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I don't know if it's just my own perception, but I find the 757 to be a little narrower than the 737, even though they're both 3-3 seating in coach. I actively avoid 757s whenever possible.
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Yes, it does seem like that but the 757 and 737 are exactly the same width.
We just took a Manchester, NH to Portland round trip on a southwest 737. I had a window which lessened the discomfort somewhat. Flying back I had a middle seat. That was some six hours of real discomfort.
I was a fairly big guy and my shoulders overhung the seat back. It seemed to me that 90+% of the passengers were wider than the seating. Everyone was grouchy well before we landed at the end of either leg.
I have to wonder what set of "Human Factors Engineering" the seating designers were using to create this dreadful crowding. I also wonder how they manage to fill the entire airplane with voluntary sufferers. I think this misery was created by listening to the company bean counters and greed driven executives. It is just a miserable result of a race to the bottom. Maybe the next iteration will be to have everyone standing so close together that they will be a secure as a box of Pringles chips.
We just took a Manchester, NH to Portland round trip on a southwest 737. I had a window which lessened the discomfort somewhat. Flying back I had a middle seat. That was some six hours of real discomfort.
The new Bombardier planes have 5 across seating. So there are only 29 middle seats out of 145 and they are all 18" in width (instead of 17").
A total of 145 seats is comparable to the 143 seats that Southwest flies in their 502 Boeing 737-700s which is by far the bulk of the fleet. It's a much more fuel efficient plane that can only carry half as much fuel.
Fuel Tank Capacity -
6,875 US gal Boeing 737-700 (3,010 nmi range)
3,642 US gal Bombardier CS300 (3,300 nmi range
I am more comfortable on the RJs than the 737, especially since this past week I flew DFW-IAD and back, both times in the middle seat. No middle seat in the RJ. The 35 minute flight back to LAW was in a CRJ700, in the emergency exit seat, see pic. Tons o' room. Wish I had that during the 3+ hrs IAD to DFW, I'm 6'2"/190. Worse is the nickel-and-dime of fares today. Unless one flies on Southwest or pays a premium the fare paid isn't really what we pay. Want to board early? $24. Lunch/snack? $10. Beer? $7 (same as Bourbon Street). Check a bag? $25. Assigned seat? $24. "Upgrade" to an aisle? $59. With the exception of the snack and beer, those are the options presented to me at the self check-in kiosk at Dulles. Ludicrous. Yet people pay, without complaint; the express lane on the Beltway offered the option of cruising past the near-parking lot experience of the non-express lanes for the low, low price of $16 one-way for about 10 miles.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
I was a fairly big guy and my shoulders overhung the seat back.
I have to wonder what set of "Human Factors Engineering" the seating designers were using to create this dreadful crowding. I also wonder how they manage to fill the entire airplane with voluntary sufferers. I think this misery was created by listening to the company bean counters and greed driven executives. It is just a miserable result of a race to the bottom. Maybe the next iteration will be to have everyone standing so close together that they will be a secure as a box of Pringles chips.
The 707-27-37-57 cross section was designed sixty years ago, when people were 1.5" shorter and weight 30-40lbs less. The set of anthropometrics used to design those interiors was from WW2 to Korea, when people were not as wide!
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Last time I was on a 737 it was a EWR-SFO-EWR trip and I had the whole row to myself in both directions, would take that aircraft/seating arrangement anytime!
The 707-27-37-57 cross section was designed sixty years ago, when people were 1.5" shorter and weight 30-40lbs less.
The DC-9 with 5 across seating was much preferred by customers over B737 six across crowded seating. Airlines bought 60% more DC-9s (893 planes) than the B737s (546 planes) from their introduction in the 1960's to deregulation in 1978. After deregulation, the airlines were much more concerned about profits and the B737 sales took off.
By the early 1980s the DC-9 production ended with 976 deliveries and the original B737 ended with 1144 deliveries. Then on February 24, 1984 the new B737-300 (later to be dubbed B737 classic series) had it's first flight.
Bombardier is trying to reintroduce the 5 across seating to minimize middle seats to nominal 29 out of 145 seats. They also give airlines the option of a 19" wide middle seat by cutting the other 4 seats from 18" to 17.5". That would give the unlucky person who ends up in the middle seat a little extra width.
The DC-9 with 5 across seating was much preferred by customers over B737 six across crowded seating. Airlines bought 60% more DC-9s (893 planes) than the B737s (546 planes) from their introduction in the 1960's to deregulation in 1978. After deregulation, the airlines were much more concerned about profits and the B737 sales took off.
By the early 1980s the DC-9 production ended with 976 deliveries and the original B737 ended with 1144 deliveries. Then on February 24, 1984 the new B737-300 (later to be dubbed B737 classic series) had it's first flight.
Bombardier is trying to reintroduce the 5 across seating to minimize middle seats to nominal 29 out of 145 seats. They also give airlines the option of a 19" wide middle seat by cutting the other 4 seats from 18" to 17.5". That would give the unlucky person who ends up in the middle seat a little extra width.
That sounds like an excellent plan, if implemented. Most of my air travel is for the government and DTS, the travel system, generally gets that dreaded middle seat, as happened to me twice last week. At least it's all RJ from DFW to LAW, better than the Saab 340s.
That sounds like an excellent plan, if implemented. Most of my air travel is for the government and DTS, the travel system, generally gets that dreaded middle seat, as happened to me twice last week. At least it's all RJ from DFW to LAW, better than the Saab 340s.
We'll have to see. So far only Delta has ordered large numbers of the Bombardier aircraft (75 planes). They have a range of 3100-3300 nmi and they are ETOPS certified so they can easily fly to Honolulu from the Western cities. They are being touted as the next jet to fly from JFK to downtown London City airport, a route favored by wealthy bankers and businessmen.
Bombardier has only delivered 14 jets to Swiss Global Air Lines (125 seats) and the Latvian airline, airBaltic (145 seats). Perhaps other USA airlines will consider following Delta and placing orders after they see some proof about how they operate in a real airline.
New aircraft can come with unexpected problems. Jet Blue was the launch customer for the Embraer E190, and they have had some very public complaint sessions with the Brazilian manufacturer about the jet.
Also many airlines are upgauging to larger aircraft. Southwest has moved up from 143 seats to 175 seats although they have placed on order for thirty 150 seat aircraft.
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