Years ago, when American air travel was not inconvenienced by D.B. Cooper, side trips to Havana, and Middle East terrorists; when airline passengers dressed well; when the government’s oversight kept the industry relatively stable and when airlines pampered their customers with meals, drinks, pillows, blankets, cigarettes and kindness; traveling was comfortable to the point of boredom. It was in the late 1960s that I had proposed something called PORTHOLE HORROR. Each window seat passenger had the option of pressing a button to begin a steady stream of air combat action which would fill the inside of the plane’s window. Obviously, those days are past and Airbus floated an idea for which the only other standee passengers kept parachutes on their backs and carbines in their hands. I had assumed that the thousands of lives and millions of frightened passengers would have kept the airline industry from attempting to squeeze more money from its flying public. Not so. Good taste and business? The bus left the station.
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—-One Day, That Economy Ticket May Buy You a Place to Stand
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
The airlines have come up with a new answer to an old question: How many passengers can be squeezed into economy class?
A lot more, it turns out, especially if an idea still in the early stage should catch on: standing-room-only “seats.”
Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none have agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal.
Please find the entire story here.
Here are some old and new PORTHOLE HORRORS…
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Images
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