Put the seats back in.

[verhalen2003]

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On 9/4/2002 9:49:07 PM

MRTC does not provide enough extra legroom to make it worthwhile. The Delta Shuttle seats are soft leather with more legroom than MRTC, and UA Economy Plus is definitely the best. In UA E+, I can cross my legs. I cannot do so in MRTC.

If you end up in the bad half of the plane (depends on aircraft type), MRTC isn't worth anything. Sure, you could select a seat in the good half, but part of the MRTC advertising is THROUGHOUT COACH, and that is not the case. It's like a dumbed-down version of UA E+.

Either 1) put the seats back in, 2) take out another row in the bad half so the entire plane truly has MRTC, or 3) move all the additional legroom only to the front of coach like UA E+.
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This is misinformation. MRTC is uniform throughout the coach cabin, with minor variations in certain rows. If it's still not enough room for you to cross your legs, then I guess you have the blessing / curse of being particularly tall. I'm 6'2" and I can cross my legs comfortably in MRTC coach.

The big flaw in UA's E+ approach is that it is NOT available in the whole coach cabin, meaning that it's a gamble (or an elites-only situation) as to whether you get it or not... in addition, E+ is a waste of space for most people as it provides far more legroom than most people actually need. The amount of space provided by MRTC is more practical for most people (again, apologies to the extremely tall).

I don't know about the Delta Shuttle, but all I hear about Delta coach cabins out here on the West Coast is that they are famously cramped. Same goes for Alaska (I know this from long experience -- I have to fly them twice a week and about 50% of the time, the pax in front of me reclines and makes it very difficult to work). With MRTC, I can work even if the person in front of me reclines all the way. I would SOOO much rather travel in AA MRTC coach than in ANYONE else's coach cabin.

 

[mga707]

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On 9/5/2002 12:44:27 AM

This is misinformation. MRTC is uniform throughout the coach cabin, with minor variations in certain rows.

OK, JS--now you've been challenged twice. Where's the proof behind your "bad half" assertion?

 

[pk45cu]

This AA Gold customer switched to AA purely because of MRTC. Living near PHL/EWR, I can find non-stops on US/CO to anywhere, but I choose to fly AA because of MRTC. There is no differentiating factor with AA if you guys put in more seats.

 

[JS]

Originally posted by mga707:

OK, JS--now you've been challenged twice. Where's the proof behind your "bad half" assertion?

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Hold your horses! I have to sleep, you know! []

On the MD-80, there are now 13 coach rows forward of exit row 20, and there are now 10 coach rows aft of exit row 21.

I don't know if the seat pitch used to be the same before MRTC, but for the sake of example, let's assume seat pitch was exactly 31".

One row was removed ahead of the exit rows, and one row was removed aft of the exit rows. The additional pitch is ((n+1)/n-1)*31, where n is the number of rows after conversion.

Ahead of the exit rows (n=13), that's 2.4" more pitch. Aft of the exit rows (n=10), that's 3.1" more pitch.

According to aa.com, the MD-80 coach pitch ranges from 33 to 35 inches, so my assumptions above (33.4 to 34.1) are slightly little off. But as you can see, the pitch is not uniform.

 

[verhalen2003]

[blockquote]
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On 9/5/2002 10:51:45 AM JS wrote:

Originally posted by mga707:

OK, JS--now you've been challenged twice. Where's the proof behind your "bad half" assertion?

----------------

Hold your horses! I have to sleep, you know!

On the MD-80, there are now 13 coach rows forward of exit row 20, and there are now 10 coach rows aft of exit row 21.

I don't know if the seat pitch used to be the same before MRTC, but for the sake of example, let's assume seat pitch was exactly 31".

One row was removed ahead of the exit rows, and one row was removed aft of the exit rows. The additional pitch is ((n+1)/n-1)*31, where n is the number of rows after conversion.

Ahead of the exit rows (n=13), that's 2.4" more pitch. Aft of the exit rows (n=10), that's 3.1" more pitch.

According to aa.com, the MD-80 coach pitch ranges from 33 to 35 inches, so my assumptions above (33.4 to 34.1) are slightly little off. But as you can see, the pitch is not uniform.
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[/blockquote]

OK, if you break it down that far, we have to concede that the pitch is not exactly uniform. But for most people (and I'm talking the average traveler here, not the unusually built), even 2.4in of added pitch is an appreciable improvement that makes a lot of difference in comfort and added ability to work using your table tray (even if the guy in front reclines to the max). If you happen to get the row(s) with more than 3in added pitch, it's just gravy for most people.

Really tall or wide people have always had it tough on airplanes.... MRTC goes a certain distance to help them, but obviously it can't please everyone all the time.

It is clear, however, that MRTC is a major factor in many FF's decisions to switch loyalty to AA over the last couple of years. For me, my preference is reinforced every time I have to take an Alaska flight [img src='http://www.usaviation.com/idealbb/images/smilies/7.gif']

 

[ITRADE]

Believe me, MRTC is a huge consideration now that I am weighing dumping US.

 

[TAN 767 300]

MRTC is one of the reasons I stay with AA. As an AAdvantage Platinum member I fly a mix of business and personal trips. It would be a big mistake to penalize me with a non MRTC seat when I travel with my family, my business then could just as easily be shifted to another carrier.

A better answer to this is for AA ( CArty) to take the lead and bring back Value pricing. I think the time is ripe for that. Have AA get the publicity. America west has not really gotten the press for the change they made.

I would be more inclined to make some additional sales trips with value pricing..I can make it fit in my small business budget.

 

[TAN 767 300]

MRTC is one of the reasons I stay with AA. As an AAdvantage Platinum member I fly a mix of business and personal trips. It would be a big mistake to penalize me with a non MRTC seat when I travel with my family, my business then could just as easily be shifted to another carrier.

A better answer to this is for AA ( CArty) to take the lead and bring back Value pricing. I think the time is ripe for that. Have AA get the publicity. America west has not really gotten the press for the change they made.

I would be more inclined to make some additional sales trips with value pricing..I can make it fit in my small business budget.

 

[TWAFA007]

[blockquote]
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On 8/25/2002 12:41:46 AM FA Mikey wrote:

We are still flying empty seats. There is no need to put more on.
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[/blockquote]
Aloha Mike,

See we can agree. MRTC was a great way to reduce capacity without reducing airplanes or frequency. AA was way ahead of the curve here. AA needs to be a World leader and MRTC is one way to set it apart from the others. I do believe if it came down between AA & another airline and the fare was more on AA, the MRTC would make it worth it. Thats if the pax knows the differance. Look how much more people are will to pay to upgrade from Y to business or F just for the space. I believe that MRTC is worth more. Maybe not in this economy, but soon. Putting the seats back in now not only would cost money but lower our load factors.

ALOHA, 007