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What's an Exit Row Seat Worth?
Any seasoned (or at least tall) traveler has been through this exchange numerous times at check-in:
"Do you have any exit row seats available?"
"Unfortunately not."
From there, you start cultivating visions of yourself bundled up in a little ball between two overweight passengers on that 12-hour flight from US to Asia...Don't you just love traveling?
Well, if you fly Virgin (incidentally my favorite airline, not just because of the 300+ hours of free personal in-flight entertainment but that certainly helps), they charge you $75 for exit row seats.
You can question the ethics behind charging for a space that requires people to help in emergency situations but at least you have a better chance of getting more legroom before the plane crashes. Their exit rows are huge, too, it is well worth the money. Look at it as if you are getting a free upgrade for some $6 per every hour of the flight. A bargain!
Filed under: Europe, North America, Airlines
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ed Kostiuk Jul 17th 2007 10:34AM
You may want to read my "final word" in the next Emergency Management magazine from Homeland Security. I address the issue of legroom and Emergency Exit isles in Aircraft and those folks that utilize them. IF you think you have what it takes to get the emergency doors open and assist folks from the aircraft you better know what you are doing...if not you could face a potential lawsuit if the doors need to be utilized. If you think it’s just about legroom you are wrong it’s about disaster preparedness.
K
Ed Kostiuk, OCEM, EMT-W
Oklahoma Emergency Management
ouj Jul 17th 2007 1:00PM
My national carrier is also selling exit row seats for their charter flights to holiday destinations. However, if you turn out to be not fit for the seat, they'll seat you elsewhere.
Still, on my last charter flight the exit row seats were populated by really old people who would've certainly had trouble helping anyone in an emergency. This was before they started selling the seats. I have to say it did bother me a bit, not that I was really scared that something would happen, but because it was plainly against the rules.
Regarding Ed's comment about facing a lawsuit if you are not capable of utilizing the doors in an emergency - I'm sure that kind of lawsuit can only be pulled off in USA.
Everywhere else it would be laughed out of the court. However, the carrier's and flight crew's responsibility in the matter would certainly be investigated because *they* are the ones who should prevent a non-suitable person utilizing the emergency seats.