News from the Future

In their latest effort to trim operating costs, both AmeriUnited Airlines and Continental Airlines announced yesterday that they will no longer provide seating for coach passengers on domestic flights.

“Because of escalating costs and continued net losses, we have been forced to remove all the passenger seats from our fleet and sell them on eBay to generate revenue,” said AmeriUnited Chief Executive Officer

Rob M. Blynde. “Seating will still be available in our first class cabins, but passengers riding in coach will have to stand and hang onto whatever they can find during takeoffs and landings.”

AmeriUnited and Continental executives said the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to allow the removal of the seats since planes are now equipped with side airbags throughout the cabins, making seats and seat belts less of a safety need. (Both airlines installed the airbags throughout their fleets in 2024.)

The Air Travelers Association, a group that advocates for the rights of airline passengers, called the move yet another inconvenience for travelers who pay good money to fly, and another effort to cram as many passengers as possible onto flights. ATA adds that other airlines are sure to follow suit.

“First we had to start paying extra for meals,” said Ann Greerider, the group’s president. “Then it was paying to check luggage, then a charge for using the lavatory and now this.

“What happens when we hit turbulence,” Greerider asked. “Passengers are going to be bouncing all over that cabin like ping-pong balls.”