The Future Of Air Travel

April 7, 2016


The future of economy class air travel is not looking good.
Ancillary fees figured prominently on the conference program - (click to enlarge)



That was the theme at the airline industry's annual Aircraft Interiors show this week in Hamburg, Germany.

The show's objective was focused on ancillary revenue and on creative ways to pack as many passengers on-board as possible, plus charging each customer as much as possible while reducing service.



And, like a perfect storm, this week also saw yet another merger along with a report released from the 2016 Airline Quality Rating, saying customer complaints are the highest in 15 years.

Flying High

The scene at the aircraft show conjured up feelings of merry excess fueled by a sector raking in piles of money, where it seemed anything could be justified in the pursuit of higher profits.

'Calming' Passenger Behavior

Ways to help passengers 'relax' and forget their stressful environment figured prominently. If that didn't work, then defusing unhappy customers via apps for venting their anger about the flight was another tactic.
Rate your flight? Let airlines know about your experience in a post-flight survey. (click to enlarge)
As the fear of economy class stress has taken off, coping tools such as virtual reality goggles may be essential - for a fee.














When virtual reality beats reality, is that a passenger dream or nightmare?

Rate your flight. (click to enlarge)














The Pitchforks Are Coming

As FlyersRights points out nearly every week; look at the space the basic coach passenger gets. All studies point to larger human frames yet the seats get narrower and the distance between seats shrinks.

It's time to push our lawmakers to do something for the flying public, like a real Passenger Bill of Rights and humane standards for seat space. 
28 pitch seating, the new normal in coach

Fuel goes up customers pay. Fuel price drops but tickets do not 

I f you fly often you've seen first-hand, service goes down, fees go up and seats are smaller. If you check a bag, not only is it $25-50 but you print your own tag, place it on your bag then drop it off with TSA. The airlines have reduced their labor 
costs dramatically over the years, but not their ticket prices. 

This industry has stretched passengers too far. Let Congress know you've had enough: 
The infamous Recaro seats were on display - but these comfy white economy seats were suspiciously unlike what we've seen in reality.
Boeing's 'self-cleaning' lavatories were a big hit. Not only as an 'engineering marvel' but another way airlines can cut labor costs and reduce man-hours via automation.
The company says it uses ultraviolet UV light to kill 99.99% of germs -- and even puts down the toilet seat lid.
However, if people leave paper or 'water' everywhere, it will still be there. Good to take anti-bacterial wet wipes with you.




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