I paid for an upgrade with United Economy Plus guaranteeing “up to five extra inches of legroom.” That’s nearly $70 an inch, if indeed you get a whole five inches. It makes a difference if your legs extend beyond your knees. We got the bulkhead seats, just behind business class, & our magnanimous legroom must have been 24-inches extra, reducing the per inch cost to $14.50. A bargain.But while the leg room is “sufficient for seating,” (in airline jargon), the seats are so narrow, there’s is no where, no way, no how to turn. On bulkhead seats, arm rests do not rise, backs do not recline more than a few inches & there is no way to enjoy those many extra legroom inches. Why are not all seats on long-haul flights like those in business class? Those La-Z-Boy recliners, where the leg supports rise elegantly with the touch of a lever, look mighty good.La-Z-Boys were invented in the 1920’s in Monroe, Michigan by two cousins who designed a chair for “nature’s way of relaxing.” Before incorporating in 1929, the cousins, Edward & Edwin, considered such names as Sit-n-Snooze, Slack Back & Comfort Carrier before settling on La-Z-Boy & becoming one of the most-marketed names in American furnishings. An irresistibly arcane fact from the corporate website: actor Jim Backus & his alias Mr. Magoo made more than 15,000 TV commercials for La-Z-Boy, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
A black mesh curtain is all that separates me from the coveted wide-seated, leg-supported comfort of a recliner; something everyone’s grandma has in her living room. That, & double the miles or dollars. Why the class separation for such a basic human need as a comfortable seat when hurdling through space & time?Since everyone on a plane pays a different amount (that’s a fact) – & many, like me, are trading rewards for dollars spent on other goods & services for my seat – might it not make sense to upgrade every seat to a recliner, figure out the real (OK, subsidized) cost of each seat per flight & charge that? It might cost somewhere between coach & business, & everyone would have a healthier, more enjoyable experience.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/754895
