RICforme

I experienced first flight in 737-900 last week between SFO-ATL. Usually I grab a P or A fare and don't sweat the upgrade lottery, but the L fare was too low to pass up. Needless to say I was #22 on the UG list as a DM so Y it was...I thoroughly enjoyed the new airplane, and the lighting was fabulous, seats quite comfortable in coach, and the IFE screens were pretty impressive. Ended up in middle seat, and (I know this is heresy), was quite comfortable. (had an aisle seat but mom traveling with toddler asked to switch, and I must have "sucker" written on my forehead).

I really like the product, and with an upcoming trip to SAN in a few weeks, looking forward to enjoying 737-900 in F with my SO! Thanks Delta for a modern airplane experience!

brocklee9000

Yep. Same seat count, 180. But in a smaller plane, with smaller engines that are also more efficient. Oh, I just had a thought, think of the crew: look up DL pay scales for 737 pilots versus 757 pilots. In fact, look at 739 pay grades. A first-year 739 captain will be making less than a 738 captain who has been flying the plane for years. A 757 captain of 10 years will be making $20 per hour more than a first year 739 captain.

Every1 Get A Life

I am so confused by this bizarre logic. You state that this row has the same room as the rest of the plane, but this now makes the plane a horrible, giant fail? There are several planes flying around with overwing exits like this: 737-700s, MD90s, 717s. Lots of other airlines do it, too. This isn't something new. These double seats at the exit that are missing the window seat do not have a ton of room...but it is still an exit and having a double seat is much better than having a triple seat.

How can you blame Delta for a seat that has the same legroom as the rest of the plane? I know you are 6'5", but you have to realize that airlines don't design their aircraft to someone your height. 6'5" would be near the 99% of male height. I am sure Delta and other airlines plan to no more than 6'2" or 6'3" when designing aircraft.

There are solutions for people your height: The exit row in front of the one you were in. The window seat in the row behind you. Economy Comfort. First Class.

Renes Points

Also keep in mind no recline on these 2 as well.

rylan

Based on that pic it appears that neither of those exit rows have extra legroom, except for the window there there is no seat in front of you. I guess only the first exit row has extra legroom, but does not recline.

DiverDave

Ah, that is interesting stuff - thank you for posting it!

David

WisMan

The Fail wasn't the room in the exit row... the fail is in the seat room for every standard seat. There are a lot of people my height - let's not kid ourselves.

And if the airline plans their planes to only fit people up to 6'2" in height....and given the airline experience is basically like bus service, etc.... it seems a little discriminatory if planes are not designed to handle people that tall... yes, it is a small part of the population, but so are disabled people - and we have laws to protect their access and comfort. To say "you are tall, you can buy FC" is the same as telling someone who is disabled "we will charge you more, as you take more resources to help you down the jetway with your wheelchair". That doesn't seem right.

I'm just saying that a 30" pitch is pretty ridiculous. It is easy to solve - take out 2 rows and increase prices appropriately. It doesn't make sense that airfares are basically flat over 20 years. If the entire industry did this, then we'd all be in the same spot.

OR, maybe it is time for federal regulation on seat sizes and pitch. Why not - the Fed Gov regulates just about everything else in our lives today - including forcing everyone to buy healthcare. Maybe a Federal Mandate of 32" of seat pitch for every seat on the plane? Now that would be cool.

Beckles

After I had posted my previous comment, I thought maybe you were kidding ... but apparently you're not ...

6'5" puts you in approximately the 97th percentile for adult males. For females it's approximately the 100th percentile. That means only 3 out of 100 adult males and 0 out of 100 adult females are your height or taller, and that's adults, approximately 0 out of 100 children are your height or taller. In the end that means approximately 1% of the population is your height or taller.

If airlines were to start catering seat layouts to passenger's physique's, it is not seat pitch that most needs to be increased ... on a 737 five-across seating would do much more to increase comfort than increasing pitch.

Smaug

Wow...that is an exit row? I can't imagine how that configuration passed the required emergency evacuation requirements. Wouldn't the lack of leg room on that row be a hindrance to people trying to quickly exit the plane?

FitTraveler

I think, and may be wrong, that is why seats A and F are missing. I.e., in exchange for a "walkway" at the specific row for people to exit, by removing the seat in front of the exit just as many people are able to exit in the required timeframe using the exit row and the row behind it.

rylan

Yes, they were able to keep the additional rows of seats squished in. Removal of 2 seats and keeping the sardine pitch vs removing the whole row of 6 and more pitch for the 2nd row.

WisMan

Perception is reality my mom always says... and like I said, most of the folks I hang with (softball and hoops players) are around my size, give or take an inch.... I didn't know the stats.....

Southwest started this "race to the bottom" among airlines - they all compete to have the crappiest experience in terms of comfort. Which is why I do believe the Fed Government needs to step in and place minimum standards on seating.

Don't kid yourself - seat pitch is 30" now on these planes - how much longer will it be before they realize they can add another 5 rows if they make the seat pitch 25", and it will be rationalized that "only" 45% of the population is uncomfortable so it must be ok?

Is it wrong to tell the airlines (and it is not just Delta, although 30" is one of the shortest seat pitches in the industry) that we don't like it?

Every1 Get A Life

Post #23 in this very thread from the Delta representative says only 10% of the Economy cabin seats have 30" pitch.

Also, the new A319/320 layouts at UA are all 30" pitch in Economy. Same with the new AA A319 and E175 configurations. It is quickly becoming the new standard seat pitch in the US, yet DL only went with 10% of seats at 30" and the rest at 31" or better.

roknroll

Thanks for clarifying the facts and pointing that out. A lot of good info gets lost in long threads like this.

rylan

Yes, it not just DL that is cramming in more seats... its all of the airlines squishing pax into ever increasingly uncomfortable spaces.