Airplanes Are Fuller Than Ever

Airplanes Are Fuller Than Ever

NEW YORK -- Don't expect much elbow room on flights this fall.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/14/airplanes-are-fuller-than_n_961693.html

Planes have never been so full. There was barely a spare seat this summer, and the next few months should be the same. To the list of things airlines have taken away – hot meals, blankets, headphones – you can add personal space.

For airlines and the people who invest in them, it makes sense. Because of consolidation, partnerships and a push to eliminate unprofitable routes, airlines can adjust schedules to match demand and charge more.
But customer comfort is an afterthought. Not to mention space in the overhead bin.

"There are some days on some flights when there are simply no physical seats left," says Jim Reichart, vice president of marketing and sales for Frontier, which sold 91 percent of its seats in July and August. Frontier and US Airways both had their best August for percentage of seats filled.

The figures shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who fought over an armrest this summer. With 130 million people flying, little perks like empty middle seats or flying standby were hard to come by.
Airline executives used to add flights and routes to protect market share. This often meant there were more seats than travelers.

"In the past we had the problem of people operating airlines based on ego," says airline consultant Michael Boyd. "Now they're operating on the basis on how much money they can make."

 

The whole reason I joined FT/MP was because I once flew with my family and all of us ended up stuck in middle seats on a narrow body TATL. I did, however, get to enjoy 5 Y seats to myself on a trip to Tokyo on AA, which I have to admit was better than their J.

 

This is not surprising at all. I've never flown on a plane that wasn't sold out for a long time...

 

We just flew on 9/11 back to PBI from LGA on JetBlue. I thought the plane would, based on the date, be empty. Was I ever wrong! I think there were maybe 5 empty (middle!) seats.

 

I remember an old NW JFK-AMS flight back in 92 or 93....half full at best.......never to be seen again on that route...

 

Worked to my advantage last week when I got two bumps out of SFO after a 5 year drought on AA. Spent a big chunk of time in the Admiral's Club until I got out of there.

 

I think any of us that fly frequently have seen this for a while now. SDCs are increasingly difficult as are re-bookings during IROPS.