Will social distancing force commercial airlines to create more elbow and leg room for passengers?

How expensive is it to be put into a coma?

Just checking the economic feasibility of this.

It would also make the flight more comfortable for the passenger and also their would be less need for flight attendants cutting the labor cost.

In software engineering we have a saying...

Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two.

I think it is similar concept for airplane travel, where "good" includes seat space.

You can always take the bus.

It wouldn't have to be a full coma, you would just have to be sedated enough that you wouldn't freak out being stuck in a sealed box with a catheter.

Try to be positive.

You get what you pay for.

You want to get from Boston to LA in under 9 hours (including arriving 2 hours early) for $300 round trip... you can't expect luxury. Demanding great service for peanuts isn't reality.

If you want a better experience, either pay more... or drive yourself.

That's mainly because you want to get lucky and be sandwiched between two hot babes.

If course with your luck, you'd land between two heifers. Yes, I am referring to actual heifers when the airlines decide big money can be made from transporting does and other farm critters with human cargo.


(and remember, maximillius, all you are to the airlines is cargo....not a person)

Airlines consider me a customer, no different than any other business from restaurants to the local shoe store. They are providing a product in exchange for money.

And I gladly pay them money in exchange for the product they are selling. This particular industry offers several levels of service from economy to executive. You can choose the product you want to buy from several independent providers.

They are running a business. It isn't realistic for you to demand a Kobe beef prepared by a renown chef for the price of a McDonalds value meal.

If you insist on paying rock bottom prices for air travel, it is not reasonable to whine, especially when you have other options.

What percentage of business travel could be completely cut out because of technology?

I think this concept of "Gotta do some face time with xyz" needs to be, if not a thing of the past, but mostly replaced with, can't think of the correct term right now....video conferencing type stuff.

If I can learn how to do some kinda complex thing or concept via the proper youtube videos, I can certainly glean what I need from the workplace seminars, conferences, 2 day retreats, etc etc via ever improving apps.

It can be monitored if you are actually there onscreen with everyone else.
It's just as easy for someone sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a meeting room at a Marriott to be playing or working with their phone and not paying attention as it would be sitting in your office or home office.

Rather than the expense of retro fitting all these planes to accomodate our bodies, why not re-exam how much travel doesn't even need to occur?

BTW real music, what planet are you from that being 6'3" is not considered really tall?

What about Boeing's long term businss plan?? It doesnt seem to coincide with yours. I dont think "retrofitting" is where the plane companies would go. Isee a whole new generation of fuel efficient, safe, spacious planes.

I once was at a runway waiting line when the captain came n the box telling us he was waiting for some incoming "revenue"

Agreed that won't set well with Boeings business plan, but how will it sit with the corporations who won't be wasting tons of money on unneeded flight.

Yeah, my idea won't go over well with hotels either.
Someoneone's got to say "the emperor's naked."

Yes, I don't know the practicalities like you do about retro fitting vs new generation.
That's fine, create a new line of planes that give those who have the genuine need or personal desire to fly room.

I don't remember the sources of this, but time after time when employees are asked what they would like to see changed in their workplace, the answer always includes curtailing all the damn meetings. Included in that are the things were a bunch of people 2 to 200 or more, have to schlep across state or country on a plane to do something that could have been handled right where they are.

Hopefully not very much. Business travel subsidizes pleasure travel! If you get rid of business travel, the cost of airfare for will go up for all other travel.

Businesses are willing to pay high fares because they want flexibility (and some times comfort). When my company sent me to Denver for a rare visit to a customer site, they paid more than three times what I would have been willing to pay for that fare. The high price was because they needed my butt in that seat on this date without very much notice. They paid.

Last summer I spent time in Mexico. For only $450 I got a round trip flight that took me 3000 miles to another country. That is an amazingly low price thanks in part to business travel footing the bill.

I hope that you guys don't screw up my ability to fly inexpensively. Travel is important to me.

Agreed throughout your post.

One thing has become very clear. A zillion offices are not needed. A dozen or more airplane rides monthly are not necessary.
Eliminate the air pollution and fuel waste of the two above changes and the planet might even get back on track ecologically.

Absolutely.

Don't get me started on necessary/not necessary.

While I'm a minimilist type person, I certainly understand human desire to have pleasant nice things around where they spend a lot of time. But everyone is afraid to say "that's enough"

Don't know why this particular memory popped into my head, but here goes.

I was once working a temp assignment at the large company that happened to be my mortgage holder at the time. It was coming near Christmas.
The lobby of the building was one of those huge caverns with mezzanines going up 3 floors.
This company showed up and put up with Enormous live Chrismas tree with all these oversized ornaments, lights etc.
I never heard one person working there mention the tree, or stand there and look at it, or anything. After one day, it was just something "there"

I for one would look at it and think every day....There's where some of my mortgage payments are going.

If the higher ups would ask the employees what they really wanted, they would most certainly say "add that to my raise"

I mean, seriously, you have to make a choice. Do you want a stupid tree that's up for a few weeks, or that bi-weekly breakfast meeting catered by Panera? The meeting you sit at and listen to someone drone on for 45 minutes before you can get back to work. Or do you want that added to your check? And whose check is it coming out of every time one of the big wigs show up, or it's decided this years holiday present to everyone will be some damn backpack with the company logo on it?

Jesus wept.

Arguing for ecology and arguing for more leg room are two contradictory positions.

Having more leg room means fewer passengers per flight which means more flights (or bigger airplanes) needed which means more CO2 and pollution.

that works for me - good, fast and cheap!

Unsurprisingly, you do not have any idea what I am saying.

Well they are comfort animals aren't they?