On Feb. 3, American Airlines announced it would add 3 inches of legroom to most of the coach seats in its fleet. This means ripping out 7,200 seats on more than 700 planes. It's a gamble. American isn't the only one looking at the legroom issue. In late January, British Airways unveiled a new class of seat, World Traveller Plus, aimed at luring coach travelers who will pay more for more space but who aren't quite ready to foot the cost of a business-class ticket.
Customers clearly are unhappy with the airlines today.
Customers have gotten to the point where they really don't believe that airlines care about them. And we can't live with that. That program is aimed primarily at business travelers who will pay extra in exchange for access to a new, roomier area in the front of the coach cabin. The work is to be completed by April on domestic aircraft. Meanwhile, British Airways says its new cabin class, World Traveller Plus, will offer more space and facilities than other economy products, and it will let these passengers carry on twice as much luggage.