posted on March 24, 2001 10:48:27 PM new
You might want to consider a lightly publicized risk of air travel. It's called pulmonary thrombosis embolism and it reportedly kills at least 2000 people a year by direct connection to air travel. There is some difficulty in tying the condition to a specific cause, and the airlines have only recently acknowledged that there is a risk. In England it's informally called the 'ecomony class syndrome' though it can occur in any seating area in an airplane.
It's a serious health concern in this country and accounts for from 50,000 to 300,000 deaths a year for all causes.
Basically, it's from sitting in the damn seats for too long. You can be dead one day or one week after landing safely.
On the side: Did you know that the fuel shortage has a fun twist? It's that the airlines often cut the cycle of air in cabins down to very low rates to save fuel, meaning that old air stays longer and if infected by any passenger it raises the likelihood of more infections amongst passengers. There's a recent case of a plane which while carrying a person with a relatively rare influenza, arrived to deplane at least 72 additional cases. Happened last month in Alaska.
posted on March 25, 2001 03:52:33 AM new
So imaigine if you will what it is like to be BIG and get on an airliner.
I am so big that when I sit in an airline seat my arms hang out on either side of the seat into the space that is for the other seats. How would you like to be next to me?
I once was seated where the distance to the bulkhead in front of me did not allow my upper leg to come down level on top of the seat I had to sit with my knees against the wall and my feet off the deck. There is also no way I can use the fold out tray.
Wonder why I don't fly?
posted on March 25, 2001 09:39:50 AM newGravid: It's not easy for short-legged people either. The last time the tom, younger kitten, and I flew somewhere, I sat in the middle seat of our row(I'm short. They're not). I was stuck between two 6'+ people with long legs on a more than 8 hour flight. The younger kitten had one foot in my area and I kept my feet propped on the seat in front of me, probably endearing me to that passenger. I feared paramedics using the Jaws of Life would be needed to get us out of those seats.
I understand the airlines' needs to turn a profit but do they have to do it at the expense of our comfort and health?
