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An expanded Web version of segments seen on CNN Airplanes may get a class upgrade
November 7, 1997
Web posted at: 12:45 p.m. EST (1745 GMT)From Correspondent Dick Wilson
SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- If you have flown with your knees tucked under your chin in a coach-class airline seat, you might be disappointed -- though not surprised -- to learn that airlines are using technology to squeeze more revenue out of that cramped seat you sometimes occupy.
However, innovative designers are also finding ways to treat their frequent fliers a little bit better. Boeing's Klaus Brauer showed off new technology in both categories.
On the revenue-pumping end was a futuristic-looking row of seats that can be rolled back (for more legroom) and pulled out (for a wider seat), converting instantly from economy to business class.
Interior decorating tricks
Designers also use age-old interior decorating techniques to make passengers feel like they have more space, even when they don't. Some passengers said they dislike the crowded economy seating on Boeing's 767, calling it the "cattle section."
In response, Brauer said, Boeing's new 777 will "wash light down the aisle," to draw the passenger's eye upward.
The plane's designers are also relying on making the cabin seem bigger by "keeping the side wall as vertical as we can," Brauer said. (
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For most airline passengers, reality is a seat in the economy section, where Brauer admits only cosmetic changes are forecast. But he offers the casual traveler advice on winning more personal space.
Watch Dick Wilson's entire report
2 min. 30 sec. VXtreme streaming video
"If you're in an airplane like this, with a two-seat unit on the outside, what you would prefer to choose is the aisle seat in the center section," he said. The reason: those two seats next to the window fill up quickly as passengers request window and aisle seats.
But since the inner seats will be among the last to be filled, chances are you will have an empty seat next to you if you choose the center aisle.
Business travelers will get more room
Brauer did forecast an elbow room increase for big-bucks business travelers. "We're now seeing up to 2 feet more to enable passengers to recline fully and sleep in first class," he said.
"We're seeing carriers with this room in business class on intercontinental flights. So business class has really upgraded in the last few years. And that's a trend we see continuing," he said. (
Future designs are not expected to include the old Pullman-style bunk beds. But at least one international airline has found a device that comes close: British Airways has installed first-class seats that flatten into full-length beds.
Think of that the next time you squeeze into a center seat in the back.
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