I like to keep up with my travel trends, since it does have some impact on our lives, fractionally more than say the latest cat meme on the Intratubes. I like to keep abreast on the latest innovations in travel so I can avoid around ninety percent of them. A case in point is the newest trend among airlines to insure that each and every flight overseas in coach is an unremitting journey of torment and misery, where only the strong and thin will survive while all others will be driven mad. Or eaten.
Because airlines are apparently incapable of actually making the monies by selling tickets to passengers who want to travel from Point A to Point B, they must instead cram as many people on board as they can so they can charge exorbitant fees for baggage, buying tickets, fuel surcharges and food. This will soon be facilitated, if airlines have their way, by the latest concept, which is to reduce seat widths in coach to 17″.
This is an idea so bad that one of the two major aircraft manufacturers today, Airbus Industries, has gone on record to say that this is a bad idea. Though, one should note that Airbus hasn’t actually said that they would refuse to configure aircraft with the new, narrower seats. I mean we are talking cash money, here. Thus continuing a time honored tradition of taking the moral or ethical high ground will raking in the moolah.
So I was sitting around the other day, comfortably ensconced in a 24” width chair, and it occurred to me that this whole thing sounds terribly familiar. Like we’ve been through this before, but when. Then it came to me, it sounds pretty much like this:
“Oh, and I’m afraid we’re all out of cocktail peanuts at this time.”