Archives for Workplace

Somewhere between bankruptcy and profitability the airlines lost their way. And somewhere between the tarmac at JFK and the friendly skies, the thought strikes me that the time for sympathy has long since passed.

In response to heavy losses earlier this decade, management sought to balance the books by reducing quality and costs. They cut back on customer service - often in petty ways - and slashed pay for airline workers, and then, despite high fuel prices, they slowly crawled back toward profitability. And investors are happy - air travel is growing by 7 percent each year.

Of course, I’m neither a shareholder nor an employee - I’m just an economy-class customer struggling to work on a six hour cross-country flight. I’m average height; my knees are buckled against the seat in front of me. If the guy in front of me leans back any more my laptop keyboard will be on my chest. And if I don’t work, I won’t get much sleep tonight.

The government regulates safety, but personal comfort and productivity is a free market issue. “We do not mandate comfort. It is up to airline how they want to configure seats,” says Alison Duquette, FAA spokeswoman. “As far as how many seats an airline can cram in there or configure it’s up to them.”

Possibly most coach passengers on this Boeing 767 yearn for hot food, comfortable seats, personal video systems or other perks. But I don’t - I want workspace. I want legroom, headroom and Net access, too. And I want a power charger for my laptop.

The airlines could charge extra for this. Think of “workspace service” as business class without warm cashews, place mats, free-flowing booze and high-touch service. Would there be demand for this? I look around and see at least one in four passengers with their laptops out, and although some just watch DVDs, most appear to be working uncomfortably. Have you ever jockeyed for elbow room with the passenger next to you?

In a feeble sop toward road warriors, United charges $50 for so-called “economy-plus” seats. I checked it out: there are a lame 2 inches more of legroom and no power outlets; American Airlines has power outlets, but on the whole is no better. As economy class goes in the U.S., JetBlue is the most comfortable for cross-country flights. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have premium economy seating but from what I have read about it, the passengers are underwhelmed.  

ISO standards for personal space exist for cubicle workers, why not for commercial air passengers? In a global economy, workers move around more often than ever before. Losing a couple of days of work is no joke. 

What working passengers really want - and need - is more space. Internet access and power plugs would be nice, too.