Economy Plus Coach? Not so much!
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More airlines are changing their coach class cabins to include an “economy plus” section of the cabin, usually the first rows of coach to the exit seats. Customers pay extra to sit in these seats, or use their preferred status to obtain an “economy plus” seat at booking. Some airlines like JetBlue and United offer more leg room in these seats, while other airlines like the now merged Northwest – Delta don’t offer anything extra in these seats (which I don’t understand). I take advantage of these “economy plus” seats when possible, but I take issue with how they board customers in these seats (I am talking about JetBlue to be specific).
Many airlines board coach from the rear of the aircraft, forward. This means that people who purchased the cheap seats (in theory) board first, while those who purchased an “economy plus” seat board last (since those seats are towards the front). This becomes a problem with overhead luggage space. We all know that many people will push to the maximum what they can bring on board to avoid luggage fees or having to wait for their luggage. What ends up happening (this almost did to me on JetBlue) is that when they board “economy plus” the majority of the overhead luggage space has been taken.
I think this is absurd, if you paid a premium to sit in “economy plus” then you should at least be guaranteed overhead luggage space as they do in First Class. This problem, absent of changing the boarding procedure, can be avoided by having the forward coach cabin bins closed until they start boarding “economy plus”. Otherwise you are allowing people who (in theory) paid less for a coach ticket cause those that paid more to have to check their luggage at the gate.
If you have never been in this situation, this may sound petty to you. But for those of us that travel a lot, this can become an issue. We all want to get what we have paid for! What do you think? Should airlines that charge a premium for “economy plus” allow regular coach passengers to hog the overhead bins? I think not! Leave a comment with your thoughts.
PS - ALWAYS consult Seat Guru before selecting your seat, if you are unfamiliar with the plane!
5 Comments
Gary Bing
October 25th, 2009
at 1:23pm
I miss the airline that with the name that ironically reminded one of Communist diatribe. It was beautifully efficient I f you wanted food aboard.there was a nearby vendor to provide your brown bag. The flight attendants were just like conductors taking your fare right from your seats.This airline of the people is ironically out of business, when this is about to be “standard fare” for all.
Casey
October 25th, 2009
at 1:37pm
I agree with you on the storage space but they should load all planes back to front to eliminate people standing in the aisle putting away their carry on. Also the airlines should definitely limit the amount and size of carry on luggage, it is getting out of hand. Some people are bringing on two maximum sized pieces which leaves less room for everyone else.
Ryan
October 26th, 2009
at 11:21am
Agree 100%. I was seated in a bulkhead row on my way back from NYC this week. I was the first person in my row to board, and our luggage bin was completely full thanks to the folks sitting further back in the plane. The flight attendant had to stuff my belongings in the closet and behind a 1st class seat.
Folks need to respect the “One bin per row” rule until the plane is full.
uberVU - social comments
October 26th, 2009
at 12:41pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by chrispirillo: Economy Plus Coach? Not so much! http://bit.ly/1f8ID6 [Overhead bin poachers, beware!]…
chris
October 26th, 2009
at 1:11pm
United has their elites board first, and if you are an elite customer, that means you are most likely to have the Economy Plus seating selection. The legroom and the first boarding are the main reasons for the United advantage. Of course, being an O’Hare flyer, there are a lot more United elites here than say in Omaha, which devalues the perk a bit. But since United just devalued my miles by selling a bulk to Chase and also by instituting automatic upgrades to their top elites (I’m not quite there yet) at least they are consistent in their devaluation of their bread and butter customers