Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing differentiation between the “haves” and “have nots” in many respects of society. Income levels among the rich have risen with inflation, while real wages for the working class in the US have fallen, which even the manipulated inflation indices governments use haven’t been able to mask.
That trend hasn’t escaped airlines. The rich, who fly business or first class, are now treated to sleeper seats with more than 60 inches of pitch and can sleep quite well on their fully reclining beds. Meanwhile, the poor, in economy, are suffering through a reduction in seat pitch and the addition of an additional seat in each row on many aircraft, making long flights in economy a much more difficult experience than it used to be. In fact, economy has gotten to be so poor that a new class, premium economy has been created to charge more for what one was economy seating.
At the same time, the American tush is growing. While the flying public may not quite be at Wal-Mart levels of obesity, the average size of US passengers is growing at the same time that the size of seats and seat pitch is shrinking. Something’s gotta give. Is it any wonder that we’re seeing an increase in passenger rage incidents on aircraft?
