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Rich getting richer, even at 30,000 feet

travel

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

December 25, 2011|By Irene S. Levine

A suite in a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380, one of the worlds biggest airliners. (BERNICE HAN/AFP/GETTY…)

Even before they board their flights, people are acutely aware of the haves and have-nots of air travel. On a recent long-haul domestic airline flight (after waiting for platinum, silver, gold, and bronze to board), I sat down in my assigned middle seat in a row directly behind first class.

My view was neither window nor aisle. Instead, it was an unobstructed look at the ample space between the two extra-wide seats in front of me. In fact, if I had dared extend my legs, I might have toppled the wine glass of the passenger seated there and disabled his private in-flight entertainment system. Even though his first-class seat fell short in terms of privacy, I immediately contracted an acute case of seat envy that lasted the rest of the flight.

YOU ARE WHERE YOU SIT

Cabin classes - which can include first class, business, and coach (also called economy) - are generally differentiated by space, privacy, and personal service. But these categories can be murky. Some airlines offer only business and coach, having phased out first class. Adding to the confusion, when it comes to domestic travel outside the United States, the term first class (as opposed to business class) is rarely used. More recently, the term premium economy has been added to the mix.

Seat size is one of the most common benchmarks associated with cabin class. According to SeatGuru.com, a website that maintains a database of the pitch (legroom), width, and comfort of seats on most planes, the average pitch of economy class seats ranges from 28 to 36 inches, while the pitch of first-class seats ranges from 42 to 100 inches. In terms of seat width, economy seats range from just above 16 to 19 inches, while first-class seats range from 19 to 36 inches.

Long-haul (international) business class generally provides seating with twice the pitch and width of economy seats. Premium economy, a separate and growing class of economy seating, offers about 5 to 7 inches of pitch over economy, about 1 to 2 extra inches of seat width, and 2 to 3 extra inches of seat recline. (SeatGuru provides helpful comparison seating charts by class, divided by short hauls and long hauls, and sorted by individual airlines.)

FIRST-CLASS TRENDS

First-class seats are scarce. “If we are talking about true international first-class products, including flat-bed seating, premium dining, and separate cabins, we’re likely talking about less than 2 percent of all seats worldwide being first class,’’ says Andrew Wong, a spokesman for SeatGuru.com. “The products currently being offered are some of the best there have ever been,’’ he adds.