Monthly Archives: April 2014

Musing on air travel and inequality in the sky: are the odds high?

By Kenneth Amaeshi

Imagine sitting for 13 hours on a flight from London to Shanghai in economy class. The space is limited. Leg room is constrained. Seat pitch is 30-31 inches compared to a 6ft fully flat bed and 6ft 6” fully flat bed in the business class and first class sections, respectively. The section is crowded; and to get to your seat, you would have been inadvertently humiliated by a system that is well versed in glamorising inequality. The logic of the airline business is simple and straightforward: the more you can afford to pay, the more preferential treatment you receive. This applies to first-class and business class passengers, respectively, in particular. Their progress through the airport is significantly fast-tracked. Continue reading