=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2003/06= /15/TR247370.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, June 15, 2003 (SF Chronicle) Ample American leg room to be cut off at the knees Ed Perkins American Airlines has announced that it will end "More Leg Room in Coach" on all 757 and A300 flights. As soon as the planes can be reconfigured, coach cabins on those planes will again subject passengers to the same cattle-car seating you get on most other airlines, big or small. There is, however, some good news: At least so far, American will retain extra leg room on other planes, and on planes with tighter coach seating, it will cut first class fares substantially. We'll have to wait to see how it all settles, but for now, the obvious advice is to avoid American's 757s and A300s -- unless you're flying first class. American's announcement of added leg room, in early 2000, was the best news coach passengers had heard in decades. With the exception of a few small lines, coach seating had fallen steadily since the introduction of jets. American's initiative, I wrote at the time, would almost surely pressure other big lines into improving their miserable coach products, too. Sadly, I was mistaken. American's improved product apparently didn't attract enough additional business to offset the higher costs. The other lines stood pat with their sardine cans. And now, with today's huge financial pressures, American had to back off and at least start to rejoin the rest of the pack. Like the nation's earlier "Noble Experiment" of Prohibition, more leg room is, if not a complete bust, certainly a disappointment. American intends to fly its 757s and A300s mainly on routes with either a high concentration of low-fare travelers, stiff competition from low-fare lines, or both. The A300s fly mainly to the Caribbean -- clearly a cost- conscious tourist market. The big problem for most travelers will be with the 757s, which American uses for longer-haul domestic flights, including many transcontinental trips. Those, of course, are precisely the flights where extra leg room is most important. After American's reconfiguration, two major competitors will offer products measurably superior to American's: -- JetBlue's A320s have wider cabins than American's 757s -- enough for seats 18 inches wide, as opposed to American's 17 inches. Even 18 inches is extremely tight, so that extra inch makes a big difference in comfort. JetBlue has a 1- to 2-inch advantage in leg room as well. And unless American re- equips its 757s -- not likely in today's economy -- JetBlue's satellite TV at every seat provides far better in-flight entertainment than American's system. -- Song, Delta's new low-cost affiliate, uses the same ultra-narrow 757 seats as American, but it provides at least 2 inches more leg room, as well as improved in-flight entertainment. The upshot: Unless frequent-flier considerations tie you to American no matter what, JetBlue or Song will be a much better option whenever your choice for a coach ticket would be between either of those lines and an American 757 or A300. With other planes, however, American remains the top choice among the giant lines. There are some bright sides. To compete with the likes of JetBlue, American says the top fare on those tight-fitting domestic flights will be no more than $299 each way -- far less than the usual big-line price for unrestricted tickets. Along with lower coach fares, American says its first-class fares on tho= se flights will be no more than $599 each way. At double the top coach fare, those comfortable seats will still not be cheap, but even twice that reduced coach price is still a lot less than the usual first class. As I'm writing this, it's too early to tell what American's competitors will do. Meanwhile, travelers who want low-price tickets will be better off on JetBlue or Song than on an American 757 or A300. But travelers willing to pay extra for a comfortable trip should flock to American's new, lower-fare first- class option. E-mail Ed Perkins at eperkins@xxxxxxxxx=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 SF Chronicle