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I take your point Steve but I think that an awful lot of people do go by price alone. I have to confess that it is the major factor with me although a better product at a reasonable price would appeal. That can be hard to find and I'm sure the airlines have worked out what the market will stand.
This isn't the first year the 757 MAN-BOS service has been in service so I assume that it must be paying for the airline. Interestingly it is a 1 class plane so they don't seem to want to attract business passengers on that route.
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<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Snapper
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988[brAirlines - especially in America - make little profit and are always on the verge of going bust it seems. Therefore it makes little sense to operate a bigger, and less economical, aircraft when marketing studies indicate that a 757 will cope.[/quote]
Ahhhh, but ...
On the transatlantic route not every passenger is driven completely by price alone. Some of us are looking for a better product; specifically more legroom in economy. So maybe there is a market segment whereby an airline flies a bigger aircraft than necessary but offers a much improved product at a higher price.
Say an airline typically runs a 32" seat pitch in economy. What if they upped their economy fare by 30% but at the same time introduced a whopping 42" seat pitch. Personally, I think they would be full to the gubbles. It would also cost them less to fly the aircraft as fewer passengers means less baggage, less weight, and heaps less fuel to carry it all. If an airline got the sums right they might even be able to shave one or two cabin staff from the flight as well (sorry Lal!!)
[/quote]
I agree Steve, although price is an important factor, comfort and safety are top of my list![msnwink]
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<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
Robert
I'm on the BOS-MAN 757 in May. Plenty of legroom isn't there???
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Sorry to have to say this but no more leg room than normal. We did the AA route last year to Boston on the 757 and i was not impressed with it. It is a standard Domestic plane with no seat back TV's or anything like that (Not sure about 1st Class) They do have 14" TV's along the aisle of the plane and they showed at least 1 movie, but once the cabin staff start to work there is no room for any one to move. Great route as we like Boston airport but would not fly that route again.
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<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by pieman790
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Katys Grandad
Robert
I'm on the BOS-MAN 757 in May. Plenty of legroom isn't there???
[/quote]
Sorry to have to say this but no more leg room than normal. We did the AA route last year to Boston on the 757 and i was not impressed with it. It is a standard Domestic plane with no seat back TV's or anything like that (Not sure about 1st Class) They do have 14" TV's along the aisle of the plane and they showed at least 1 movie, but once the cabin staff start to work there is no room for any one to move. Great route as we like Boston airport but would not fly that route again.
[/quote]
I rest my case!!![msnwink]
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<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:On the transatlantic route not every passenger is driven completely by price alone. Some of us are looking for a better product; specifically more legroom in economy. So maybe there is a market segment whereby an airline flies a bigger aircraft than necessary but offers a much improved product at a higher price.
Say an airline typically runs a 32" seat pitch in economy. What if they upped their economy fare by 30% but at the same time introduced a whopping 42" seat pitch. Personally, I think they would be full to the gubbles. It would also cost them less to fly the aircraft as fewer passengers means less baggage, less weight, and heaps less fuel to carry it all. If an airline got the sums right they might even be able to shave one or two cabin staff from the flight as well [/quote]
I completely agree with your sentiments, and more legroom is the number one priority for me personally.
However I suggest you and I may be be in the minority. American introduced their "More Room Throughout Coach" campaign a while ago, with 35 inches as the 'norm' in economy - 2-3 more than nearly every other major airline. This was the only reason I always flew AA. It has not been a commercial success and they are now reducing legroom to the 'industry standard'.
The AA Man-Bos service last year did have the extra legroom in economy. Seat back TVs or any in-flight entertainment are low down the priority list for me. I have a choice of flying Manchester to Boston or Chicago this summer with AA and I have chosen Boston each time.
Interestingly FlyWho(or whatever the are called now) have adopted your approach with masses of leg room in their cheapest cabin(silver). Their prices are very high though and it will be interesting to see if the service is a success - if they ever get off the ground(pun intended)
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Well we shall have to see, for many price is a main factor and legroom not so high up (unless you are tall).
DOM
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Im 5' 7" but I don't do economy[msnwink]
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I'm certainly no airline industry expert but it seems pretty clear that the trend over recent years has been a move towards 'cheap no frills' flying. Easyjet, Ryanair and the rest offer a pretty basic product at low prices but have been very successful. In turn, the major carriers have been forced to follow suit. Meals, ticketing and legroom have all been sacrificed in the name of what the customer seems to want - low fares.
Oddly enough, at the same time premium travel has been enhanced giving flat beds, chauffeur services and quality dining. The end result has been that those who are able to afford the prices in business/first have become better catered for while the rest have increasingly been expected to suffer in return for cheap tickets.
As American Airlines discovered with their 'More Room' promotion. not enough travellers are prepared to pay more for a better quality product. Sadly, they have now fallen back into line with their competitors.
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I agree about cheap airlines, I have used them many times for short flights
But long haul you need some comfort otherwise it can be a nightmare nothing worse than sitting for 9/11 hours
in a uncomfortable seat with no leg room
The problem is a family of 4 going on holiday the air tickets can take a big slice out of your budjet
most people are looking to get where they are going as cheaply as possible
Barbara
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AA are definitely still flying with the extra legroom in economy, at least on the MAN-MIA and ORD-MAN routes. I flew with them in February/March, and this was one of the reasons for booking AA. And a very nice flight it was too. On the ORD-MAN flight every single seat was full, so I guess they are doing something right!
I completely agree that Ryanair and Easyjet offer reasonably OK, no-frills products, and for whizzing around Europe on 2-3 hour flights for weekends away they are great. Personally, I would never fly them on a transatlantic or longer haul route unless they completely re-vamped their product with more comfortable aircraft and cabin configurations. It would be like taking the tube from London to Glasgow.
Let's also not forget though that the budget operators fly into some forsaken airfields way out in the back of beyond. I made this mistake flying into Frankfurt the year before last. I thought I'd found a way to save a fortune in travelling costs by flying Ryanair, until I found out that having landed at Frankfurt Hahn it then takes between 90 mins to 2 hours to get back to Frankfurt, or you pay more for a taxi than you paid for the flight!
The day that Ryanair start to fly a 30" seat pitch between Prestwick and Tallahassee will be a great day for cheap fares to Florida. I think I'll give it a miss though.
