Here in the United States, you’ll find companies here and there that listen to their customers and make changes based on their feedback. However, it’s a rare company that makes a business choice specifically to earn them more money, their customers complain, and before the “new” process even starts, the company decides not to go through with the change.
But that’s the U.S., where the almighty dollar is #1, and if, let’s say, an airline decides to jam even more seats into their planes, they make it happen, comfort of Economy customers be damned.
See, in other countries, customers’ complaints sometimes actually mean something. Such is the case with South Korea’s flagship carrier, Korean Air, which recently hit pause on a $215 million cabin overhaul for its Boeing 777-300ER fleet.
PC: Florian Klebl / flickr /
The new layout was announced early last month. The airline’s goal was to elevate the in-flight experience by introducing a new premium economy class. It would see the upgrading of business class, and refreshing of economy cabins across 11 aircraft.
However the 40-seat premium economy section would change its popular 3-3-3 layout to a 3-4-3 one, thereby reducing seat width by about 2.5cm (just shy of 1 inch), as well as decreasing padding in the seats. NOT a comfortable flight at all.
Criticism and backlash
Passengers, not surprisingly, were not happy.
Discussions on social media showed complaint after complaint. Many travelers vowed to choose competitors if the changes went through. Meanwhile, frequent flyers appeared frustrated about the potential loss of comfort, arguing that having more seats that were narrower and less padded went against the airline’s reputation for quality service.
Regulatory concerns
And it wasn’t just customers who were upset.
South Korean regulators also voiced concerns about the overhaul. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC), which is overseeing Korean Air’s ongoing acquisition of Asiana Airlines, flagged the changes as a potential violation of merger conditions that require Korean Air to maintain service quality on certain routes. The FTC said that reducing economy seat comfort could breach those terms.
So they had customers yelling on one side and regulatory pressures on the other. Not a good combination.
With that, Korean Air announced they would scrap the plan for 10 of the 11 aircraft. Only one plane would get the new 3-4-3 layout and the rest would keep the original 3-3-3 layout.
Happily, customer complaints and government oversight still work in some parts of the world.
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