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Thread: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

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    05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    SEATTLE — Just when you thought your legroom in economy class couldn’t get tighter.
    American Airlines is planning to decrease the front-to-back space between some of its economy class seats by another two inches.
    The airline says it plans to add more seats on its coming Boeing 737 Max jetliners. To do that, it will shrink the distance between seats, also known as pitch, from 31 inches to 29 inches on three rows of the airplane, and down to 30-inches in the rest of its main economy cabin.
    American isn’t the only big airline heading in this direction. United Airlines is considering a similar move, according to a person briefed on its evaluations. United declined to comment.
    The move signals a new step in the shrinking of U.S. airline cabins, and comes even as carriers are promising to improve overall customer service.
    With the change, American will become the first large U.S. carrier to offer legroom with a pitch that’s nearly on par with ultra-low cost carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Those seats are an industry minimum 28-inches apart.
    By comparison, economy class pitch on Delta Air Lines and United ranges between 30 and 31 inches, while JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines have between 31 and 33 inches.
    The one advantage the big U.S. carriers still have over their lowest-fare rivals was a few more inches in economy.
    The bathrooms on American’s 737 Max jets will also be smaller, one person familiar with the planning said.
    The new Max jets will have more than 170 seats, two sources said, compared to 160 on its existing 737-800s. The airline said it is keeping its extra-legroom ‘Main Cabin Extra’ economy seats, as well as its 16 first class seats.
    These new single-aisle aircraft will go into use later this year and will primarily be flown on routes in North America.
    Fliers will still pay regular economy fares for the 18 seats with two inches less leg room. Two of those three rows of 29-inch pitch will be in the back of the plane and a third farther forward. These seats won’t be part of its new basic economy fares, which sell for less because fliers don’t get access to overhead bins, a seat assignment or frequent flier miles.
    An American spokesman said the airline will add 40 Max jets to its fleet by the end of 2019. It has 100 on order. The airline also said it might make similar changes to its existing fleet of 737-800s after the Max arrives, but no decisions have been made.
    The tighter legroom may mean that some corporate travel agents who avoid ultra-low cost airlines will balk at American, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of the Atmosphere Research Group.
    As the big airlines match each other move for move, the risk is that 29 inches becomes the standard for flying economy in the United States. American has been a bellwether before for the airlines. For instance, it was the first big U.S. airline to introduce bag fees in 2008.
    Airlines have enjoyed strong profits and low fuel fuel prices after a decade of consolidation. They’re adding seats now to help offset rising employee wages.
    “This is one of the best economic environments the U.S. airline industry has seen in decades,” said Harteveldt. “There is no need to race to the bottom.”

    http://wreg.com/2017/05/02/american-...economy-class/

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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Next step is to have a standing arrangement where they will find some ingenious way to buckle us up. Those will be the real cheap seats.
    I think thats why it makes sense to get status on one Airline and try to stick to it.. At least you have a chance to upgrade to the economy plus section with a little more legroom and pitch.

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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Until passengers collectivize and vote with their asses the state of air travel will continue to decline. We need to pick out the worst abusers of passengers' rights and boycott them. Let them fly at 60% capacity for a quarter and I guarantee this trend will turn around when the shareholders hit the ceiling.
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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Quote Originally Posted by CentralNJDude View Post
    I think thats why it makes sense to get status on one Airline and try to stick to it.. At least you have a chance to upgrade to the economy plus section with a little more legroom and pitch.
    That's why I'm sticking with American -- and I'm going to make sure I fly enough "Elite Qualifying Miles" and spend enough "Elite Qualifying Dollars" to stay in AAdvantage Platinum status, with complementary "Main Cabin Extra" (longer-pitch) seating.
    I'm still "Just A Lurker."

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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Guess those premium econ seats will be the first to sell out on any domestic flight over 2 hours. If you are a person 6 ft or taller, 250 lbs or more, how can you even contemplate sitting in a new standard economy seat once these new seat pitch guidelines take effect?

    And if it's a coast to coast flight and I am unable to book with Jet Blue, then I will definitely pay that econ plus additional fare. Last I checked on AA, an aisle seat in economy plus was $85 for a Miami-LAX or SFO flight.

    From the time you board and sit your ass down, that 5 hour flight is closer to 6 hours of seat time with having to be pushed away from the gate and waiting in line for take off. That works out to about $14 extra dollars per hour on that plane. At my height, weight.......and age........I'll pay the added freight to fly in a modicum of comfort. It's worth it to me.

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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Smooth View Post
    Guess those premium econ seats will be the first to sell out on any domestic flight over 2 hours. If you are a person 6 ft or taller, 250 lbs or more, how can you even contemplate sitting in a new standard economy seat once these new seat pitch guidelines take effect?

    And if it's a coast to coast flight and I am unable to book with Jet Blue, then I will definitely pay that econ plus additional fare. Last I checked on AA, an aisle seat in economy plus was $85 for a Miami-LAX or SFO flight.

    From the time you board and sit your ass down, that 5 hour flight is closer to 6 hours of seat time with having to be pushed away from the gate and waiting in line for take off. That works out to about $14 extra dollars per hour on that plane. At my height, weight.......and age........I'll pay the added freight to fly in a modicum of comfort. It's worth it to me.

    Same here. I pay for that first row exit seat the moment I know I'm flying. Don't have to think twice about it.
    If you think it's love try not paying in the morning..

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    Re: 05/2017 - American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class

    Quote Originally Posted by MrHappy View Post
    Same here.
    I pay for that first row exit seat the moment I know I'm flying.
    Don't have to think twice about it.
    I just booked my oct Thailand trip and it was $1477 for economy plus
    so since I still had 2 gpu's (global premier upgrades) I checked the website for upgradeable fares and found one close to my desired outgoing date but the return date took a awhile to find one that wasn't wait listed........... but since I didn't have anything else to do I persevered and found one

    and it was only $1496 cnd so for under 20 bucks extra and my 2 gpu's its lay flat seats for Canadian thanksgiving.......thanks eh
    you only live once, but if you live it right once is enough


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