Originally Posted by
Canuck2012
My, some of you guys complain a lot. Is having to lift one's leg a few inches in the air to pass over your seat neighbor so onerous?
I think these new seats look fantastic, comfortable, like a mini-lounge, as opposed to a sterile dentist chair. Combine good food/drink/hospitality/connectivity, price point, Emirates is hard to beat.
Pity the poor sods who have to fly in economy.
It's not onerous to me - but it is to the person who wakes up if they are a light sleeper, or if I'm on the aisle and you have someone who constantly gets up and wakes you up when you are trying to sleep (after all, isn't that one of the major reasons J is purchased - rest potential?)
The seats are fine. They are a very nice product. The problem is the configuration
when 2-3-2 with direct access already exists. It's a solved problem that ticks the revenue density boxes and the customer satisfaction boxes, yet EK, an airline that historically tried to innovate (first airline with personal IFE, first airline with enclosed suite doors in F) now cannot even copy an existing product - and that does not bode well for the future, given the history of the aviation industry. Standards very usually go one-way over a period of time...
The comparison with economy is not really relevant imho; that's like saying pity the people who have to take a packed ferry when you're in a Ryanair jet. Also, this is Flyertalk, the home of first world problems
Airline products, either between airlines and other forms of transport, as well as different cabin products are completely different products with completely different expectations (and prices). Although in reality you are simply buying a seat on a plane, some seats are sold and marketed as having additional features - the fact that a basic budget option exists doesn't mean basic budget expectations should still apply on the more expensive, different products. Even in economy people expect and should receive certain standards (of service, of product) - no one should begrudge them that just because they might be on el cheapo tickets. The same applies to those on expensive premium tickets.
For many passengers (most passengers, I think), you are correct of course that the choice of carrier is based on a combination of factors - especially on price point - but for many, many passengers, EK is certainly not the cheapest nor do they take advantage of food and drink because they are jaded travellers
For them, it's a bit of a kick in the teeth, imho.