Were The Early 80's Really That Much Better On UA Than Now?
#136
Original Poster
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I thought 10 across was a charter config. I had no idea that PanAm was stuffing people into their L1011's when airlines like Delta only had 9 across. I mean even on the DC10's of the US carriers only had 9 across. I guess so much for the "Good ole days when PanAm was around" cliche.
#137
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I thought 10 across was a charter config. I had no idea that PanAm was stuffing people into their L1011's when airlines like Delta only had 9 across. I mean even on the DC10's of the US carriers only had 9 across. I guess so much for the "Good ole days when PanAm was around" cliche.
#138
Join Date: Sep 2009
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No question. F on the best airlines now is way, way better than F on the best airlines in the 80s. Better seats, better food and drink, comparable service, fewer connections, easier to book, better lounges, better IFE, etc. etc.
As for United, that's a harder question. Seats and IFE are better now but everything else is worse.
As for United, that's a harder question. Seats and IFE are better now but everything else is worse.
#139
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Nobody’s saying that. The A380 and 747 both run 10-abreast even today. However, they were both designed to do so. The L1011, like the B777, was not.
747 cabin width: 20 feet, 1 inch
A380 cabin width: 21 feet, 6 inches
777 cabin width: 19 feet, 3 inches
L1011 cabin width: 18 feet, 11 inches
That sounds... dreadful.
747 cabin width: 20 feet, 1 inch
A380 cabin width: 21 feet, 6 inches
777 cabin width: 19 feet, 3 inches
L1011 cabin width: 18 feet, 11 inches
That sounds... dreadful.
#140
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#141
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: NYC: UA 1K, DL Platinum, AAirpass, Avis PC
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Nobody’s saying that. The A380 and 747 both run 10-abreast even today. However, they were both designed to do so. The L1011, like the B777, was not.
747 cabin width: 20 feet, 1 inch
A380 cabin width: 21 feet, 6 inches
777 cabin width: 19 feet, 3 inches
L1011 cabin width: 18 feet, 11 inches
That sounds... dreadful.
747 cabin width: 20 feet, 1 inch
A380 cabin width: 21 feet, 6 inches
777 cabin width: 19 feet, 3 inches
L1011 cabin width: 18 feet, 11 inches
That sounds... dreadful.
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/24/t...-reshaped.html
"When the Lockheed L-1011 first went into service in the early 1970's, most airlines started using it with eight economy-class passengers in each row. But as time passed, James W. Ragsdale, chief spokesman for Lockheed California, the Lockheed division that builds the L-1011, says, ''airlines decided they needed higher-density seating, so what you see today typically on L-1011's - or DC 10's, which are similar - is nine abreast in the economy cabin. And some airlines use 10 abreast; there is room for that, though the seats are a little narrower.''"
And the slim lines were a thing back then
"
A McDonnell Douglas executive notes that ''with the newer, less bulky seats, you might get as much legroom with 32-inch pitch as you would with 34-inch pitch.''
"
I don't know where it is but came across an article post Delta's purchase of the PanAm routes that it reconfigured one type of widebody because PanAm had an overly dense layout.
#144
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Hawai'i Nei
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No question. F on the best airlines now is way, way better than F on the best airlines in the 80s. Better seats, better food and drink, comparable service, fewer connections, easier to book, better lounges, better IFE, etc. etc.
As for United, that's a harder question. Seats and IFE are better now but everything else is worse.
As for United, that's a harder question. Seats and IFE are better now but everything else is worse.
#145
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: United Global Services, Amtrak Select Executive
Posts: 4,098
Am I recalling correctly that in late 80s early 90s there was something called "torquing", where you could just show up at any airline counter in the airport with a ticket on a different airline and if space was available standby on the same route same day they'd take the ticket and put you on their plane?
#146
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: NYC: UA 1K, DL Platinum, AAirpass, Avis PC
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At least loads weren't as consistently high then
Am I recalling correctly that in late 80s early 90s there was something called "torquing", where you could just show up at any airline counter in the airport with a ticket on a different airline and if space was available standby on the same route same day they'd take the ticket and put you on their plane?
Even until Delta bought Northwest in the late 2000s you could go to NW counters with another airline ticket and ask to sign it over - part of their internally documented 'BUMP' (bring us more passengers) program
#147
Join Date: Nov 2014
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Am I recalling correctly that in late 80s early 90s there was something called "torquing", where you could just show up at any airline counter in the airport with a ticket on a different airline and if space was available standby on the same route same day they'd take the ticket and put you on their plane?
#148
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Am I recalling correctly that in late 80s early 90s there was something called "torquing", where you could just show up at any airline counter in the airport with a ticket on a different airline and if space was available standby on the same route same day they'd take the ticket and put you on their plane?
#149
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Posts: 4,130
I saw that, too, and did a double-take. If you look, that section of the cabin doesn’t have a center section... probably a galley or bank of lavs so it’s hard to say if it represents the the rest of Y.