I hate to be a Negative Nelly, but this information is covered umpteen million times throughout Flyertalk. Why not just read through some threads? You don't even have to dig past the first one or two pages of topics!

Thanks for your replies!
I have also been digging through previous posts to gain even more perspective.
It seems that passengers may care more about the aircraft if it is a long haul vs. a short haul flight.
Otherwise, expectations for aircraft interiors delivering on experience are not high.

what's the experience when sitting 12 hrs in a tiny seat vs sitting 2hrs. duhhaa. sure sounds like a dumb study to me. you getting paid for this? really? i would think that after 20 hrs of ft research you could ask a decent question.

Quote: what's the experience when sitting 12 hrs in a tiny seat vs sitting 2hrs. duhhaa. sure sounds like a dumb study to me. you getting paid for this? really? i would think that after 20 hrs of ft research you could ask a decent question.
__________________
regards
jer

Wow. I'ts unfortunate to see this response. I am trying to get a feel for this forum, and some have replied thoughtfully.
This was an intial question to start having a dialogue around aircraft interiors.
This is only a means to understand areas we will dig deeper into using appropriate research methodology.
Thanks

Okay, if you want a serious answer, here is mine.

We do have high expectations for aircraft interiors, but they've been thoroughly beaten out of us with proclamations that it would Cost Too Much. (It would undoubtedly raise ticket prices, but my hunch is that the market studies just haven't been done correctly. But that's a tangent.) So, expectations....

I expect enough width in coach so that I'm not rubbing shoulders with complete strangers. I expect enough front-to-back space that my legs don't cramp, so that I can eat a meal in comfort while the guy in front of me is reclined, so that when he reclines he doesn't smash my laptop. Those are my minimums.

I also have a nice-to-have list: foot rests because after about 3 or 4 hours my legs kill when they're just resting on the floor. Seats that recline more than 2 degrees. Actual meals served in flights longer than 2 hours.

1. For the plane itself, if it's a twin aisle I always prefer Airbus because they are MUCH quieter. If it's single aisle I don't care if it's Airbus or Boeing; the features are more important (see point #2)
2. You can't really just compare planes because different airlines have different configurations, different seats and a different level of comfort. (I am only talking about hard product here.) For short-haul flights I really like the Y seats in the KL 737 fleet, and I HATE the AF seats in their A320 family. OTOH I really enjoyed a OS A321 flight. So it very much depends. Some seats are more comfortable than others. Some have power ports. Some have IFE. And so on. It depends on what is provided there. For short flights I don't care that much about the noise.
3. littlesheep makes an excellent point. MH clean the bathrooms periodically during the flight. They are always clean and they don't smell bad. That adds to the experience. European carriers clean the lavs during long flights as well, not as meticulously but they do a good job. US carriers are all AWFUL about this aspect, with the nastiest planes by far.
4. The soft product can also make a difference in the flight experience.
5. How gently you get screwed out of your money is a factor. Add luggage fees, check-in early fees, priority boarding fees, and more fees - you get upset pax no matter how comfortable they fly. It does affect the comfort level. (Another example: when you have Y, Y+, Y++ and other things being in Y makes you feel like a 5th class citizen. Then again, when they ask for cash for a slightly cleaner arm rest, 1 inch of leg room or whatnot, than bean counter allergy starts to act up.)