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Flying is truly awful, no matter your size or shape. It's a cute demo and I get that it might be trying to help folks relax who have flight anxiety. However I t

Flying is truly awful, no matter your size or shape. It's a cute demo and I get that it might be trying to help folks relax who have flight anxiety. However I think a lot of flying anxiety could be cured if airlines treated us, you know, like humans instead of revenue generating cattle.

xref 8y ago
It's a utopian idea but study after study shows we'd rather be treated like revenue generating cattle than humans if it means a cheaper flight. Honestly the only way the cheapest seats are going to get any larger is if the government regulates them to be larger, otherwise passengers will continue buying the smallest seats for the cheapest they can because price is all they care about.
- josho 8y ago
  Personally by the time that I get to paying for my seat I’m so frustrated by the experience that I refuse to give them a single cent more. Some of my frustrations include their unpredictable pricing changes. Pricing flights with an extra stopover or two cheaper than a direct flight. Advertising a price that isn’t actually available.
  - PhasmaFelis 8y ago
    Clear cookies before purchasing a ticket. A lot of airlines will raise prices the second time you look at a flight, to try to push you to buy before it rises more.
- briandear 8y ago
  If the government regulates them to be larger, the. The prices will simply go up.
flyinglizard 8y ago
You can easily be treated better by paying more. You don’t even need to go full Business Class - Premium Economy is great on some carriers and routes (BA, LH, AC and others). Most people just prefer the suffering of economy in order to save the money. Truth to be told, the 2x fare increase to Premium Economy (not to mention the 4x increase to Business) on a 10 hour flight is easily $100 an hour you can save by shriveling inside your sparse Economy class seat. What I’m saying is that it’s a two sided deal: pay less and get less, and judging by the advents of low cost carriers it’s a good deal for all. Just as it is with most anything else, the world economy is becoming more bimodal - it’s either low cost or business class, a Ford Fiesta or a BMW, a $200 Chinese smartphone or a $1200 iPhone Xs. That’s the outcome of the changes in income distribution (and it’s no one’s fault really).
- smrtinsert 8y ago
  Easy there airline pr.
  - dang 8y ago
    This breaks the site guidelines. Could you please read them and follow them when posting to HN? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
selectodude 8y ago
There have been so many failed attempts to get people to pay slightly more for more leg room. American Airlines had "more legroom in coach" back in the early 2000s and it was a disaster for them. The fastest growing carriers are the ones that treat their flyers the worst. I pay what it costs for a seat with more legroom. No, my flights aren't $225 round trip, they're more like $300, but flying has been upgraded from the worst thing in the world to sort of enjoyable.
- martinald 8y ago
  Makes sense though really. It's a pretty rare service in that it can be price comparisoned so easily. The core service is pretty much exactly the same. Get you from A to B in the same amount of time. Even comparing a bus and train isn't as similar even if it does the same route as the bus is likely to take way longer. The additional differentiation is pretty hard to be concrete about. Eg, you may pay a load more vs another carrier to have a flight with WiFi and power outlets but then find out it is out of service or they swapped planes.
m-p-3 8y ago
I love flying, but I hate everything surrounding it.
- a3n 8y ago
  Air? You hate air?
toomanybeersies 8y ago
Maybe I'm just lucky, or have an incredibly thick skin, but I don't mind flying that much at all. I certainly don't enjoy it, aside from takeoff and landing, but I find it easy enough to just take my seat and zone out for a few hours. I think a lot of it's psychological, people hype themselves up so much about flying. Really, it's just like taking a bus, but in the sky. People hype flying up as this big event when it's not. I sit for 8 hours a day at a desk, so a few hours on a plane isn't really that bad. I will admit that my desk is a lot more comfortable than a plane seat. I have no problem just sitting there and watching movies or reading books for a few hours.
- chii 8y ago
  > I find it easy enough to just take my seat and zone out for a few hours. not on long haul flights (10 or more hrs). It's quite cramped, and your muscle all ache due to the lack of movement. The other passengers don't help either...
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    It's been a while since I've done proper long haul, but a while back I did AKL-HKG (12 hours) and didn't mind it too much. It was an overnight flight though, departing midnight, which meant I managed to spend most of the flight sleeping.
  - dagw 8y ago
    I guess I'm really really weird, but even long haul doesn't bother me too much. I just put on my noise cancelling headphones and have 10 hours to just sit in silence with my thoughts, a book, a movie or some music. At regular intervals a nice person brings me a glass of (admittedly often mediocre) red wine. There are definitely worse ways to spend a day.

xref 8y ago

It's a utopian idea but study after study shows we'd rather be treated like revenue generating cattle than humans if it means a cheaper flight. Honestly the only way the cheapest seats are going to get any larger is if the government regulates them to be larger, otherwise passengers will continue buying the smallest seats for the cheapest they can because price is all they care about.

josho 8y ago
Personally by the time that I get to paying for my seat I’m so frustrated by the experience that I refuse to give them a single cent more. Some of my frustrations include their unpredictable pricing changes. Pricing flights with an extra stopover or two cheaper than a direct flight. Advertising a price that isn’t actually available.
- PhasmaFelis 8y ago
  Clear cookies before purchasing a ticket. A lot of airlines will raise prices the second time you look at a flight, to try to push you to buy before it rises more.
briandear 8y ago
If the government regulates them to be larger, the. The prices will simply go up.

flyinglizard 8y ago

You can easily be treated better by paying more. You don’t even need to go full Business Class - Premium Economy is great on some carriers and routes (BA, LH, AC and others). Most people just prefer the suffering of economy in order to save the money. Truth to be told, the 2x fare increase to Premium Economy (not to mention the 4x increase to Business) on a 10 hour flight is easily $100 an hour you can save by shriveling inside your sparse Economy class seat. What I’m saying is that it’s a two sided deal: pay less and get less, and judging by the advents of low cost carriers it’s a good deal for all. Just as it is with most anything else, the world economy is becoming more bimodal - it’s either low cost or business class, a Ford Fiesta or a BMW, a $200 Chinese smartphone or a $1200 iPhone Xs. That’s the outcome of the changes in income distribution (and it’s no one’s fault really).

smrtinsert 8y ago
Easy there airline pr.
- dang 8y ago
  This breaks the site guidelines. Could you please read them and follow them when posting to HN? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

selectodude 8y ago

There have been so many failed attempts to get people to pay slightly more for more leg room. American Airlines had "more legroom in coach" back in the early 2000s and it was a disaster for them. The fastest growing carriers are the ones that treat their flyers the worst. I pay what it costs for a seat with more legroom. No, my flights aren't $225 round trip, they're more like $300, but flying has been upgraded from the worst thing in the world to sort of enjoyable.

martinald 8y ago
Makes sense though really. It's a pretty rare service in that it can be price comparisoned so easily. The core service is pretty much exactly the same. Get you from A to B in the same amount of time. Even comparing a bus and train isn't as similar even if it does the same route as the bus is likely to take way longer. The additional differentiation is pretty hard to be concrete about. Eg, you may pay a load more vs another carrier to have a flight with WiFi and power outlets but then find out it is out of service or they swapped planes.

m-p-3 8y ago

I love flying, but I hate everything surrounding it.

a3n 8y ago
Air? You hate air?

toomanybeersies 8y ago

Maybe I'm just lucky, or have an incredibly thick skin, but I don't mind flying that much at all. I certainly don't enjoy it, aside from takeoff and landing, but I find it easy enough to just take my seat and zone out for a few hours. I think a lot of it's psychological, people hype themselves up so much about flying. Really, it's just like taking a bus, but in the sky. People hype flying up as this big event when it's not. I sit for 8 hours a day at a desk, so a few hours on a plane isn't really that bad. I will admit that my desk is a lot more comfortable than a plane seat. I have no problem just sitting there and watching movies or reading books for a few hours.

chii 8y ago
> I find it easy enough to just take my seat and zone out for a few hours. not on long haul flights (10 or more hrs). It's quite cramped, and your muscle all ache due to the lack of movement. The other passengers don't help either...
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  It's been a while since I've done proper long haul, but a while back I did AKL-HKG (12 hours) and didn't mind it too much. It was an overnight flight though, departing midnight, which meant I managed to spend most of the flight sleeping.
- dagw 8y ago
  I guess I'm really really weird, but even long haul doesn't bother me too much. I just put on my noise cancelling headphones and have 10 hours to just sit in silence with my thoughts, a book, a movie or some music. At regular intervals a nice person brings me a glass of (admittedly often mediocre) red wine. There are definitely worse ways to spend a day.