A Seat In The Sky

I pressed the little button on the armrest and pushed back on the seat, but nothing happened. Something seemed to be wrong with the reclining mechanism. I checked to see if I was sitting in the exit row, but I was not. In fact, the person sitting next to me had the seat reclined. The lady sitting in the third seat, however could not lean back either. It appeared that this plane had some seats which did not recline for some reason. I wondered if there was an extra charge for the added comfort of being able to lean back.

Airline companies have been making money off little things for several years now. Since almost everyone travels with bags, they started to charge for bags first. No more free allowance for baggage. Then they decided that they did not have the obligation to feed the passengers without charging for it separately. Perhaps you are not hungry and just want to doze off. Good luck, because they no longer make blankets or pillows available. Of course you can bring your own pillow and blanket but they will use up space in your carry-on bag thus forcing you to check in a bag for which you will pay.

Charging for bags has actually been fine tuned. The cost goes up as you get closer to the date and time of departure. Here Spirit airlines appears to be a pioneer of sorts. Spirit is probably the only airline (so far) that charges for carry-on bags too. They tell us that you 'never pay for someone else’s “free” bags'. I guess that should make us feel good. But that only means you are going to pay for your bag. After all, who travels with no bags (if you do, you will probably be flagged as a potential security risk)? And, 'If you know you’re going to need a checked bag or carry-on, buy it early and online to save major moola. It costs time and resources to process at the airport, which means it costs you more money', says Spirit. But I don't understand why it costs more to 'buy checked bags' at the time of online check-in than when booking. Does the computer require an operator for online check-in? Or do bags check themselves in if paid for early?

The fundamental thing a ticket must provide is of course a seat. But all seats are not equal so airlines have become creative with add-on charges. If you want legroom or a wider seat, it will cost you more, sometimes an arm and a leg. If you want a reclining seat, that may be extra too, but beware, pads are not supplied to protect you if the person in front leans back and brings the back of the seat crashing down on your knees. You find the rows of seats too close to each other? Well, that's how you get those low fares. I must say that Spirit is quite upfront about this. Their web site informs us, "We’re a cozy airline. We add extra seats to our planes so we can fly with more people. This lowers ticket prices for everyone, just like a carpool".  You can get really close to your fellow passengers in this cozy cabin! It is all very noble since they just want to save you money. But you never knew saving money could be so painful, did you? 

The only thing expanding faster than the profits airlines make out of these extras is the waistlines of passengers patronizing them. It is only natural then that the airlines have started to make overweight travellers pay more. Even if they don't, if one is a bit too well-rounded, the seats with their reduced pitch and width may be punishment enough (although they punish those sitting next to them too). Additionally, while sitting on the seat that fits a little too snugly, one may also be motivated to lose weight. So the airline can claim that it is promoting good health too.

The worst seat and therefore the most uncomfortable flight that I have experienced was with Cathay Pacific when they introduced the so called 'clam shell seats'. It is not a coincidence that the phrase includes the word 'hell'. At least, you cannot accuse them of false advertising. The seat was actually in two parts. One that was fixed and one that slid forward when you tried to recline. It was bizarre and disorienting - the seat bottom slid forward pulling my body along, but my head remained resting on the top of the seat. This alone was enough to do a number on my back. To make things worse, the seat had no cushion and was hard as (s)hell. Half an hour on this seat and my bony backside started hurting. But that was not all. This moving seat necessitated the additional safety of an airbag. The genius who had come up with the new seat decided to attach  it to the seat belt which made it a thick cylinder weighing half a kilogram. Imagine carrying that in your lap for a 14-hour journey across the Pacific. After a few hours on this seat, I would have gladly exchanged it for the dentist's chair, drill and all!

Given how difficult it is to get comfortable on an airplane seat, I was surprised to find that there are some who actually would be happy if seats did not recline at all. I can understand and do sympathize with big or tall people wanting that, given the limited width and pitch. But there are others who would rather work on their laptops and a reclining seat in front interferes with that. They even complain that those who push back their seats are inconsiderate. I find this very unfair. Just because they have to keep working, apparently they would prevent others from having a relaxing journey. Not to mention that their typing and the light from the screens may be disturbing others around them and that it is really hard for others to get in and out of their seats.

Providing more room between seats for all is the solution, but obviously the airlines are not going to do that. Perhaps they will be willing to create a separate section of non-reclining seats with laptop trays. They can even charge extra for such seats. The workaholics can buy those and leave us ordinary folks to our journey in peaceful if not laid back fashion. Now, don't start complaining that I am giving the airlines ideas. I am sure that they have thought of every way to charge passengers more. They just have to figure out how to make it sound like a great deal first.