Cathay latest to go 10-across in Economy

[davidge]

If you fly Cathay Pacific's 777 fleet in economy prepare to feel the squeeze as the carrier trims costs.

 

From South China Morning Post

 

 

Cathay Pacific Airways plans to cram 10 per cent more passengers into economy class, adding one more seat to the existing nine per row, as Hong Kong’s flagship carrier tries to reverse its loss-making operation.

 

The airline, which lost HK$575 million last year, will embark on a three-year overhaul of economy class, adding extra seats on Boeing 777-300 planes from the middle of next year.

 

Leg room will remain at 32 inches, but passengers with bigger frames will want to note that the width of each seat will shrink by 1.3 inches to 17.2 inches.

 

http://www.scmp.com/...ze-push-profits

 

 

 

[legalbeagle]

Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[Richie]

They announced it last year. A big reason (rather than profits) is that there is a limited amount of capacity at HKIA until the new Runway is built. So they can't put extra planes on to get the extra capacity that Emirates have for example with their 3-4-3 planes.

[Ohyesuare]

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

[vimto66]

20 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

Put up with it!Nothing much else you can do,exept argue the toss and get nowhere!

[Richie]

1 hour ago, Ohyesuare said:

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

Sleep in the toilet. It's more spacious.

[hioctane]

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

Move your seat. However, most big/fat guys I know already pay extra for premium economy or business class because they can't be cramped in the existing seats as is over a long haul.

IMO, airlines should sell seats by weight and the bigger guys should get bigger seats accordingly.

[user305]

2 hours ago, davidge said:

Leg room will remain at 32 inches, but passengers with bigger frames will want to note that the width of each seat will shrink by 1.3 inches to 17.2 inches.

2 hours ago, tinkytaylor said:

They announced it last year. A big reason (rather than profits) is that there is a limited amount of capacity at HKIA until the new runway is built. So they can't put extra planes on to get the extra capacity that Emirates have for example with their 3-4-3 planes.

Not sure how they can claim 32" pitch.  Maybe it's a bad seat design but either way economy pitch is absolute shit on CX/KA.  If runway capacity was the issue then I suppose they'll be reversing this decision when the new runaway opens up.  Yeah, right.

[Kandinski]

2 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

Kindly ask the passenger of size to remove his flesh from the space you purchased and, if unwilling: use intelligent manipulation or brute force.

[Richie]

48 minutes ago, user305 said:

If runway capacity was the issue then I suppose they'll be reversing this decision when the new runaway opens up.  Yeah, right.

I thinks you are right - it's the reason for now but once Runway 3 is up then they'll have the "everyone else does it" excuse.

[user305]

3 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

So what are you supposed to do when a fat person is spilling over into your seat.

I'm still trying to figure out what you're supposed to do when someone with a two inch recline fetish is spilling their seatback into my kneecaps.  

[davidge]

Not much point people complaining about less space and declining service in Economy and at the same time looking for the lowest possible fare.

Economy will continue to decline.

 

Personally, I just fly Biz. :-)

 

[hioctane]

1 hour ago, user305 said:

I'm still trying to figure out what you're supposed to do when someone with a two inch recline fetish is spilling their seatback into my kneecaps.  

You won't have to worry about that with some of Cathay's new seat designs. On a recent Cathay flight from BKK to HKG, the back doesn't move. When you try to recline, your seat slides forward so you are practically slouching down in your seat.. Horrible design.. Could not get comfortable!

[davidge]

Just now, hioctane said:

You won't have to worry about that with some of Cathay's new seat designs. On a recent Cathay flight from BKK to HKG, the back doesn't move. When you try to recline, your seat slides forward so you are practically slouching down in your seat.. Horrible design.. Could not get comfortable!

I thought they'd abandoned those seats. Maybe still refitting aircraft?

Very short-lived idea I think.

[hioctane]

2 minutes ago, davidge said:

I thought they'd abandoned those seats. Maybe still refitting aircraft?

Very short-lived idea I think.

As a matter of fact, a new article out today says that they are using these "fixed shell" seats in the 10 across planes.

https://www.ausbt.com.au/cathay-pacific-narrow-new-boeing-777-300-economy-seat-due-2018

Horrible.. Horrible.. I will never fly Cathay again!

[davidge]

4 minutes ago, hioctane said:

As a matter of fact, a new article out today says that they are using these "fixed shell" seats in the 10 across planes.

https://www.ausbt.com.au/cathay-pacific-narrow-new-boeing-777-300-economy-seat-due-2018

Horrible.. Horrible.. I will never fly Cathay again!

Sorry, the article doesn't say that.

It mentions the 'shell seat' as one of Cathay's past designs which they've now changed.

It then says they now have yet another 'ergonomically' designed seat which they are introducing.

 

[hioctane]

1 minute ago, davidge said:

Sorry, the article doesn't say that.

It mentions the 'shell seat' as one of Cathay's past designs which they've now changed.

It then says they now have yet another 'ergonomically' designed seat which they are introducing.

 

Sorry.. Misread... That was some horrible design though!

[Kandinski]

Sweet J, happy to travel in J; C or F

[dukes1963]

I fly CX every year from JFK to BKK. I am 6'3 235 lbs so Economy would be tough for me. I have flown Premium Economy the past 3 years, for me it is a good product. I like the fact that you have your own little cabin and toilet. For Americans I would say service is comparable to domestic Business Class

 

[Luv2Phuket]

Couple of quick points - 

 - the 17.2" seat width is what you find on a typical domestic flight in economy in the USA.  

 - "seat pitch" is not the same as "leg room" -- seat pitch measures the distance between a spot on your seat and the same spot on the seat in front of you (example - the very front of the seat cushion of your seat to the very front of the seat cushion of the seat in front of you).  Although seat pitch is a good way to measure legroom, thing like the width of the seat can have an impact upon it.  As with the seat width, 32" is pretty standard on typical domestic flights in economy in the USA.

 - the list of airlines that use -- or are planning to use -- 10 across seating on 777s includes United, British Air, EVA, Emirates, Air France and Qatar, among others.

Not that I would want to spend 12+ hours crammed into a Southwest seat!  555

[gmingot]

Its a race to the bottom as far as economy is concerned. More and more airlines are heading to the 10 across configuration either with their new aircraft or retrofitting their existing aircraft. The consumer is partially responsible for this, especially those who do not fly frequently and largely make their purchase based simply on price. An easy way for airlines to keep prices low and show at the top of list of sites like Kayak etc is to squeeze more passengers on to the plane 

[semi-retired member]

Shortly after Jet Airways moved from 3-3-3 to 3-4-3, I achieved enough airmiles to get what's laughingly referred to as a 'free trip', only a couple-of-hundred quid in taxes/fees.

 

I then switched to another carrier.

 

Vote with your feet, chaps !