Posts Tagged ‘USA Today’

In the 30 plus years I’ve been traveling, I’ve seen many changes in air travel, including the incredible shrinking personal space on flights. Anyone who’s recently traveled in economy class can attest that seats and leg room couldn’t possibly get any smaller or tighter.

That’s why a recent article in USA Today caught my eye. Evidently, some unrealistic designers of airline seats are proposing an even smaller seat for planes that would cost passengers less. I have to ask the question. How much space are you willing to sacrifice to fly for less money?

Personally, I think coach class is cramped enough. I’m not willing to lose another inch of leg room. But the new SkyRider airline seat from Aviointeriors is proposing that 23 inches is all you need.

USA Today reported that passengers would sit on an angle in these seats. And they’re described as feeling as though you’re riding horseback. That doesn’t sound comfortable to me. But after all, who needs comfort? Since, as the thinking goes, when in pursuit of a cheap ticket, we travelers will bind ourselves in rubber bands and stow ourselves into the overhead compartments, right?

The idea behind this devilish concept of smaller seats is that they would cost less. Also, as a bonus (not for the traveler, but for the airlines), they accommodate more passengers on a plane, yielding increasing revenue for you know who.

Thankfully, these seats won’t be showing up in any airplanes soon. The idea is only percolating. But low-cost and domestic airlines that are looking for ways to make more money will no doubt find these attractive. After all, it’s not much of a leap between charging for your checked bag, an aisle seat, a bottle of water, and saddle seating all the way to your next destination.

Flip over to the USA Today article to get all the details about these seats. Then come back to the blog and tell me what you think about them. Would you ever consider buying a seat as small as the SkyRider, even for a discounted ticket price? And while you’re at it. Tell me what experiences you’ve had recently when you’ve had to fly the “friendly” skies.