I had my way, I'd pay double to have half the seats removed. But something like that doesn't exist. You either sit with the common folk, or pay 5-10x to sit in first class with catered service. I don't want to be catered to specifically, I just expect services to cater to a range and not the smallest possible. I've never found a bus seat I physically can't sit in, so I'll use that as an example.
- xapata 9y ago
  > heavy people Yes. I remember some Pacific island airline making the news when it briefly considered charging tickets by passenger weight. It makes sense other me, but I guess some folks think that's rude.
  - axaxs 9y ago
    Just a question, I don't have a strong opinion. I will say that you CAN buy double width by buying two economy seats, but cannot do the same for legroom.
foobarian 9y ago
I wonder if a new kind of airline would be successful where seats were not sold by ID, but by femur length. That way, they could set the seat pitch according to a continuous distribution matched to the passenger height. Now not only would they be able to accommodate--on average--the tall passengers, but they could squeeze in more passengers overall and thus make more money because the shorter passengers would be packed more tightly. That is, everyone would get exactly the same amount of knee clearance.
- axaxs 9y ago
  I would invest heavily in this idea. I absolutely do not mind paying more for legroom without the extra services associated with higher classed seats.
- shpongled 9y ago
  I would love this. I'm only 6'2, but I have femurs that are above average length (what can I say, I'm leggy)
lovich 9y ago
I'd be fine if small people didn't subsidize large people's seats if you could actually reserve roomier seats based on size. If you're going to allow any random sized person take the roomier seats then you are not pricing based on of pragmatics concerns like $/cubic volume of airplane. In the US we've already decided that this is not an ok reason to discriminate or businesses would be charging people in wheelchairs extra for ramps