Airbus pushes standing-room-only skies
04-25-2006, 04:27 AM
#1
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Joined APC: Aug 2005
Position: Retired 121 pilot
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Airbus pushes standing-room-only skies
Those CSRs would just love this for deadheading flight crews! 
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Airbus pushes standing-room-only skies
By Christopher Elliott, New York Times
April 25, 2006
The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?
A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: standing-room-only "seats." Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none has agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal.
But even short of that option, carriers have been slipping another row or two of seats into coach by exploiting stronger, lighter materials developed by seat manufacturers that allow for slimmer seatbacks. The thinner seats theoretically could be used to give passengers more legroom but, in practice, the airlines have been keeping the amount of space between rows the same.
The result is an additional six seats on a typical Boeing 737 for a total of 156 and as many as 12 new seats on a Boeing 757 for a total of 200.
That such things are even being considered is a result of several factors. High fuel costs, for example, are making it difficult for carriers to turn a profit. The new seat technology alone, when used to add more places for passengers, can add millions in additional annual revenue. The new designs also reduce a seat's weight by up to 15 pounds, helping to hold down fuel consumption. A typical seat in economy class now weighs 74 to 82 pounds.
"There is clearly pressure on carriers to make the total passenger count as efficient as possible," said Howard Guy, a director for Design Q, a seating design consultant in England. "After all, the fewer seats that are put on board, the more expensive the seat price becomes. It's basic math."
Even as the airlines are trimming the size of the seatbacks in coach, they are installing seats as thick and heavy as ever in first and business class - and going to great lengths to promote them. That is because each passenger in such a seat can generate several times the revenue of a coach traveler.
At the front of the cabin, the emphasis is on comfort and amenities such as sophisticated entertainment systems. Some of the new seats even feature in-seat electronic massagers. And, of course, the airlines have installed lie-flat seats for their premium passengers on international routes.
Seating specialists say that the publicity airlines devote to their premium seats diverts attention from what is happening in the back of the plane. In the main cabin, they say, manufacturers are under intense pressure to create more efficient seats.
"We make the seats thinner," said Alexander Pozzi, the director for research and development at Weber Aircraft, a seat manufacturer in Gainesville, Texas. "The airlines keep pitching them closer and closer together. We just try to make them as comfortable as we can."
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...647975,00.html
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Airbus pushes standing-room-only skies
By Christopher Elliott, New York Times
April 25, 2006
The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?
A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: standing-room-only "seats." Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none has agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal.
But even short of that option, carriers have been slipping another row or two of seats into coach by exploiting stronger, lighter materials developed by seat manufacturers that allow for slimmer seatbacks. The thinner seats theoretically could be used to give passengers more legroom but, in practice, the airlines have been keeping the amount of space between rows the same.
The result is an additional six seats on a typical Boeing 737 for a total of 156 and as many as 12 new seats on a Boeing 757 for a total of 200.
That such things are even being considered is a result of several factors. High fuel costs, for example, are making it difficult for carriers to turn a profit. The new seat technology alone, when used to add more places for passengers, can add millions in additional annual revenue. The new designs also reduce a seat's weight by up to 15 pounds, helping to hold down fuel consumption. A typical seat in economy class now weighs 74 to 82 pounds.
"There is clearly pressure on carriers to make the total passenger count as efficient as possible," said Howard Guy, a director for Design Q, a seating design consultant in England. "After all, the fewer seats that are put on board, the more expensive the seat price becomes. It's basic math."
Even as the airlines are trimming the size of the seatbacks in coach, they are installing seats as thick and heavy as ever in first and business class - and going to great lengths to promote them. That is because each passenger in such a seat can generate several times the revenue of a coach traveler.
At the front of the cabin, the emphasis is on comfort and amenities such as sophisticated entertainment systems. Some of the new seats even feature in-seat electronic massagers. And, of course, the airlines have installed lie-flat seats for their premium passengers on international routes.
Seating specialists say that the publicity airlines devote to their premium seats diverts attention from what is happening in the back of the plane. In the main cabin, they say, manufacturers are under intense pressure to create more efficient seats.
"We make the seats thinner," said Alexander Pozzi, the director for research and development at Weber Aircraft, a seat manufacturer in Gainesville, Texas. "The airlines keep pitching them closer and closer together. We just try to make them as comfortable as we can."
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...647975,00.html
04-25-2006, 04:33 PM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
The ideas they come up with. Hitler tried standing-room only with the railroads and that didn't go over well at all. 
Hey, while there at it, here are some ideas they can try:
Remove the windows and have the passengers hold their arm out the windows and flap their arms. Flight attendants can be trained to use a cat-o-nine-tails to motivate the passengers.
The airlines could also remove all the seats and install beds a-la Japanese Motel style. An anaesthesiologist can be hired to administer a full anesthetic to all the passengers to sedate them for the entire flight so they don't complain about being racked and stacked. Pilots with a sense of humor can hook up their Ipods to the plane's PA system and play Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" during takeoff.
A rope can be attached to the front of the plane and the passengers can all pull the airplane down the taxiway.
To increase airplane turn around time, planes can have trap-doors installed below each passenger's seat. Instead of pulling up to the gates, pilots can just pull a lever and dump all the passengers onto the asphalt below. This will also help clean the plane by dumping their diapers, garbage and anything else they leave behind.
Finally, they can always raise the airfare.
Hey, while there at it, here are some ideas they can try:
Remove the windows and have the passengers hold their arm out the windows and flap their arms. Flight attendants can be trained to use a cat-o-nine-tails to motivate the passengers.
The airlines could also remove all the seats and install beds a-la Japanese Motel style. An anaesthesiologist can be hired to administer a full anesthetic to all the passengers to sedate them for the entire flight so they don't complain about being racked and stacked. Pilots with a sense of humor can hook up their Ipods to the plane's PA system and play Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" during takeoff.
A rope can be attached to the front of the plane and the passengers can all pull the airplane down the taxiway.
To increase airplane turn around time, planes can have trap-doors installed below each passenger's seat. Instead of pulling up to the gates, pilots can just pull a lever and dump all the passengers onto the asphalt below. This will also help clean the plane by dumping their diapers, garbage and anything else they leave behind.
Finally, they can always raise the airfare.
04-29-2006, 05:53 AM
#8
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Posts: 222
AIRLINES TO STOW PASSENGERS IN OVERHEAD BINS
Bold New Strategy to Boost Sagging Revenues
Struggling with rising fuel costs and sagging profits, several leading airlines announced today that they would attempt to boost their revenues by stowing passengers in their aircrafts' overhead bins.
After Airbus announced earlier this week that it was toying with the idea of introducing standing room areas for passengers in the rear of their planes, the airlines decided that the time was right to pitch the idea of stowing passengers in a part of the plane that has customarily been reserved for carry-on luggage.
"Stowing passengers in the overhead bins should allow us to squeeze a few extra dollars out of every flight, and right now, every extra dollar counts," said Carol Foyler, a spokesperson for the airlines group. "Plus, since they'll be stuffed up there for the duration of the flight, we won't have to give them peanuts."
While the proposal to stow passengers in the dark, cramped compartments was hailed by the airline industry as a bold innovation, consumer watchdog groups complained that the option of riding in the overhead bins would not be available to tall or obese passengers.
Ms. Foyler acknowledged that the overhead bins would mainly be used to stow "smaller, more compact passengers," but said larger passengers could check themselves as luggage and be stored in the cargo hold.
"The only caveat is that if you check yourself as luggage you are dramatically increasing your chances of being lost forever," she said.
Bold New Strategy to Boost Sagging Revenues
Struggling with rising fuel costs and sagging profits, several leading airlines announced today that they would attempt to boost their revenues by stowing passengers in their aircrafts' overhead bins.
After Airbus announced earlier this week that it was toying with the idea of introducing standing room areas for passengers in the rear of their planes, the airlines decided that the time was right to pitch the idea of stowing passengers in a part of the plane that has customarily been reserved for carry-on luggage.
"Stowing passengers in the overhead bins should allow us to squeeze a few extra dollars out of every flight, and right now, every extra dollar counts," said Carol Foyler, a spokesperson for the airlines group. "Plus, since they'll be stuffed up there for the duration of the flight, we won't have to give them peanuts."
While the proposal to stow passengers in the dark, cramped compartments was hailed by the airline industry as a bold innovation, consumer watchdog groups complained that the option of riding in the overhead bins would not be available to tall or obese passengers.
Ms. Foyler acknowledged that the overhead bins would mainly be used to stow "smaller, more compact passengers," but said larger passengers could check themselves as luggage and be stored in the cargo hold.
"The only caveat is that if you check yourself as luggage you are dramatically increasing your chances of being lost forever," she said.
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