Originally Posted by
stimpy
Wow is that opinion out of date! Maybe it has been many years since you flew in Europe, but most all the carriers have updated their coach and business class seating and it is still going on. AF, KL, BA, LX, AZ, etc., all have revamped seats.
And I would say the opposite that US carriers are way, way behind in service because they do not give their customers anything, even consideration, beyond basic air transport.
But the big exception which hasn't even been mentioned yet is JetBlue! They brought in nice seats and DirectTV and by giving the customer more than just basic air transport, earned themselves a huge amount of business.
I fly in Europe pretty regularly and the European carrier's coach seats have very tight pitch (often 29-30" vs 31-32" for American carriers), have almost no way to purchase extra legroom seats, are less padded versions than American carriers use, and don't have on-board entertainment for non long-haul flights. On the plus side they usually offer a snack of sorts, though I prefer the buy on board selections with American carriers. Business class on short-haul European flights is terrible utilizing cramped economy seats. The biggest negative on European flights is that a lot of flights involve taking a bus to an airplane on the tarmac and walking up the stairs
.
For long-hauls, I'd say it's a mixed bag. Some European carriers have nicer seats than American carriers, others are worse (e.g. AF has 10-across coach seating on 777s).
Service wise, I'd actually put American carriers slightly ahead of European carriers. AZ and AF are awful for customer service and even LH and BA aren't much to write home about if you are on a coach ticket. American carriers have at least put together options that can make the flying process quick and convenient if you use the system well, whereas on AF or AZ I just plan on waiting an hour to check bags and get a boarding pass.