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Comment by monsieurbanana | Hacker News Reader

European economy class is worse than in the USA?

I have no experience flying in the USA, but it thought it would be the other way due to the seemingly massive amount of people complaining about seating.

Maybe it's because of the obesity rate.

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Yeah, having flown quiet a bit in both the EU and the US I can say for sure that the major American airlines (Delta, United, Southwest) are far more comfortable than European budget airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet, etc.) in economy class. They usually offer a bit more leg room, complimentary drinks, and might even have wifi on shorter hops. LGA -> ROC (a quick 45m hop) on Delta has both!

That being said, perhaps a better comparison would be Ryanair vs Spirit, but American budget airlines are still pretty limited in routes and aren't nearly as entrenched as their European counterparts.

> I can say for sure that the major American airlines (Delta, United, Southwest) are far more comfortable than European budget airlines (Ryanair, EasyJet, etc.)

That's an unfair comparison.

If you want to compare major airlines, compare Delta, United, Southwest to AirFrance, Lufthansa, Virgin. For budget airlines, compare Ryanair & EasyJet to Spirit.

The differences are much less pronounced.

You can't compare European budget airlines with fares way below $50 (Ryanair average fare is 33 euros! [1] to American airlines which you will never find fares below $50 (one-way) even on the shortest flights.

[1] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4195350/P...

Actually, I regularly see $49 Southwest flights in california that are 2-400 miles. There are $49 flights from Cincinati to Baltimore and Chicago right now.

I don't love any of the airlines, but the euro-budget are the worst and subsidized Asia/Arabian are the most comfortable. Southwest is in the middle, but typical coach comfort for the US.

Drinks are not complementary on regional flights unless you're in first class or have high enough status with the carrier (Diamond Medallion in Delta's case). Also, leg room on those regionals can be BRUTAL, and don't even think about bringing your rollabord unless you're willing to check it gate-side

US economy flights are definitely worse than EU economy flights. At most US domestic flights you don't have free food or drinks, you don't have an in-flight entertainment system in front of you. People are much worse on US planes than on EU planes (i.e. don't know have to behave).

Of course, that's just my anecdotal experience and I guess it varies based on subjective preferences.

I am comparing Delta etc. to Lufthansa etc., and Spirit etc. to EasyJet etc.

I've only been on 4 European flights (all of them were the cheapest I could find) and the flights seemed extra cramped and the people on the flight just seemed grumpier than on the flights I've taken in the US. My perception may be skewed a bit by the anxiety that comes with not understanding the language and culture.

ehhh its a low bar I wouldn't even try to split hairs, only the flights between continents are good, unless you get unlucky with the wrong plane model.

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