On short haul flights of one or two hours it is possibly acceptable and bearable to increase seating to a level where passenger require lubrication to slip into their seats. (Actually it’s not but for the purposes of this article I’ll give the short haul airlines a little slack.)
Long haul flights are a different matter. To get to distant lands on holiday or business we have no other choice as distance and time are against travelling by bus, train or ship.
I flew British Airways to Brazil recently, my tenth visit and the first time with BA. Now I haven’t had time to research this but I am sure the space between seats was less than other airlines I had flown with. Having visited Brazil three times this year it’s not like my memory has faded too much but when I get the chance I will check the facts.
On the Jumbo Jet I was on there were ten seats to a row with two aisles. The configuration was 3-4-3. I was on the right side of the cabin sitting on the middle seat of three. When eating I had to tuck my elbows under my armpits to avoid poking my immediate neighbours in the ribs.
The young Spanish woman sitting aisle side of me commented that we were like “fishes going to market”. Obviously the Spanish equivalent to phrase “packed in like sardines” or “like cattle to market” except that cattle have more rights in law and more space as a result. I don’t think there are any similar laws for sardines.
The way economy passengers are shoe-horned into aircraft should be illegal. It is uncomfortable and it is dangerous.
Legal note: The way cattle (and sheep) can be legally transported is certainly law in England and Wales and probably Scotland and Northern Ireland. The rest of Europe may have similar laws but I need to check this and will add this article later.
Update: 18 September, 2009. That last sentence is a lie. I really meant to check out the European laws for transporting farm animals in Europe but I forgot. I have some notes on my computer about animal welfare and I have seen some hideous videos of the way animals are treated in abattoirs so I will write an article on this blog later. I’ll look into how other counties treat animals when I write it.
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