All travelers know that some airlines have more comfortable interior configurations than others. I’ve not had the misfortune to fly Cathay Pacific, but after reading this post by Bill Forrester about his recent experience, they’re off my list until I hear that they’ve reconfigured their planes.
Bill writes primarily about the troubles that travelers with spinal injuries, but I’d like to take a moment to speculate about what the seat configuration he describes would feel like to a traveler with pain such as myself.
Agony.
Because I’ve got pelvic pain, any seating position that forces the bulk of the weight of my upper body right over my pelvis starts out as uncomfortable and becomes intolerable after about 20-30 minutes. Reclined seats are great, so long as I have lumbar support to keep my back from bowing–I’ve also got an inflamed SI joint.
Oh, and I’m 5-foot 3-inches tall. The headrest would be far enough above my head to be a bad joke, not a useful feature.
After a long flight in one of these Cathay Pacific seats would probably leave me close to unable to walk, in so much pain that I wouldn’t be able to handle any of my luggage or do much of anything upon landing but curl into a fetal ball and try to sleep for the next two or three days. Gosh that sounds like fun.
I agree with Bill–if you’ve got a chronic pain condition and need to fly to or from Asia, avoid Cathay Pacific. Many other flyers who’ve experienced the “shell seats” concur–even people in perfect health were in pain when they disembarked. I’ll post an update here when I’m able to confirm that the airline has reconfigured their interiors to be more friendly to people with chronic pain and hidden (and visible!) disabilities.
I’d like to add another one. I use supplementary oxygen, and travel with a concentrator (makes its’ own oxygen) with an 8-hr battery.
I recently had occasion to make 2 connecting flights with Icelandic Air. Unlike most American airlines, they insisted that I used their oxygen, at a cost of $80.00 per leg. When we boarded the first plane (making my husband and I board last), they realised that they had ‘forgotten’ to bring the oxygen. Mine was almost depleted from a previous flight and layover. They grudgingly let me use mine until it ran out, then gave me a long series of tiny emergency bottles which each lasted about 20 minutes. They had an extremely uncomfortable nose piece which completely covered my nose, mouth and chin and had a sharp nose clip which took all the skin off my nose.
On the second flight, they supplied oxygen. It was in a huge wooden box about a foot high, which they put under my feet, my feet resting on it, leaving my knees almost under my chin. Again, it had a nosepiece, hard plastic this time, which again fitted over both nose, mouth and under my chin.
I will not be flying Icelandic Air again.
Gail: Ouch! That sounds just awful. Did you file a complaint with the airline? If not, I’d suggest that you do so. You probably won’t “get anything” out of it, but it might help an exec or two think harder about their supplemental oxygen policy.
And thanks for commenting here! I am sure that a number of my readers will find your information about Icelandic Air useful when making their own travel plans.
Great blog, Liz. As a travel writer, it’s actually a topic I’ve never considered. This is an education. Congrats on your upcoming book too. I am sure you will have a very appreciative audience when it’s released. I do hope to meet you at the upcoming Travel & Words Spring 2011 in Woodinville WA. (www.travelandwords.com for anyone else following this thread.) Please check my blog at http://www.localroads.wordpress.com.
Cheers and happy travels,
Allen Cox
Allen, thanks so much for visiting! Indeed, I seem to be a bit of a pioneer in writing about travel with hidden disabilities in general and chronic pain in particular. To be honest, I would never have considered it if it hadn’t become such a big part of my life personally.
Local Roads is great! I particularly enjoy your sense of humor. I’m also working my way through your Nuggets for New Travel Writers. I’m not precisely new, but I’m always looking for ways to improve my business (and my income).
In fact, I’ve been considering going to Travel & Words this year–it sounds like a fun conference. Though I don’t live in the Pac NW, I have family scattered all over the region and spent my summers north of Spokane as a child. I’m told that non-residents are allowed at the conference.