I overheard a conversation the other day of three people talking about the ever shrinking airline seat. We all know they continue to get smaller in width in order to make more room on the plane for more seats. We also know that people have been shown willing to buy more legroom at times. Let's look at the stats.
The Journal of American Medicine states that 34% of people in the US are not just overweight, but obese. Additionally, I found a statistic that says the average waist for men in the US has increased almost four inches in the last five years. So, as the midsection increases, the seats gets smaller. Riddle me that...
On the other hand, statistics produced by the CDC shows that from the 1960's to early 2000, the average height for men increased just over one inch and for women just over one-half inch. So, with height increases of about an inch over 40 years, the airlines believe leg-room is the most marketable opportunity. (Trust me, I LOVE the leg room, but I am not average or normal by any means!)
The airlines talk about being customer centric, but continue to cram people into smaller seats and have to put up with their fellow passengers spilling over into their space. With the new aircraft coming into the marketplace, I hope that someone at one of the airlines is looking to make better use of the space for the customer and not just their bottom line.
Would people be willing to pay slightly more for more width, like they do legroom? Right now, the airlines answer is "buy a second seat" if the problem is that bad. We don't force the guy who is 6'11" to buy the seat in front of him. If he wants extra leg-room, he can buy it for under $100 in most cases. Another seat, well, that's an expensive endeavor.
I encourage folks at the airlines to look at the stats and if they are really concerned about making the customer feel welcomed and appreciated, put some thought behind what could be 1/3 of the people on your planes. Until then, don't look for customer satisfaction rates to improve at the same rate of increase as the US waistline...and keep going!
The Journal of American Medicine states that 34% of people in the US are not just overweight, but obese. Additionally, I found a statistic that says the average waist for men in the US has increased almost four inches in the last five years. So, as the midsection increases, the seats gets smaller. Riddle me that...
On the other hand, statistics produced by the CDC shows that from the 1960's to early 2000, the average height for men increased just over one inch and for women just over one-half inch. So, with height increases of about an inch over 40 years, the airlines believe leg-room is the most marketable opportunity. (Trust me, I LOVE the leg room, but I am not average or normal by any means!)
The airlines talk about being customer centric, but continue to cram people into smaller seats and have to put up with their fellow passengers spilling over into their space. With the new aircraft coming into the marketplace, I hope that someone at one of the airlines is looking to make better use of the space for the customer and not just their bottom line.
Would people be willing to pay slightly more for more width, like they do legroom? Right now, the airlines answer is "buy a second seat" if the problem is that bad. We don't force the guy who is 6'11" to buy the seat in front of him. If he wants extra leg-room, he can buy it for under $100 in most cases. Another seat, well, that's an expensive endeavor.
I encourage folks at the airlines to look at the stats and if they are really concerned about making the customer feel welcomed and appreciated, put some thought behind what could be 1/3 of the people on your planes. Until then, don't look for customer satisfaction rates to improve at the same rate of increase as the US waistline...and keep going!
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