Comfort with 28 inches of legroom

Learning to sleep while standing

LONDON, U.K. -- Airlines are scrambling to capture the lucrative trade of the transcontinental flyer. To do this, some carriers are increasing legroom between seats in their economy class sections and adding fully flat reclining seats in first-class. AstroSphere Airways, for instance, launched “Astroom,” which features reconfigured Boeing 757-200s with 12 lie-flat first class seats with a pitch (i.e., the distance between seats) of 96 inches. Other airlines are following suit.


Britannia Airways, on the other hand, is taking a different approach to helping its passengers cope with long-haul travel. Miles Fenderwaller, spokesperson for Britannia Airways, told reporters recently, "Our airline intends to be a serious competitor in the transcontinental market and will not take the issue of sleeping on airplanes lying down."


Indeed, unlike AstroShere, Britannia is keeping the seats bolted where they are and teaching its flyers to get along in the space allotted to them. The airline has contracted with the world-renown contortionist Melinda Babarolini, to develop a passenger training program that will incorporate many of the exercises that she and her sisters use in their acts when touring with circuses across Europe.


"By helping them learn to sleep in cramped and awkward positions," says Fenderwaller, "Britannia hopes to deliver our passengers to their destinations a little more relaxed, a little more refreshed, and a whole lot looser."


According to the Aviation Health institute, Britannia Airways flies some of the most crowded planes in the sky with a seat pitch of only 28 inches. By teaching its passengers to relax in confined spaces, the airline hopes to increase revenue while avoiding suits from passengers who develop Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) — a particular problem for airlines in the UK.

Personalized diet plans and products

COPYRIGHT © 1999 - 2024 ERR TRAVEL. THESE CONTENTS MAY NOT BE REPRINTED OR RETRANSMITTED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT OUR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT. IF YOU USE ANY OF OUR STUFF WITHOUT ASKING FIRST, WE'LL CERTAINLY BE PISSED OFF, AND MAY JUST SUE YOUR ASS FOR GOOD MEASURE. ERR TRAVEL NEWS STORIES ARE SATIRE, FICTION, SPOOF. IN NO WAY DO THEY REPRESENT ACTUAL TRAVEL INFORMATION. (IF YOU NEED TO BE TOLD THAT, YOU BEST STAY HOME.) PROPER NAMES USED IN ERR TRAVEL NEWS STORIES, UNLESS THOSE OF PUBLIC FIGURES OR ENTITIES, ARE FICTIONAL, AND ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONS OR ENTITIES IS COINCIDENTAL. ERR TRAVEL IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY NEWS SERVICE, NOR WOULD ANY REPUTABLE NEWS SERVICE WISH TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ERR TRAVEL.