They actually listened to us & the customers--seat plan for 737MAX

[jimntx]

From Jetnet:

New seat pitch plan for our Boeing 737 MAX

Last month we shared plans that our Boeing 737 MAX would arrive with three rows at 29-inch pitch. Since then, we have received a lot of feedback from both customers and team members, and after taking a fresh look at the interior of that plane, American has decided to space all Main Cabin rows with at least 30 inches of pitch. The MAX will still be configured with 172 seats. We found the space to eliminate the 29-inch rows by switching one Main Cabin Extra row to Main Cabin. We’ll take delivery of our first four MAX aircraft in 2017, beginning this fall.

 

[1AA]

Nothing mentioned about the IFE on the new MAX 737. AA first announced the delivery of the MAX 737 without IFE.
I see some old USAIR ideas still being pushed for future aircraft deliveries.

 

[dfw gen]

and we care why?

 

[jimntx]

To be clear, the planes will have an IFE system. However, the passenger will have to bring aboard their own viewing device because there will be no seat back or overhead screens (last I heard). The company has decided (with input from who knows where) that every passenger gets on the a/c with a PED capable of streaming and displaying video content. If that is so, why do I see young people (pre-teens and younger) watching their seatback screens or playing games on them throughout the entire flight. The passengers really like the seatback screens. There's less window glare on them compared to the overhead drop down screens, and there is a lot of content to display which each passenger can select for himself/herself as opposed to having a movie or a set of outtakes from NBC television that everyone watches at the same time.

I'm hoping that we will have another announcement of the company rethinking this IFE issue.

 

[dfw gen]

why? its just something i will defer...

 

[jimntx]

I'm not an expert here, but it seems to me that having the plane delivered with seatback screens would be substantially less expensive that having them retrofitted down the road. The powers that be have evidently listened (for once) to customers and employees regarding seat pitch and saved having a firestorm of complaints which result in the planes being taken out of service while seat pitch is adjusted. Doing it right the first time just seems to be less expensive.

If you're trying to say you don't care one way or the other, why not just say so? Ok, it doesn't matter to you. It does matter to customers and those of us who work directly with those customers.

 

[swamt]

I'm not an expert here, but it seems to me that having the plane delivered with seatback screens would be substantially less expensive that having them retrofitted down the road. The powers that be have evidently listened (for once) to customers and employees regarding seat pitch and saved having a firestorm of complaints which result in the planes being taken out of service while seat pitch is adjusted. Doing it right the first time just seems to be less expensive.

If you're trying to say you don't care one way or the other, why not just say so? Ok, it doesn't matter to you. It does matter to customers and those of us who work directly with those customers.

Jim, if I may on the seat video screens. SWA has chosen to not get any on board screens and let the passengers bring their own tablets and gadgets. Yes as you state much less cost at time of purchase as well as much, much less cost on maintaining them. I remember reading back when JB was tossing keeping them or tossing them. Along with major input from the mechanics and maintenance, some customer service agents spoke up about how often (numerous times daily) customers would call in or write in that their screens or monitors never worked and they had to give rebates and discounts to the tune of no longer a profitable flight on a per passenger basis. Not too mention the constant repairs and or replacements required by maintenance, also, the delays they have taken to get them up and running prior to passengers loading, just a huge hassle. The one thing I believe SWA should have done like Virgin America did, was to install power receptacles so the customers could charge them as well as their phones. But most all customers know this about SWA and you always see them charging in the lobbies waiting to get on their flight, at least SWA does supply numerous charging stations at the gates for the customers.
Glad to see AA listened to the employees as well as the customers about the seat pitch. I know 1 inch doesn't sound like much but depending on aircraft model it could mean getting 1 or 2 more rows of seats in and making that much more in revenue for that flight if it were to be sold out, which most are now days especially here in Dallas.

 

[jack f]

Last month I brought up an article about the reduced seat pitch on this new aircraft for which I took an abundance of heat. I am shocked but very please that AA has agreed that too be considered a top flight (no pun intended) carrier they can't race to the bottom with carriers such as Frontier and Spirit.

 

[jimntx]

Swamt, WN may have done the smart thing to expect passengers to bring their own viewing device with them from the beginning. You are correct that the seatback screens require a lot of maintenance, and frequently do not work even though the IFE system itself is working. However, passengers still expect them (or overhead drop down screens) since we provide them on all of the 737s and A321s in the fleet.

The thing that mystifies me is that Audio-Visual systems are not new. They've been around for quite some time now. Yet, they are a pain to keep in working order. Why is it that AV systems on the ground work fine and ones in the air are a constant repair hassle--particularly the Thales systems on the Airbus and some 737s? My last trip was A321s for all legs. There was not a single leg where I did not get repeated calls from f/as in Main Cabin asking me to reset a seat (or in some cases, whole blocks of seats) because the video screens would suddenly go blank and inoperative.

 

[1AA]

AA wants to compete with Delta then why is AA taking deliveries of the new 737 MAX without IFE and Delta is praising itself on its state of the art IFE on its Aircraft?

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/n...hes-latest-in-flight-entertainment-milestone/

 

[commavia]

AA wants to compete with Delta then why is AA taking deliveries of the new 737 MAX without IFE and Delta is praising itself on its state of the art IFE on its Aircraft?

Because, as has (apparently) been the conclusion of every single major U.S. airline except Delta and Jetblue, IFE in the form of seatback AVOD PTVs doesn't appear to be a particularly durable competitive advantage. With the pace of advancement in inflight wifi technology, and given the fact that today the vast majority of domestic air travelers carrying wifi-enabled devices, streaming solutions are far, far less expensive to install, maintain and carry around (fuel). I'm not surprised that this is the direction in which AA (and Alaska, Southwest, United, etc.) is heading, and I frankly think it's a smart move.

 

[Glenn Quagmire]

Just thought I'd leave this here. On a flight from DCA-DFW today. US Airways lives:

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

Speaking of seat capacity on the 737 MAX, Ryanair is going to jam 197 seats on its planes:

The planes have been redesigned to facilitate an extra eight seats - with space maximised by removing the rear galley and moving the two rear toilets into its space.
That means 197 seats per plane (up from 189) - though Ryanair says passengers will enjoy more legroom, thanks to the new seats' pitch of 31 inches.
http://www.independent.ie/life/trav...nd-celebrates-with-a-flash-sale-35994231.html

 

[jimntx]

If Ryanair is not serving meals on those a/c why haul around that extra weight that a galley entails? AA added 4 additional seats to each S80 by eliminating one of the two galleys in coach. And, they removed a LOT of weight by removing the ovens on almost all coach galleys. And, let's not forget that this thread started with the announcement that the company had decided to re-consider a 29 inch seat pitch on last 3 rows of coach on the 737MAX. (I guess they thought that MAX stood for maximum discomfort.)

And, you yourself posted the news that they had transported 12.6m more passengers yoy with a load factor of 97%! Evidently, as we have noted before, price trumps comfort in most cases.
http://www.airlineforums.com/thread...ffic-12-6m-passengers-97-lf-125-1m-yoy.60797/

The problem for us in the "real" airlines (LOL) is that now passengers will once again expect the amenities and space they have always gotten on our airplanes, but now they will want them at a Ryanair fare. Same song, second verse a la blankets and hot meals in coach. Now, we will be listening to complaints that "Ryanair offers 31 inch seat pitch."