Why your Economy class seat is torturing you – possibly on purpose

[Flyerwin]

Interesting article I just came across:


Source: Why your Economy class seat is torturing you – possibly on purpose

This bit of the article is telling:

However, in the complex world of airline economics, companies are keen on pushing as many customers as possible out of those Economy seats into Business Class, where they can make more per seat.

Though no one in the industry has said it out loud, this produces a lot of incentive to make people buy those more expensive tickets. Free drinks and peanuts may not be enough, though, so some like the travel journalist Arthur Frommer have voiced the suspicion that some of the discomfort might not be all a trade-off but rather a deliberate attempt to boost Business Class sales by making Economy just uncomfortable enough to make people want an upgrade rather than suffer the tortures of the damned.

Thoughts?

 

[Human]

It's easy to test this hypothesis.

Are the economy seats of airlines which don't have Business class (and which therefore don't have any incentive to make you want to fly Business) more comfortable than those of airlines which do have Business class?

If the answer is "yes", then there might be something to be said for this theory. If the answer is "no", that's not necessarily conclusive but a fairly strong argument against the hypothesis.

Of course, we all know what the answer is.

 

[Forg]

Yeah I think on one hand there's the issue of "motivation", and on the other there's the issue of "happy side effect".

The discomfort is primarily due to the lack of space, which is due to wedging so many people in. I don't know what modern aircraft seats weigh (I'll bet it's Not Much) but their designs do a pretty good job of allowing knee-room despite them being stacked so close together, imagine how few of your home lounge-room sofas they could into an A350 by comparison.

It's hard to believe it's not all driven by cost; all the costs ... how much each seat costs vs how much fuel each seat costs vs how much passengers will put-up with vs what alternative airlines offer vs what the alternative airlines charge customers, yadda-to-the-power-of-yadda.


Still, in response to:

Are the economy seats of airlines which don't have Business class (and which therefore don't have any incentive to make you want to fly Business) more comfortable than those of airlines which do have Business class?

... is there a LCC that's not really just part of another airline?
I'll bet JetStar has pushed a few people towards Qantas for future flights ...

 

[RooFlyer]

On a tangent, when I was on a team working on airport privatisation, we discovered that it was an actual thing to make airport seats not very comfortable, and in short supply, to get people up and into shops.

 

[Quickstatus]

I think the hypothesis is inadequate.
The more accurate theory is value perception
Most people perceive value using price. Hence the roaring success of Low cost carriers.
It also does not discuss premium economy (and economy seats with extra legroom such as bulkhead seats etc) which is increasingly being deployed across the airlines without the massive uplift in price. for many such offering provide better value.

 

[AuSammy]

Seems to me to be a conspiracy theory.

Its just a side effect of the economic balancing act airlines have to perform to compete and exist on a slim margin.

 

[dajop]

Commentators always love the more money per seat metric, but it’s not the only metric airlines worry about as costs per seat are higher in business class too.

I think it’s more a function of having lighter seats and squeezing more in to get incremental revenue than pushing people into higher classes. .

 

[Mr_Tee]

On a tangent, when I was on a team working on airport privatisation, we discovered that it was an actual thing to make airport seats not very comfortable, and in short supply, to get people up and into shops.

McDonalds pioneered that concept. True.

 

[Human]

McDonalds pioneered that concept. True.

Not understanding you, sorry. McDonalds pioneered the concept of uncomfortable seats so that … what? People would get up and leave McDonalds?

 

[Mr_Tee]

Not understanding you, sorry. McDonalds pioneered the concept of uncomfortable seats so that … what? People would get up and leave McDonalds?

Correct. Seats that are comfortable enough to stay and eat your burger and fries, but uncomfortable after a while of sitting around after.

Within the broader quick service food industry they were termed "15 minute seats" or "15 minute chairs" on the basis that they subtly encouraged you to get up and leave after about 15 minutes of sitting on them.

Avoids loitering.
Avoids congestion in the dining area.
Encourages customer traffic to move out of the restaurant when finished so someone else can sit down.

McDonalds (and many other quick service restaurants) like to have the customers visiting their restaurants operate like a conveyor belt, with the customers on the conveyor belt from the moment they walk in the door to the moment they walk out. Most customers don't even realise it. A lot of thought goes into this exact element of the business.

Google "McDonalds uncomfortable seats" and you I'll get a deluge of articles, analysis and commentary on them.

(As a comparison, take a look at the seating and chairs in Starbucks vs. McDonalds. They are completely different. Starbucks = comfy seating; McDonalds = not so comfy seating. Then take a look at the visitation habits of Starbucks customers vs McDonalds customers. Starbucks customers stay at Starbucks for much much longer compared to McDonalds. Whilst there are numerous factors involved here, one deliberate factor of both companies is the seat that you are sitting on).

 

[markis10]

McDonalds pioneered that concept. True.

Yep, hostile architecture is the term

 

[Forg]

^ Really good point … Starbucks (in Oz at least) tried to encourage a “come and have an informal meeting or even do some remote work here” as opposed to Maccas preferring you consume your high-volume sausage-factory flavourless gloop & FO so the next gloop-consumer can use your seat.