Anyone who has been subjected to "cattle class" on an airline - especially in the USA - will empathise with the sentiments of this correspondent on Salon in "The injustice of economy class".
"So here I am in Row 46, mulling the injustices of economy class. Allow me to ask a few pointed questions of those who design aircraft seats.
First, would it really be too much trouble to engineer a tray table that is not eager to destroy your laptop computer when the person in front of you reclines? Millions of travelers know what I'm talking about: a pinch point forms as the seat back moves aft, wedging your computer screen between the horizontal tray and the cushion above. If the person reclines fast enough -- "assault recliners" is my name for folks who come hauling back all at once, without consideration for the poor soul behind them -- you've got nary a split-second to rescue your machine from this deadly nutcracker.
It's even more dangerous if your plane has seat-back entertainment screens. The lower edge of the video console juts out an extra half-inch or so from the vertical, reaching even further into your space. On the road I carry an 11-inch MacBook Air, a pretty small computer. Yet to keep the screen clear I need to tip it forward to the point where it becomes hard to see.
Considering the number of people who travel with laptops, and what a great time-killer onboard computing is, you'd think somebody would have addressed this. I know that a seat-back video screen cannot be made paper thin, but its shape or placement could easily be better. An adjustment to the shape and placement of the tray would also help.
As would an inch or two of extra legroom. This is wishful thinking, I know, at least on U.S. carriers, but many foreign airlines offer a touch more space at the knees and thus also are more laptop-friendly."
"So here I am in Row 46, mulling the injustices of economy class. Allow me to ask a few pointed questions of those who design aircraft seats.
First, would it really be too much trouble to engineer a tray table that is not eager to destroy your laptop computer when the person in front of you reclines? Millions of travelers know what I'm talking about: a pinch point forms as the seat back moves aft, wedging your computer screen between the horizontal tray and the cushion above. If the person reclines fast enough -- "assault recliners" is my name for folks who come hauling back all at once, without consideration for the poor soul behind them -- you've got nary a split-second to rescue your machine from this deadly nutcracker.
It's even more dangerous if your plane has seat-back entertainment screens. The lower edge of the video console juts out an extra half-inch or so from the vertical, reaching even further into your space. On the road I carry an 11-inch MacBook Air, a pretty small computer. Yet to keep the screen clear I need to tip it forward to the point where it becomes hard to see.
Considering the number of people who travel with laptops, and what a great time-killer onboard computing is, you'd think somebody would have addressed this. I know that a seat-back video screen cannot be made paper thin, but its shape or placement could easily be better. An adjustment to the shape and placement of the tray would also help.
As would an inch or two of extra legroom. This is wishful thinking, I know, at least on U.S. carriers, but many foreign airlines offer a touch more space at the knees and thus also are more laptop-friendly."
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