I’ve had this story on the back burner for a week, but with passenger airline traffic slowly starting to rebound, I think it’s time we had this discussion. Social distancing is impossible an airplane. Sorry. Don’t like it? Fly private, stay home, or drive…
As a member of the so-called “entitled” generation, I make a conscious effort to reject personal entitlement whenever and wherever possible. Of course, there are limits…I’m not about to let airlines downgrade or cancel tickets without recourse because they later regret the transaction…but life is freer and happier when you don’t feel like you have the fight the world for what you deserve. Of course that is far easier for some to say than for others, but as a general principle it is undeniably liberating.
A new form of entitlement is rearing its ugly head across airports and onboard airplanes. It should be nipped in the bud. Namely, the idea that you are entitled to plenty of personal space onboard an airplane. All sorts of faulty assumptions are at play. Fundamentally, leaving middle seats opens does not provide the requisite minimum social distancing to be considered safe.
But more importantly, social distancing destroys an airline business model. That will be the main concern as demand returns and airplanes start to fill up again. To ask an airplane to only sell 2/3 of its seats is like asking you to just indefinitely live with 2/3 of your income each month. Actually, it’s worse. Because the aircraft still costs the same no matter how full it is. Pilots and flight attendants still cost the same whether they are serving full cabins or empty cabins. Most of the fixed costs persist independent of how many travelers are onboard. Put another way, the airline business is carefully calibrated to make money with high loads. Absent those loads, the business model fails.
Cry Me A River, Lady
A woman recently flew on a crowded American Airlines flight from New York to Charlotte. When she saw that the flight was full, she broke down and began to cry, then took to Twitter to complain. Her story went viral. She told NBC:
“They actually came over the speakers to say the flight was nearly full and that people would not be able to move seats to social distance.
“I really felt like my life and the life of everyone around me was at risk.
“I just sat there silently crying into my mask because I was really overwhelmed by how unsafe I felt.”
She was in the air because her grandmother died. I offer my condolences to her. But that is where my pity for her stops.
Well silly me thinking that an airline would adhere to social distancing guidelines. Currently abroad a nearly full @AmericanAir flight and I’ve never felt less safe or cared for in my entire life pic.twitter.com/sx5STfHKBI
— erin strine (@ErinStrine) April 25, 2020
Really? She doesn’t feel “cared” for because she voluntarily chose to fly and American Airlines is just trying to survive? And what if every person onboard had an equally valid or better reason to be on the plane?
Give me a break.
After Twitter erupted on her, she cultivated her message more carefully, framing her complaint in terms of expectations on Good Morning America:
“I recognize the risks that I was taking by agreeing to be on an airplane in the first place and while I wanted to believe all of the, you know, precautions would be taken that I had read on the airline’s websites, you know, there are lots of, lots of asterisks there.”
And those asterisks have always been there.
CONCLUSION
You want to fly now? Chances are you will still encounter a mostly-empty flight. But don’t think that will continue indefinitely or even for very long. Flights will fill up again and you will need to weigh the risk of flying, knowing that there will be other people around you.
If you cannot tolerate that risk without suffering a breakdown, you should seriously consider just staying home.
I’m outraged over outrage over full flights. How about you?
> Read More: United Airlines’ “Aspirational” New Social Distancing Policy
Could not agree more. Airlines run their operation based on fully optimizing the potential revenue of each flight. That means they will try to sell every single seat at the highest price possible. Thus, leaving middle seats or entire rows won’t be maximizing the full revenue potential of that plane. Do you want to seat on an entire row alone? Well, pay for all seats on that row? Do you want to have an empty middle seat next to you? Pay for that seat. I had a work colleague that used to travel by train and he hated to have a stranger seating next to him. He would buy the seat next to him to ensure it would be empty. His choice, his money.
I agree. She flew from NYC to Charlotte, NC. With all due respect she could have rented a car and driven there. Sure it would have taken 10 hours but at least she would have had more peace of mind.
Finally someone had the balls to come out and tell the truth stay home if you’re so stressed wear a mask and gloves that’s the best you can do right now if you’re that overwhelmed then you should not be buying that ticket save your money.
Well written argument. In general, either ticket prices rise dramatically or load-factors have to remain high – you can’t have both. For better or worse, we’ve seen people routinely choose lower cost over other factors.
Thank you for posting this. Time for common sense. Just like factories and assembly lines and gatherings of people didn’t stop after the Spanish flu pandemic, this too shall pass. This is a great time to reflect on one’s own risk tolerance and act accordingly.
Agreed.
A few other options:
1. Buy a whole row of seats;
2. Fly in First Class on 777-300ERs and Embraers and CRJ700s/900s, the later two on the A side.
Very much agree with this and good arguments. Though with the mob mentality of outrage people are going to continue this into the months ahead, unfortunately.
Like the person who buys a house at the end of the runway and later complains about the noise from the planes taking off. What did you expect?
Hilarious, totally disagree #hoax
Wear a mask, relax.
Finally someone writing about common sense. It’s time the self entitled generation woke and realised the world doesn’t revolve around them. Time to move on.
It’s always telling when someone uses “woke” as an insult. It says quite a bit about that person. None of it good.
Lots of businesses are having similar constraints applied to them. Restaurants, casinos, movie theaters, etc. Shouldn’t the same argument apply?
I want to be able to buy multiple seats. If there were cooperation with like passengers, an airline could sell 6 seats to a passenger. For example, buy your row and the row in front. The passenger behind you would buy their row and the row in front.
If there’s no system for this, you would have to buy 9 seats. That is expensive!
“To ask an airplane to only sell 2/3 of its seats is like asking you to just indefinitely live with 2/3 of your income each month.”
Well, depending on which state you live in and your profession, the government is asking you to live indefinitely with zero income if they decide your job is “nonessential”, so the airlines aren’t getting such a bad deal in that scenario!
I agree with your sentiments, but there is another option – let passengers buy as many seats as they want. You want a guarantee that you can social distance? Buy the entire set of 3.
“If you cannot tolerate that risk without suffering a breakdown, you should seriously consider just staying home.”
Yes please.
Where was her emotional support animal to get her through this crisis?
hahhahahahahah …… you win for best comment on this thread !!!! hhahahahhaha … my first real lol of the day !!!
Andy K. Great comment. I agree w/Jim. She should also have brought her therapist along for further consolation.
Oh boo hoo, poor airlines that have raked in millions and millions of dollars over the last many years and have successfully torpedoed any attempt at regulating seat width and pitch.
Yes, it’s time for airlines to step up and reconsider how crowded they’re allowing their plants to become.
If you choose to fly, it’s impossible to social distance, so you are taking the risk of contracting COVID.
I just find it laughable that the author states “fly private or stay home” as if flying private is even remotely an option for the majority of Americans to be able to afford. A more realistic suggestion would be to drive.
There was some tongue and cheek in my most, Madeleine. Bottom line: I don’t think anyone has a reasonable expectation of an open middle seat.
At this time, airlines absolutely should not fly a wide-body plane with more than one passenger per bank of seats — i.e., 2 people per row in 2-2 or 3-3 rows, 3 people in 2-4-2 or 2-5-2 or 3-5-3 or whatever. They should also have every other row VACANT. That is the only reasonable action under current restrictions, If they cannot operate under those conditions, JOIN THE F***ING CLUB! We don’t need a fleet of flying petri dishes to foil both local and national efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
I understand and agree with your argument under current rules.
But it missed the alternative: airlines could optimize their revenue with 2/3 seats or less if they raised prices and everyone else was forced to do so by regulation.
The middle-way between flying private and staying home could be set at higher prices (yes, I know the inflation-adjusted equivalent of pre-deregulation prices) in exchange for a lot more space and other protective measures (such as personal shells above and around the seat). Or to put it more clearly – having a proper business class seat as the base option industry-wide.
Of course there would be a trade-off: more personal security for much less access to travel itself. I guess most governments won’t take it so it remains theoretical.
Whether you sit in a full economy cabin or in your private First class seat, you are still breathing the same air from the entire plane. The air ventilation system nowadys is not that advance and good to filter particles of Covid-19.
You might be out of sight in your suite but not out of reach from contaminated particles floating around you. The longer you are confined in he plane for hours, the higher the risks of contamination. Masks and other ptotective gears are not ultimate saviour but only a vaccine!
Your compassion is underwhelming. The sarcasm of some of the responses is typical of younger people. If that woman was your mother or grandmother I would hope you would answer differently