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Subscribe to RSSHOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Chris Lopinto wants air travelers to never get stuck in a middle seat again.
"Being in the middle seat is kind of like gambling," said Lopinto, co-founder and president for ExpertFlyer.com. “It’s next to impossible to get out of them on your own without some help."
Airlines today are averaging an 85 percent load factor, Lopinto said, which means roughly 66 percent of passengers get an aisle or window and 19 percent (since middle seats are the last to be filled) are stuck in the middle. “There are way too many unhappy travelers.”
To solve the problem, ExpertFlyer.com has created seat alerts. On its website, travelers can see a seat map for their flight and request the seat they want, whether an aisle, window or two seats together. “If you actually want to sit next to the person you’re traveling with,” Lopinto said.
Travelers can create one seat alert at a time for free. If the seat requested becomes available, travelers are notified via e-mail. Additional alerts are 99 cents.
ExpertFlyer also incorporates maps and seat reviews from TripAdvisor's SeatGuru.
Lopinto presented his product Tuesday before a critics circle, a panel of judges and an audience of his peers during the Travel Innovation Summit at this year's PhoCusWright conference, an annual meeting of travel industry professionals. Lopinto saiid ExpertFlyer has a 72 percent success rate in getting people to the seat they want.
But Jim Hornthal, chairman of trip-planning company Triporati and one this year's critics, noted that many airlines are now charging premiums for the best seat assignments. And there's no guarantee that you will get the seat you want. “I’m paying you a dollar for the hope that I get moved,” Hornthal said.
More on Travel Kit:
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- The most savvy travel accessories
Joy Jernigan is a senior travel editor for msnbc.com and is reporting from The PhoCusWright Conference 2011. Follow her on Twitter.
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If I understand this correctly, Mr. Hornthal will only pay a dollar for the "hope of moving" seats if he has more than one seat alert set at a time. As long as there is only one alert set, he will be able to keep his dollar.
Is this an ad?
They didn't even try to hide it....
Aren't most of the articles on MSNBC ads? A company sends out a press release and it gets uploaded to the website under someone else's name. Every once in a while there's a story -- or an interesting comment. If I weren't waiting for someone, I wouldn't be here, either!
No, this is the type of advice you find in Travel Kit. Everyone wants a leg up on getting good seats.
WTF, is this some startup affiliated with MSNBC? What a completely useless article.
Then why did you read it?
It's generally difficult to tell if an article is useless -- like this one -- unless you first read it.
With all these "is this an ad" type of comments, I'm guessing that this article hit the front page and people don't realize this section is for travel advice. MSNBC always discloses their partnerships, and if it were an ad, there wouldn't be a criticism of the service at the end or a pointer about the less than 3 out of 4 success rate.
You don't realize it's useless until after you read it, Mike. I love a snarky comment as much as the next guy, but yours kinda makes you look dumb.
OK, someone needs to brush up on their math skills. If 66% of the people on the flight have an aisle or a window seat and 19% have the middle seat, that's only 85% of the passengers. Where are the other 15% sitting?
It seems that someone saw that the capacity on a flight was 85% and thus thought that the percentages of the passengers should also add up to 85% (66 + 19 = 85). But no, the percentages of the passengers should add up to 100%.
Suppose a flight has only one row in a 3-3 configuration. Thus, there are two aisle seats, two window seats, and two middle seats.
If there is only one person on the flight (16.7% capacity) and he's sitting in a window seat, than 100% of the passengers have an aisle-or-window seat. In fact, we can increase the number of people on this flight to four (66.7% capacity) and still maintain a 100% aisle-or-window seat scenario.
With five people on the plane with one middle seat empty, that's 80% having aisle-or-window seats (four) and 20% having a middle seat (one) even though the plane is only at 83.3% capacity.
T = total seats on the plane
AW = 2/3 T = total aisle or window seats on the plane
C = .85 T = capacity of flight
M = C - AW = middle seated passengers (capacity of flight minus aisle or window seats)
M% = M/C = (C - AW)/C = 1 - AW/C = 1 - (2/3 T)/(.85 T) = 1 - 2/(3 * .85) = 21.6%
Thus, about 22% of passengers on a 3-3 configured plane flying at 85% capacity will have a middle seat leaving 78% of them with an aisle or window seat.
Get a life
Brian, for all the work you did... you missed the part where the article said planes are only flying at 85% capacity. The other 15% of seats... have nobody sitting in them.
Alan - He is correct. Total percentage of passengers should reach 100%.
The article really screwed up the math. If the flight is only 85% full and middle seats go last, then a larger percentage of people are in window/aisle seats. In other words, the article artificially raises your odds of getting a middle seat. It is inaccurate and misleading.
Honestly, readers should be bothered by the sloppy statistics that show up in news articles. They show up everywhere and not just in fluffy travel pieces.
There is nothing screwy with the math. 66+19 = 85. 85 is the percentage of seats with butts in them.
66% of the seats are aisle/window and have someone sitting in them.
19% of the seats are middle seats and have someone sitting in them.
15% of the seats are middle seats and are empty.
66+19+15 = 100%. The math checks out fine. The problem is the interpretation that 100% represents the total passengers as opposed to the total number of seats on the plane.
The article clearly states that the middle seats are the last ones taken. If 15% of the seats are empty, you are pretty safe in assuming the majority (if not nearly all) of the empty seats are middle seats. Therefore more than 66% of the passengers are seated in window/aisle seats.
MsWheezer, if you're looking for the percentage of total passengers sitting in window/aisle seats (which the author didn't give or discuss), I can do the math for you. It's 77.65%.
100 (total percentage of seats) / 85 (percentage of seats that are occupied) * 66 (percentage of seats which are window/aisle) = 77.65
Alan, the article didn't talk about the % of seats filled, it talked about the % of passengers. I quote: "66 percent of PASSENGERS get an aisle or window and 19 percent (...) are stuck in the middle".
It doesn't talk about seats, it talks about passengers. That's screwy math every way you look at it.
I agree with you the number should be 77.65% of passengers flying will get an non-middle seat. However, the author's math is majorly screwed up in every way.
Even if the 66% part was correct, then the 19% remaining would STILL not be right. 100% of passengers are going to be sitting somewhere. Well, maybe not if they fly Southwest...
There is an easier, more certain way to avoid a middle seat.
Unless the airline will assign seats when you buy your tickets just buy the tickets from another airline.
You will find one that will make seat assignments when you make your purchase if they understand you are going to go with another carrier if they will not do it!
Talk about getting a free plug . . .
If you never want to get stuck in a middle seat again and you're really into paying for an upgrade, toss in and buy your own private jet. You can sit anywhere you want. Look, people, the reality is, if you chose to fly on a commercial airline, you're going to be stuck in a seat near someone who's snoring too loud, someone who's behind you and constantly pulls on your seat to help themselves to stand up, someone talking too loudly, someone who didn't shower that morning, someone wearing some hideous perfume or cologne, someone traveling with a fussy baby. You chose to fly this way, you deal with a "headache" either way. Besides, I'd say the window seat is really the hideous one to get out of if you're in a section that has three seats per row and you're not right behind the bulkhead.
AirTran. Business Class. Despite the fact that it's gone in around a year or so, this still disproves the commercial airline bad seat theory.
Alan, would you please explain what you meant, in greater detail? Airtran is going to get rid of its business seats? Why would they do that?
AirTran has been purchased by Southwest. Southwest plans to have the full fleet converted and be on a codeshare by 2014, perhaps sooner. As part of the merger, Southwest is converting all of AirTran's fleet and service options to the Southwest model, which does not include Business Class or assigned seating.
There are more details at http://www.lowfaresfarther.com/ - As a devoted AirTran passenger, I couldn't be more disappointed, but so goes the art of air travel.
Either this is a VERY slow news day and they're accepting open submissions from PR firms, or this is blatant, paid advertising disguised as news.
And what a horribly written article. Joy Jernigen needs to look for an alternate career or quadruple the caffeine dosage. It's so bad, I don't even know where to start. It's like it was written in German then dumped into Google Translate and posted here without editing. My favorite (then I can't bear to continue):
“If you actually want to sit next to the person you’re traveling with,” Lopinto said.
That is a complete sentence in the ad, I mean, "article." It doesn't relate to anything before or after it. Amazing.
i always book with expedia. forget about 'alerts', they give you a map of the plane and allow you to choose your seat. i usually fly on regional flights with a 2-3 configuration and choose a window seat on the port side 2-row aisle right behind the wall so i have lots of legroom. if i want to assure ill sit alone, i buy both seats.
Seriously? This is not news or even a friendly travel tip: every travel site I know allows you to pick your seat.
Actually, I'm guessing you don't travel much. Southwest, for example, doesn't let you pick your seat until you're physically on the plane. Most airlines charge a fee for picking your seat at the time of booking unless you have Elite status.
and this is why I fly american so I can pick my own seat. And for the record, American is just as cheap or cheaper than SW when I fly.
It's only going to get worse. If you buy your ticket early on a airline that allows you to pick your seat without paying extra, you can probably get a window or aisle. I just checked United, I got a LA to New York JFK flight in Jan for 299 RT. Turns out it was a 757-200 with all premium economy (plus) and you could chose a seat.
LAX to Washington DC, could still select your seats to (standard economy, cost for econ+)
So, book early and book your seat at the same time. Do it on line so you have control.
If you're doing it the last minute, you will get a center seat. Even frequent flyers get centers at the last minute although the airlines will work hard to get you a better seat if you fly a lot.
Ask at the counter before a big flight. If Business and first are not full, a lot of frequent flyers get upgraded and their seats become available. If you ask, you might get moved.
Paying someone to get you a better seat is a waste of money. Just call the airlines and ask. Two days in advance, you can still see the seating chart on United and know if an Aisle or window is open (probably not that late).
Uhh, you can already do this for free on the Airline website. You can also choose your seat if you check in early enough.
Another acolyte inspired by the Vampire Airline Industry bent on sucking the last cent from the 90%. I do say the 90%. The 1% - 10% fly privately into 'Executive Airports' that have been paid for with the 90%'s taxes. There is no pesky TSA to hinder baggage and body. There aren't any pesky Airport Police to remove them from their flight, interrogate them and then ship them to Guantanamo based on an airlines 'waitress/waiter' opinion. They aren't required to hand over their civil and constitutional rights before entering the Airport. They aren't charged extra fees to pay for somebody to search them, go through an FDA Unapproved scanner that offers no protection against exposure to radiation and have been banned in Europe. The US is looking mighty pluocratic these days...... Since Airlines fail to realize the thousands of 'families' they have cut out of air travel via 'commodities' driven fuel hikes, fees for airport usage/security, baggage, etc. they must continue to 'steal,' unregulated, from the public that can still either afford to, or are forced to fly. The traveler pool will continue to shrink as they attempt to maintain the billions in profit through their shady business methods. This is already coming full circle with the Credit Industry. Like WS they will need to find yet more 'suckers' to play their shell game by overinflating the cost of 'some' part of their business without showing any concrete evidence that their claims are valid. Banks and Airlines are the best example of 'Buyer Beware.' Rather then the consumer paying a price for a 'product' and having recourse if that product does not perform as 'sold,' the consumer is held responsible for the corporations failure to meet their own claims. It's called Corporate Deep Pockets where money and lawyers abound for the explicit purpose; to screw their customers. Good job! I don't fly if I can get there any other way.
This guy should just send a freaking chain letter asking for a dollar rather then attempting to profit on what most Americans now consider to be a barely legal business..... The Airline Industry.