Originally Posted by
pinniped
But it's not as simple square footage of space. For many people, the most valuable inches of space in a seat are the 33rd through 38th inch - the difference between torture-Y and not-quite-torture-Y. For some people, the value of the 39th inch through 60th inch (or whatever J provides) is less important. Other people want the full lie-flat seat and are happy to spend what it takes to get J.
But that's pretty much my point. All I want is a seat that's 18.5-19" wide with 34" pitch that you don't have to pay PE price for. I don't necessarily need 38" pitch. But other than JAL and a few other ones, you won't find such thing. So if I can't deal with your typical 17" wide 32" pitch seat with 1.5" armrest, then the only other option I can afford is PE. But PE is 2x Y price for 1.5x Y seat real estate. So the airlines rake in a lot more per sq m from PE than from Y, which means PE represents poorer value to the customer. Some people may find every inch of the extra space so valuable that they might think paying x2 the amount is totally worth it. Then there's me who will do PE reluctantly knowing that I'm getting ripped off because I'm just not in a mood for sardine can. Regardless, it's still the case that PE is generally overpriced relative to Y.