Ryanair's latest "trick" - Abolish seat pouches

vinnyfitz

Happened to be in Ryanair's newest 737 800 series plane this morning. Pilot proudly announced it only arrived from Seattle last night.

Guess what! They have no pouches on the back of the seat in front of you. No where to shove your book, newspaper or anything else! Safety instructions now come in the form of a sticker on the back of the seat instead of a leaflet.

It must save them at least a centimetre per seat row. Is it possible they can squeeze in another row of seats as a result? (33 rows on my flight) or is designed to discourage people bringing sweets, sandwiches and drinks on board so they do more shopping in the air?

I guess sick bags are totally passé now.:D

Sleipnir

er wouldn't it be Boeing who would be responsible for that? As the manufacturer who makes the seats?

Genghis

My guess is that if there are no pouches, then there are no pouches to be cleaned. That reduces turnaround time at the airport.

BuffyBot

Originally posted by Genghis
My guess is that if there are no pouches, then there are no pouches to be cleaned. That reduces turnaround time at the airport.

That's it exactly

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by Kananga
er wouldn't it be Boeing who would be responsible for that? As the manufacturer who makes the seats?

I'd expect it would be a customers (i.e. airline's) option and I'm sure its a no frills based decision but its very annoying. Never seen it on any other airline no matter how cheapo... It must really be the pits on a 2 hour or longer trip. If one wants a snooze where do I put my book...?

uberwolf

did it have the leather seats? once the preserve of 1st class now us plebs get them cos they're quicker to turn around...

vinnyfitz

Fake leather maybe - though the time plastic comes to mind faster.

Not cloth anyway!

Bluehair

As has been pointed out it's all about the cleaning. Annoying but clever. :rolleyes:

I'm not certain but I don't think the seats are leather either but some kind of syntetic vinyl or something? Again though all about the cleaning since they simply wipe clean after any spillages or 'accidents' :eek:

John R

About 60cm would get them another row so that could well be it.

Bluehair

Originally posted by John R
About 60cm would get them another row so that could well be it.

Na it's purely the cleaning and facilitating the quick turnaround. Ryanair has always maxed out the seats on their aircraft. 189 is the max the 737-800 is certed for and thats exactly what they put in

BuffyBot

If one wants a snooze where do I put my book...?

Locker. It's overhead

egan007

who needs a pouch for an hour? 25minutes to england
picky picky - u get what u pay for

Capt'n Midnight

Just supprised they havent tried trireme seating yet.

Thranite,zygian and thalmium classes - not exactly catchy though.

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by Bluehair
Ryanair has always maxed out the seats on their aircraft. 189 is the max the 737-800 is certed for and thats exactly what they put in

What is your source for this assertion? As I said, this plane had 33 rows = 198 seats.

Locker. It's overhead

Yeah - try making a couple of trips to the overhead locker mid flight if you are in a window seat and the two people between you and the aisle are not mates...

who needs a pouch for an hour? 25minutes to england

As I said lots of their flights are two hours or so. I'm not picky - I'm a Ryanair fan but this is actually going to be very inconvenient.

I forgot to mention the seats on the new plane do not recline at all either. (Does not worry me too much but does make me wonder is it a squeeze in a row thing??

embraer170

What is your source for this assertion? As I said, this plane had 33 rows = 198 seats.

Definitely 189 seats. Legal limit on the B737-800 due to the exit configuration.

therecklessone

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
What is your source for this assertion? As I said, this plane had 33 rows = 198 seats.

Are you basing that on seat numbers? Or did you count the rows yourself? Its just that when I flew to Amsterdam with BMI, they were "missing" two rows, 13 (no surprise) and 17 (nearly sure on this one). And neither would have been near the emergency exits, they were just skipped when it came to numbering.

vinnyfitz

Well actually the last row was numbered 35. (But no I did not count the number of rows forward from me. ) The cabin crew would not let anyone sit in the last 2 rows. Not sure if it clarifies anything.

Bluehair

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
What is your source for this assertion? As I said, this plane had 33 rows = 198 seats
and
Well actually the last row was numbered 35. (But no I did not count the number of rows forward from me. ) The cabin crew would not let anyone sit in the last 2 rows. Not sure if it clarifies anything.

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/737family/technical.html

http://www.ryanair.com/about/aboutfleet.html

189 is the legal max. Any more and the aircraft would have been refused its certificate to fly. Interestingly the 737-900 is nearly 9 feet longer than the 737-800 that Ryanair use and yet is still certed for max 189 seats (but with more legroom). This is mainly due to exit no requirements etc..(as embraer170 pointed out). Ryanair went for the slightly shorter 737-800(therefore cheaper to run, less weight) since they can only put 189 pax max in anyway.

The reason the crew refused access to the last two rows is probably to do with aircraft trim (weight and balance) in the air. Truth be told though it makes shag all difference and is just a handy excuse to keep those rows free of pax and away from the galley.

Didn't realise they didn't recline though (never tryed). If you were in the last row or one forward of an exit it won't recline anyway so perhaps it was that. Mind you I aggree the lack of seat pocket is a bit of a pain in the ass but one I'm happy to sacrifice for short flights and cheapo fares

embraer170

Excellent explanation Bluehair.

Didn't realise they didn't recline though (never tryed). If you were in the last row or one forward of an exit it won't recline anyway so perhaps it was that.

All the new seats are non-reclining.

Ro-76

I was in edinburgh with Ryanair this weekend. On Friday night, we arrived in Edinburgh 20 mins ahead of time, and landed in Dublin 35 minutes ahead of time last night!

The ground staff called for us to board before the last remaining passengers had alighted from the inbound flight. The last of the inbound passengers passed the first of the outbound passengers on the tarmac.

If the loss of a seat pocket means that the improve punctuality, and lower prices, I'm all for it. Who knows, maybe the other players will follow suit, as they have done on the inflight refreshment charge.

Ro

MadsL

Ryanair are not the worst seat pitch as it turns out....

http://www.airlinequality.com/Product/seats_europe.htm

vinnyfitz

My impression is that Ryanair has just reduced their legroom on the newest plane. (Maybe from 30" to 29" to compete with Easyjet, Monarch et al.) I've no additional evidence to back this up though- just my personal impression.

BuffyBot

Seat reclining on short-haul flights is pretty useless anyway. I certainly won't miss someone elses seat being squished into my kneecaps.