Comment by woopwoop

Airlines shouldn't have reclining seats, it's bad design. Blaming people for the bad design is stupid. I never recline and still blame it on the design. Stupid people exist, you should design for that.

> do you care about who your actions might affect

This one surprises me every time I fly. When I have the aisle seat I can be up and out in 10 seconds. It seems to make like everyone else will plop down , place down 3 different liquids on the tray and then take a nap. When I ask to use the bathroom I end up feeling like a nuisance

I actually quite liek yanair's no frills no recline design. For some reason it feels less clusterphobic to me. it just feels more spacious and roomy, despite the absence of space.

And if you are the airline the answer is a resounding "no"

(I get the joke) Not even gorillas even, the seats on most US carriers are too small and narrow for a lot of adult men even if they're in good shape. I had to sit shoulder to shoulder with one poor guy an entire flight to New Zealand because both of our shoulder widths are wider than the seats and I wanted to make sure my girlfriend had room enough to sleep. We were both good sports about it and were joking about needing a smoke afterwards, but it was not fun unless he wanted to lean halfway out into the aisle. I'm taller than average but not a giant.

Scary.. Did the airline comp you for that?

Even when travelling for work I could never bring myself to get a laptop out on an aircraft. I only do it on the train occasionally if I've got something I'm deep into and a table to myself.

> They cram more people on, giving you less space - but charge the same - and you get mad at other customers, rather than them for cramming you in.

Airline fares are very cheap. Just the other day they compared the cost of flying from London to Calcutta decades ago vs now - much cheaper now. You'll see the same when you compare domestic flights.

Yes, it's true that you had more leg room back then. Now you have the option to pay the same high fares and get similar leg room, or be cheap and get less leg room.

Classic example of "more choice leads to more dissatisfaction".

I pointed out exactly the opposite: surely moral action is only possible when one has agency.

If an airline needs to force you to be a decent person, then you have no right to claim decency in the first place.

People who lean their seats back are assholes. Claiming “but this is permitted!” proves my point.

I can’t imagine what a nightmare world it would be if decency were only possible through the exercise of external authority.

Tall people don't choose their height, fat people (mostly) choose their weight.

Edit: also, if the airline can't deal with a certain percentile of the population under their normal product, they should figure out how to make it happen. It's discrimination to not account for tall people

I just did that. And having paid an extra $1000 per seat for 3 seats, the airline (Qatar) gave them to someone else.

Neat. Now what do I do?

Typed from a 17 hour flight to New Zealand.

I'm about 6' tall, even. In some cattlejets, my knees physically touch the seat in front of me. A lady on a recent flight flung her seat back and I cried out involuntarily in sudden pain.

I understand why she wanted to lean back. And yet, when she did, it freaking hurt. I'm around the 80th percentile in height in the US, and while my doctor says I could lose a few pounds, I wear a men's large shirt so I'm not exactly enormous. Even though they seat can technically recline, you cannot convince me that they're actually meant to.

Can I have the 5th element padded roller beds that are disinfected between every use?

My ideal airline would be one where you show up to the airport with your luggage, check it in, and then they knock you out and load you on the plane.

You get woken up at your destination after they've taken you off the plane. It would be the closest thing you can get to teleportation.

Then the airline wouldn't have to fuss with preparing shitty food and coffee or deal with annoying passengers. A win for everyone!

Not every seat reclines: the one in front of the exit row is a key example.

Seats have gotten smaller. It wasn’t a big deal 30 years ago because you could reclining without mashing the person behind you.

It’s kind of like a yoga studio with mats 3 feet apart when they use to be 6. You’re allowed, and encouraged, to spread your arms out wide, but now if you do you’re going to have a hand in your neighbor’s face. The yoga studio laughs at the visitors arguing about whether one’s an asshole for using their arm space, or for telling others to stop slapping them in the face, when the whole thing is their fault.

“It’s all about me!”

I suspect they’re not the only person around you who thinks you’re an asshole.

Depends. How’s the Amtrak chess bot?

I don’t have 5 days to travel across the country.

This is a United thing, not a Boeing/Airbus thing.

> because somehow the flying public does not mind bright flashing annoying lights in their faces for HOURS

We do. United has just positioned their economy products a hair below Delta by, in part, pulling off crap like this.

Right? That's why I don't want a car with any system for entertainment, beyond generics like speakers. The car is ideally going to last 25+ years, by which time that shit will be obsolete. The software won't be upgradable, etc.

> but still makes me a bit sad.

I'm still sad the movie projectors are gone from the planes, also the little curtains for the windows, and the carve at your seat prime rib service.

The thing I really wish domestic airlines would take away is reclining seats in economy. Nothing good comes from having them.

I've long enjoyed both Alaska's and Southwest's version of this.