Taking that Big Saddle to the Sky

Behold the sexy sleek new Skyrider.

You gotta be kidding me. I don't know what scares me more, the look of these seats or the fact that some people actually think that these are a good idea. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about a little discomfort if it's going to save me a reasonable amount of money. Forget the leg cramps, the simple economics of this just does not make any sense to me.

They say that they can increase capacity on an airplane by 40%. If you think that means that you are going to save 40% or more on a ticket, you got to be smoking something. I have to admit that when you start talking about saving 60% on an airline ticket, I start to get giddy and as far as I'm concerned, they could strap me on the wing and I would be happy. But...let's look at the math.

Let's consider that the 40% can be viewed equally as 40% more money to deal with. First of all, just because they can fit 40% more people doesn't mean that they will convert the whole plane to a stock yard. What? Are they going to make first class special by adding spurs, a cup holder, and a free unwedgie service at the end of the flight. I think not. So let's be over generous and say that they add 20% capacity to a flight.

Next, more people means more weight. More weight means more power and fuel to keep that thing aloft. I'll be kind and just say 5% there. Oh, and what about the new carry on dilemma. As you can see, you no longer can place anything below your seat because the only thing that is below your seat now is your feet. So now all that has to go above in the overhead bins, but wait, there are more people now in the cattle car so you will have to check more luggage. Another 10%.

Lastly, the only reason why an airline would do this is so they could increase their profit margin. How about 4.75%. Guess what? This leaves the passed on savings to you as 0.25% or about $1.00 on a good 3-hour flight. Is it worth it? Maybe for the quads workout you'll get, but other than that, I think that is a little shy of what I would need to make my tailbone happy with the imposition.

You know, the scariest thing about this is that the federal government may weigh in on the issue. In this day and age of 'no amount of constitutional rights can ever make a wrong', the president may launch a campaign to free us from the tyranny of oppressive air travel, and state that every American has the right to affordable air travel. Thus, countless billions will be given to the airline industry to upgrade all airplanes with these new seats, and without any real cost savings to you, you will be forced to ride the 'saddle'.

YEE-HAW!!!!

P.S. By the way, the lady up above is actually taking more room than she is allowed. You might notice that she would not fit in the row behind her.