[JLee]

Message: I am sitting in a DELTA COACH SEAT. I am of normal height and weight and am wedged into a window seat. I cannot cross my legs without hitting the passengers in front of me, to the side of me and behind me. I dare not drink any liquids because a trip to the ladies room is impossible since there is not even 1 inch of room in which to get out. The central aisle is so narrow that boarding took forever. All hand luggage did not fit. Cold air below my seat has frozen my feet but I cannot reach my shawl which is wedged under the seat in front in my hand luggage. The seats are so close that the passenger behind me just pushed my shoes forward. Psychological studies show that human beings subjected to being in inappropriately small quarters for long periods react dangerously and irrationally. It is a tribute to these passengers that they remain polite and docile. The smells on the plane before take off were of intensely unpleasant food, then, gasoline. Right now the passenger behind me is banging on his TV pushing my seat forward and the one in front has reclined his seat into my lap. My slight movement to the right awakened the man in the middle.

DELTA'S security area at JFK at departure was disorganized, the slowest we have seen when serving a very small group, and RUDE. Our flight from UTAH to NYC was absolutely substandard and it is evident that this level of service is business as usual at DELTA. The captain just said that it was bumpy and passengers should not move about the aircraft....AS IF? He might want to take a walk back here and see if any passenger can move about, period. This is a poor way to operate an airline. In flight WIFI is not free, nor are movies. I will not choose DELTA again. Perhaps executives of DELTA should hop a flight, such as ours, from Salt Lake to JFK and see what passengers must endure. (THIS WAS WRITTEN IN FLIGHT. I would like to find the email address of Delta CEO, MR. ANDERSON.) After arriving home I developed the worst cold I have had in years. It was from the extreme cold of the floor of the plane, the closeness of other passengers and stale, unclean air.

[Ombudsman]

When I saw the title of your post I thought to myself, "What did Delta do now? Give a passenger a "time-out" and make them sit in a corner?"

Your complaint, however, does not seem to be about Delta specifically. Have you flown domestically in economy class lately? The pitch and comfort of Delta's economy seat are just like any other out there. Typical seat pitch on a domestic single aisle aircraft is typically 31"-32". You're lucky you weren't on Spirit. Theirs is a cramped 29".

You paid for a coach seat and that's what Delta delivered. The experience and comfort level you described would have been about the same, or worse, on any other domestic flight. If the spartan conditions of present day economy class don't agree with you, I have a few suggestions. First would be to see if the airline operates a wide-body aircraft on the route. Delta and United operate 767s and 777s on some long-haul domestic routes. Although the seat pitch is about the same a twin aisle airplane at least gives the feeling of more roominess. The single aisle Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 aren't bad either. Another suggestion would be to pay extra for an exit row seat if the airline offers it. Most do and for longer flights it can be worth the upcharge. On some aircraft the seat pitch of certin exit rows is even roomier than first class. Then there's United's ePlus. Again, it's another fee but the seats forward of the exit row have a lot more room. Lastly, there are fares out there known as "Up" fares. They are not available on all airlines or routes but when they are can be a good value. For more than the price of regular economy but less than first class an "Up" fare carries the same restrictions as an ecnomy ticket but when purchased offers an instant upgrade into first class.

As far as your other issues you do realize the TSA agents at the security check point are not Delta employees, right? And you can't really pin your cold on Delta. The mere fact that the floor was cold did not infect you with the virus. You caught it from another passenger or perhaps even a passenger who had been on the previos flight. You may have caught it in the airport. Its impossible to sanitize every environment we come into contact with and sometimes we get sick. Its a fact of life and there's not much an airline can do to prevent it short of denying boarding to anyone who appears to be ill.

[JLee]

Do you work for the airlines in general or simply for Delta?

I would expect an Ombudsman’s response to be more customer-service oriented. Despite your associations with the phrase, Delta’s flight was not only punishing but dangerous to the health and well-being of passengers.

Issues:

• Passengers who cannot easily stand up and move their legs for over 4 hours can damage their circulation and develop blood clots.

• My complaint was specifically about Delta, not all economy seats I have experienced. Economy Seats on American Airlines and Jet Blue are roomier and more comfortable. The airlines you suggest as alternatives are not mainstream. There is no disclaimer about the Delta Economy Coach Class which states that the seat is small and for appropriate seating one should upgrade.

• The Exit Row Seats on Delta are narrow, do not recline and are stiff as boards.

• I became ill because of the extreme cold air which came through my seat at the floor. This cold air blew for hours, lowered my resistance and I caught a cold or virus. That is Delta’s fault. I have flown many airlines for many years and have not caught cold.

• The boarding process is slow because the center aisle is ridiculously narrow.

• The food smells and gasoline smells on take-off were putrid.

I will contact the Executives at Delta regarding the nature of my flight and include my reactions to your rather demeaning response to my complaint.

[cortney]

not true...AA seat pitch is 31 inches as is deltas (both md-80s) go to seatguru.com shows you the best and worst seats on most airlines. most exit row seats dont recline because of the exit being behind it. the boarding is slow because people wont pay for a check bag so most bring 2 items (rollerbaord and personal item, then have to dig in their suitcase for that magazine they just purchased and wont step into the row for people to get through). TSA...has NOTHING to do with delta or any airline. of course wifi isnt free, it wasnt free at a local hotel i stayed at recently either, but im not going to whine about it. movies weren't free? if you were watching an individual screen i can see it, however if the movies were being played from overhead monitors, yes they are free, just probably have to pay for headsets (which is why i bring my own). you may have caught the cold from anywhere or anybody. my company bought one of deltas former 767's and its not cramped or croweded at all. (however as a previous poster posted its a double aisle) in fact most of our contracts want this plane. im no fan of deltas in anyway (jumping up and down cause my company put me on AA to dallas on thursday and some others on delta) but i think your exagerating a bit about how close the seats really are. if you want cramped quarters...ride the bus for 5 hours..then you may complain about how close seats are.

[JLee]

It is clear that you are an employee of the airlines. I will not bother with this site again. A bus ticket is much cheaper.

[mars6423]

i don't know what airline has large coach seats that will allow you to stand up comfortably and move around

I have flown on Singapore Airlines, Qantas, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic on long haul flights using wide body aircraft (777, 747, a340, a380) and you can't exactly stand up comfortably there and you can't step over anyone with the space to get to the aisle on any coach seat

exit row seats on many airlines are made not to be reclined due to the fact that they are there for emergencies and is a "safety" thing

What do you mean by Delta security? security has nothing to do with any airline

the captain said it was going to be bumpy so dont move around the cabin........sounds like he is looking out for your safety and was letting people know that there may be turbulence, so not sure why you should complain about that

people complained about the fact that they didn't like the remotes of some tv's in older models and would rather have touchscreen, so its a win-lose and they figured it would be making the majority happy with touch screen but some people push harder then they should making it bumpy

i am not a delta fan and avoid them when possible and no i don't work for any airline

[Ombudsman]

I am not an airline employee. The website I contribute to is an advocate for travelers and has helped many with complaints and mediating fair resolutions to those complaints. I merely pointed out that your complaint was not specific to Delta. You could substitute the word Delta with the name of any other airline and it would be true of most of them. Economy class is economy class. An airline seat is a "one size fits all" affair. Not everyone will be comfortable.

I thought I made some constructive suggestions as well. Sorry for my attempt to be helpful.

[The_Judge]

How does it feel? You try to give some advice the posters don't want to hear and you are chastised. Now multiply the frequency and abusiveness a few times and you've got an hour's worth of work as an agent.

[cortney]

i used to work as a customer service agent...i have so much respect for them especially when people yell at them for things out of their control. my favorite was when I was blamed because sanford airport couldnt make up their mind whether to remain open or closed after a hurricane went through.

yes i am an airline employee...as i said go to seatguru.com it shows you the pitch, width of seats on most airlines. you will deltas are no different than any other airlines. I dont like delta but their seats are no different than jetblues or aa's