When will flights to the Philippines resume for the likes of you and me?

[GeoffH]

1 minute ago, AusExpat said:

Here's another idea stop packing the planes like sardines and go back to teh older seat configs where everyone had a little room?

The average seat pitch, a rough measure of legroom, has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has shriveled from 18 inches to about 16 ½ inches.  For comparison most premium economy seats are about 38 inches (which is much more comfortable but generally about twice the cost).

[AusExpat]

14 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

The average seat pitch, a rough measure of legroom, has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has shriveled from 18 inches to about 16 ½ inches.  For comparison most premium economy seats are about 38 inches (which is much more comfortable but generally about twice the cost).

Air Asia have a seat pitch of 28" and 16" wide - I guarantee the seats at the back of the plane are not even this - I don't fly with them anymore. I think most of the Asian flights are lower than the International averages.

Some airlines do the 'no frills' premium economy and it's only about 30% extra. Unfortunately none of the flights I take regularly have these premium economy :(

When I first flew LA to Manila with PAL they had old planes with big bench seats, big armrests and ashtrays (with no smoking stickers), no inflight entertainment but really good service, were super comfortable and the flights were cheap, then they leased a new fleet and packed everyone into tiny seats (comfortable if a you're 5' 100lb Asian)  and the prices went through the roof.

The other issue is if you book the exit row seats for more leg room, the window seat doesn't have more leg room (even though you paid for it) and the seats are even narrower, and depending upon the plane sometimes they do not recline either.

*end rant*

 

I agree that the initial flights are going to have to be cheap to entice people onto planes again. A lot of people will still be in shock, many will be too busy, like it or not it'll be the sex tourists booking the first flights to Asia.

 

[GeoffH]

3 minutes ago, AusExpat said:

Some airlines do the 'no frills' premium economy and it's only about 30% extra. Unfortunately none of the flights I take regularly have these premium economy :(

PAL have (had) Premium economy on thier Melbourne to Manila and Sydney to Manila routes but it was much more than 30% extra (the upgrade bid option never seems to work for me with PAL).

Scoot have 'Scoot Biz' on their Melbourne to Singapore route (which is effectively Premium economy) but not on their Singapore to Manila route.  This can often be bought by upgrade for a reasonable extra cost.

Air Asia have their 'flat bed' option and it's got plenty of space but it's always at least twice the cost of an economy seat (often more).

QANTAS have premium economy but it's often about 4 times the cost of a budget carrier economy seat and when you're travelling a few times a year that adds up.

I don't think Jetstar offers premium economy at all but their economy seats have a little more space than Air Asia and had screens available for passengers.

Haven't had experience with other airlines flying into Manila from Melbourne.

 

[Arizona Kid]

21 hours ago, GeoffH said:

With a 3 seat to a row plane (no matter if it is single aisle and 2 rows or double aisle and 3 rows) it would be carrying 2/3rds of the normal number of passengers.

That would suggest that 2/3rds of the people have to carry 3/3rds of the cost which means a 2 to 3 increase or 50% more just to account for lower passenger numbers.

However the plane should use less jet A1 fuel because it's less heavily loaded.

Will you please stop making me use my brain?

[Mike J]

14 hours ago, GeoffH said:

The average seat pitch, a rough measure of legroom, has dropped from 35 inches before airline deregulation in the 1970s to about 31 inches today. The average width of an airline seat has shriveled from 18 inches to about 16 ½ inches.  For comparison most premium economy seats are about 38 inches (which is much more comfortable but generally about twice the cost).

The other problem is that the average size of people who fly is MUCH larger now than in the 70s.  

[Snowy79]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

The other problem is that the average size of people who fly is MUCH larger now than in the 70s.  

That reminds me of a flight I had from Seattle to Maui.  A guy a little larger than the one in the photo boarded the plane and the amount of head turning as he squeezed up the aisle was funny to see.  Someone in their infinite wisdom gave him a middle row seat.  He was literaly sitting on those either side of him.  They obviously got moved but as the plane took off it sounded like an engine had blown.  This guy was fast asleep snoring loud enough to awaken the dead. I think there will be a few more his size by the time this quarantine is over.

[graham59]

Maybe we've all become a little spoilt over the years ?

My first flight to SE Asia (Singapore) was in 1955...from London. 

The journey took 3 days, with 2 overnight stops (in hotels), and included 7 stops for refuelling the  75 -seater aircraft, with its 4 (piston) engines.   

Oh... and 21 days for the return journey by sea, 3 years later.  

Edited April 28, 2020 by graham59

[Tukaram (Tim)]

8 hours ago, Mike J said:

the average size of people

Considering he is the only one in that pic, that size, I would say he would by definition not be average  

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

Considering he is the only one in that pic, that size, I would say he would by definition not be average  

True, but you have to admit he would raise the average.     

Here is how the real average has changed.

CDC records date back to the early 1960s, when the average man was a little over 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed 166 pounds. Now, men are almost 1 inch taller and more than 30 pounds heavier. But today's average height of 5 feet, 9 inches is about a tenth of an inch shorter than about a decade ago.

The average woman in the early 1960s was 5 feet, 3 inches and 140 pounds. Now, women are a half-inch taller and about 30 pounds heavier, on average. The average height is about the same as it was a decade earlier: 5 feet, 4 inches.

Looks like we are growing quite a bit in width but not so much in height. 

 

Source doc: https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-hlth-adults-height-weight-20181220-story.html

[AusExpat]

On 4/27/2020 at 5:08 PM, GeoffH said:

PAL have (had) Premium economy on thier Melbourne to Manila and Sydney to Manila routes but it was much more than 30% extra (the upgrade bid option never seems to work for me with PAL).

Scoot have 'Scoot Biz' on their Melbourne to Singapore route (which is effectively Premium economy) but not on their Singapore to Manila route.  This can often be bought by upgrade for a reasonable extra cost.

Air Asia have their 'flat bed' option and it's got plenty of space but it's always at least twice the cost of an economy seat (often more).

QANTAS have premium economy but it's often about 4 times the cost of a budget carrier economy seat and when you're travelling a few times a year that adds up.

I don't think Jetstar offers premium economy at all but their economy seats have a little more space than Air Asia and had screens available for passengers.

Haven't had experience with other airlines flying into Manila from Melbourne.

Problem is that would entail going to Australia :(