Smaller planes heading for Europe

["Roger"]

There is an interesting article in "The Middle Seat" column in the Wall Street Journal today. (I am not providing a link because you would have to be a subscriber to open the story.) In essence, both Airbus and Boeing will have single aisle, narrow body jets that will be able to fly to European cities. The plus is that more, smaller American cities will have direct flights to Europe and the flights will be cheaper.

The negatives? Many. Eight hours sitting in a narrow seat perhaps with less legroom than what is currently available on the wider body jets. Teeny bathrooms. The planes are too small for the usual lie flat seats in the business section. One possibility is a "settee" - a curved seat that you can lie down on crosswise, but will only fit you if you are six feet tall or under. When an airline spokesperson was asked about taller passengers, he responded “You may not be a customer for that seat.”

Overall, not my cup of tea ...

 

[Ken555]

There’s been some press about this plane, and a proposed new XLR version (which is likely the focus of the WSJ article), for a while.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/airbus-a321lr-new-routes/

https://apex.aero/2019/03/14/just-right-a321lr-goldilocks-aircraft

https://simpleflying.com/jetblue-airbus-a321lr/

https://onemileatatime.com/american-airbus-a321lr/

As I fly from LAX, I’m used to ~6 hour flights just to get to the northeast on narrow planes. While not especially comfortable (what plane is outside of business or first class?), it’s certainly workable. In fact, I don’t think the seat comfort on wide body planes are much different (I’m on an AA A330 from New York to Milan later this year that has their new improved smaller and narrower seats...just 17” width, and not looking forward to it). For myself, if I can fly to my ultimate destination as a nonstop from the east coast in ~7-8 hours, I’d be happier than having to change planes and have a longer itinerary.

Also, it seems at least JetBlue will offer their Mint premium seat on these planes, and I’d be surprised if others didn’t do similarly. Which airlines did the WSJ article reference that would not do so? The low cost carriers, perhaps?


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