It takes almost a day of flying to get from Singapore to Washington. It should be alright if one is flying by business class, Elite class or First Class, but they are always trying to save and all we got is Economy. To get from here to there, takes three transitions, from Singapore to Tokyo (6-7 hours), from Toyko to Minneapolis (10 hours) or Detroit (12 hours) and then from there to Washington (2 to 3 hours).
Leg room is very important to me. It was still cramp. I guess one could get up and move around, but there's not much room for that as well. If there's anyone or an air stewardess got her cart in the aisle, it's blocked.
In addition, the seat belt sign is almost always on, turbulence or not.
It is just sheer torture to have to sit for 8+ hours in this little seat, in almost total darkness except for that little spot light you get if you want to read. That spotlight gives me a headache but I have no choice.
It wasn't possible to sleep the whole way although I would have liked to. The seats were just.... wrong. I just can't get comfortable. The pillow and blanket were so fuzzy they made me sneeze.
I don't understand the seating arrangement. Why do airlines insist on cramping people together like this? On a Boeing 747, the row goes like this: ABC DEFG HJK. I would hate to be seating in B, E, F, and J. On a DC-9 plane, the seats ran like this: AB CDEFG HK, would anybody like to sit in E? How can anybody tolerate sitting over four hours in those kind of positions?
It's inhumane and cruel!
People have died in cramp aeroplane conditions!
For the love of money, could we say, is the cause of airlines cramping seats as close as possible? And we wonder what causes air rage... Not a fair statement perhaps but I was extremely frustrated, even if I could get to sit along the aisle. I need more leg room. When the guy in front of me has his seat back and I'm trying to have my breakfast, I was very tempted to pour my orange juice over his shiny balding head. He's not sleeping by the way, he's just too lazy to bring his seat back up.
We were flying by Northwest and I have to say, this is one is ok. You don't get a personal entertainment unit in economy but at least the leg room is reasonable.
Let's go over the other airlines that I've experienced:
Singapore Airlines is too expensive. The ticket is nearly double of everyone else. The food is pretty good and you get your own entertainment screen thingy and you watch movies or play some games. You also get a night pack with toothbrush, eye covers and ear plugs. The seat however is cramp.
Air France has good service but the seats are also incredibly cramp. I flew to France earlier this year. It was a thirteen hour flight and it was horrible. My legs ached like crazy and I was just so uncomfortable. It was unfortunate I was unable to get an aisle seat on the return, which made things worse.
British Airways/ Quantas - I'm sorry to say is the worst I've been on. Maybe I was unlucky but I found the staff to be very rude. I wanted to put my bag under the seat, the air steward insisted I stow it in the shelf above the seats. I wouldn't have mind, I just don't like to be told like I was getting a scolding. There was no offer of drinks or refreshment of any kind.
Scandanavian Airlines is the best. Seats are reasonably ok, average leg room. Food is great, I love the bread. I couldn't get enough of their buns and their coffee. The air stewardesses are so nice, they are always walking around asking if anyone wants coffee.