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I'm 6'7" (200 cm), so being stuck in a typical economy class seat is extremely uncomfortable for me. On my next long trip (from Minneapolis to Italy), I chose
by autarch 16y ago
I'm 6'7" (200 cm), so being stuck in a typical economy class seat is extremely uncomfortable for me.
On my next long trip (from Minneapolis to Italy), I chose to spend about double for business class, because the prospect of 10 hours flying in economy literally terrifies me.
When I fly to Taiwan I make a point of traveling on Eva (a Taiwanese airline) which has a class between economy & business (like Virgin). It's well worth the extra cost for a 12 hour flight.
I would gladly pay a premium for exit row or galley seats with more legroom. I still don't understand why airlines don't consistently sell these seats in advance.
In years when I'm flying a lot, I always stick with the same airline. Getting elite status gives you free upgrades and first crack at some of the more comfortable seats.
All of which is to say that price & schedule are not really my #1 considerations.
- detst 16y agoI haven't flown too many different airlines recently but some do sell exit-row seats in advance and usually don't sell them all so asking as soon as you get to the gate can get one for free. It's one of those things where being polite and directly asking for something can go a long way.
- autarch 16y agoDelta, which has most of the gates in Minneapolis, does not sell exit row in advance, and I wouldn't count on getting it when I'm going to be flying for 10 hours to Italy. Northwest would sell the exit row seats in advance, but unless you had elite status, you could only purchase them 24 hours in advance. This was great when I had elite status, but sucked otherwise. I would gladly pay $100+ for exit row if I could get it when I book my ticket.
- mcargian 16y agoBoth United and Jetblue have extra legroom economy sections available for purchase by anyone well in advance. I think this shows that the original article is incorrect in its assumption that given more product differentiation people will chose an alternate airline. If more people were willing to pay for extra legroom then more airlines would offer these "economy plus" sections. For me, I'll stick to flying one airline, keeping my elite status which almost always guarantees me an upgrade to first class.
- qq66 16y agoI think you might be the definition of an OUTLIER at 6 foot 7 :)
- autarch 16y agoBah! I am the future of humanity. All you short people just need to catch up.
- afterburner 16y agoNah. Well fed ancients were about 6ft tall. Unless you're extrapolating from millions of years ago...
- mrtron 16y agoEVA is an example of an airline that I would specifically choose due to quality, where I normally optimize based on price because I sleep the entire flight. They have a lot of direct flights. From Toronto-Taipei that means the difference between a 20+ hour flight and having to get off the plane and a 15 hour flight. They specifically offer many direct flights. Their planes are new, spacious and have high quality entertainment systems. They have the premium class you mention with larger seats. They have these infant sections where a soft crib hangs off the wall. That was amazing. I had two babies in the rows right in front of me and I didn't hear a single noise from them the entire flight. They easily slept and then during turbulence they were standing up playing with toys. Anyways, a few airlines can go the extra mile and make me specifically choose them. But for the majority of flights, I am going completely on cost.