{"id":878,"date":"2013-06-17T08:31:37","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T15:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=878"},"modified":"2013-06-17T08:31:37","modified_gmt":"2013-06-17T15:31:37","slug":"scaling-the-airplane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/06\/scaling-the-airplane\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaling the airplane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"My<\/a>In my previous post<\/a> I wrote about companies offering superior levels of service (for a price) that necessarily involve making the service worse<\/em> for other customers, such as offering a deal that allows high-paying customers to cut in line where there is a queue. Here is another example.<\/p>\n

Airlines are trying to further price discriminate in seating. The old model of simple differentiation between business and coach class is giving way to finer gradations in the coach section, where passengers can pay for extra legroom. But just as there is no such thing as a free lunch (and certainly not on airplanes!), neither is there such thing as free legroom. The Economist<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

BANKRUPT American Airlines, which is in the midst of joining with US Airways in\u00a0what is expected to be the last big merger<\/a>\u00a0of American carriers, has\u00a0announced plans<\/a>\u00a0to add more seats to its Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas MD-80s. Mark Gerchick, who worked at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and now writes books about air travel,\u00a0told National Public Radio last week<\/a>\u00a0that two decades ago flyers could expect about 34 inches\u00a0 (86 cm) of legroom in economy; the standard is now around 31 inches, with some airlines going as low as 28 inches. That 28-inch number “is now approaching the limits of anatomical possibility,” Mr Gerchick said.<\/p>\n

… Most modern economy cabins include economy-plus seats with extra legroom, which reduce the space available to other passengers. American claims that some of the 2.5 inches lost per passenger will be made up in slimmer seats, but business travellers who are unlucky enough to find themselves in economy should delay judgment until they actually test out the new seats.<\/p>\n

A few trends are pulling in opposite directions here. On the one hand, you have the increasing commoditisation of economy-class air travel, with even full-service airlines such as American trying to cram as many passengers into the back of the plane as possible. On the other, you have airlines’ desire to up-sell to customers who are not prepared to pay for business or first class. Airlines are happy to offer smarter service to passengers\u2014but only in return for a fee. The era of one-size-fits-all coach cabins is over. People hate paying fees and, for some, the annoyance of paying them can offset whatever extra comfort they provide. But they do put more of the travel experience in your control.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Selling extra legroom for some seats means either less legroom or less seat width on other seats. Your blogger is six-feet-four, and indeed the ordinary cabin seats seem to have reached some kind of minimum for legroom!\u00a0What airlines are doing differs from a concert hall seeking to increase the number of zones for ticket pricing, since that involves solving what people are willing to pay for different quality of seats without actually making the cheaper seats worse from an audience perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my previous post I wrote about companies offering superior levels of service (for a price) that necessarily involve making the service worse for other customers, such as offering a deal that allows high-paying customers to cut in line where there is a queue. Here is another example. Airlines are trying to further price discriminate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-ea","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":599,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/how-bundling-works-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":0},"title":"How bundling works","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"LOVEtheatre of London will provide me with a special deal: I can get two tickets to Wicked, together with two \"free\" meals (drinks not included) to be chosen from a short list of participating restaurants. But if they want to attract me to Wicked, why not just lower the ticket\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"who wants to ski?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/bundle-300x151.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1976,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2016\/02\/dynamic-pricing-and-price-discrimination-are-not-the-same-thing\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":1},"title":"Dynamic pricing and price discrimination are not the same thing","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"But a recent article in The Economist (!) confuses the matter. Dynamic pricing occurs when sellers adjust prices on a frequent basis to account for varying shifts in demand, or limitations in supply. Uber raises fares when demand spikes upward and drivers are scarce; sports teams cut prices for tickets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"let's get this straight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/apples-and-oranges.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":482,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/discounts-for-the-price-conscious-well-informed-consumer\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":2},"title":"Discounts for the price-conscious well-informed consumer","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"March 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A little more than a year ago, J.C. Penney's new management announced a change to its pricing strategy, in an effort to turnaround the troubled store - get rid of \"nonstop promotions\" and move to a simpler pricing structure. In the current issue of the New Yorker, James Surowiecki tells\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/03\/discounts-for-the-price-conscious-well-informed-consumer\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"clip and save","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/coupons.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":626,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/how-quality-differentials-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":3},"title":"How quality differentials work","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It is standard practice to offer to customers a range of quality levels. In clothing, electronics, and cars we see firms offer a range of products as a means of price discrimination: some customers are on a budget, or don't care so much about the luxury of the item, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"only rock and roll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Rolling-Stones-live-1972-300x227.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":854,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/06\/the-enduring-mystery-of-scalpers\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":4},"title":"The enduring mystery of scalpers","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"June 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I posted re scalpers a few weeks ago. The forthcoming New York Times magazine has a story on ticket resale. It is, well, unsatisfying. The problem at hand is this: if so much money is to be made through ticket resale, why have the artists or concert promoters not done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"face in the crowd","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tom-petty-300x298.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":657,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2013\/04\/how-dynamic-pricing-works\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":5},"title":"How dynamic pricing works","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"April 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's begin with the basic analysis. It's Tuesday, and you have something on offer for Saturday night. You might be a hotel owner and you have vacancies for that night, your airline might have a scheduled flight from Tulsa to Kansas City with some seats still available, or you might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"must be sold","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/price-markdown.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}