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First-Class Turbulence in 'Third Class'
The Travel Critic · April 12, 2000

Trapped in the last row of economy class, with the two-part soundtrack of an aircraft engine and the galley behind her, Katy Koontz says she'll never forget her recent flight from New York to Athens, Greece.

"There was a long line for the bathroom next to us," she says. "We had no room for our luggage, because the flight attendants had blocked off the overhead bin above us. And they ran out of our choice of meals before they served us."

The reason Koontz, a Knoxville writer, got sent to the back? Maybe it's because she was traveling with Samantha, her 5-year-old daughter, Koontz says. "Let's put it this way," she says. "They've never seated me in the front when I've traveled with her."

Koontz could be on to something. Airlines seem to have an unofficial rule of seating passengers with children toward the back of the plane, relegating the travelers to an unofficial "third class" of service. Some agents and reservationists, believing they're doing families a favor by banishing them to the last few rows of economy class, tacitly support the carriers.

The back of the plane is thought to be safest during a crash - an assumption supported by news photos of downed jetliners whose tail sections remain intact.

But is it so safe? Not necessarily. Conditions in third class can be significantly worse than anywhere else on board, critics say. On some types of aircraft, the engine is just inches from your ears. Although a few hours generally won't damage your hearing, prolonged exposure can injure you.

The rear is not the most pleasant place, either. The seats don't recline in the last row. The enduring odor of an overflowing bathroom is at times inescapable. Meal service begins at the front of the cabin, meaning food may be gone by the time the cart gets to the last rows. And that's just for starters.

If you think your neighbors in third class are more trouble, you might be right. The Federal Aviation Administration mandates that prisoners and their escorts be seated in the rear of most passenger seats.

Duane McGray, chief of public safety at Nashville (Tennessee) International Airport, remembers watching this policy in effect. A contract killer was deported from Orlando, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on an American Airlines flight, he recalls. "He was brought under heavy security and taken up the back steps. A SWAT team covered him."

The cons pose a special threat to the passengers in the back, says Robert J. Cox, a special projects officer for the National Security Committee for the Air Line Pilots Association. "Just because they're handcuffed doesn't mean they're harmless," he says.

Equally troublesome can be travelers who end up in third class because they've offended a gate agent.

"There were times when someone came up to my gate and rubbed me the wrong way," says Tim Rivers, a 22-year airline veteran from Lake Wales, Florida. "I would stick him in the back of the plane, in a middle seat, shoved between Big Bertha and Andre the Giant."

Gate crews are frequently eager to let a disruptive passenger board, says security consultant Terry Riley. They put that traveler in the rear, and let that person get on first. "What better way to deal with a problem passenger than to let them on the flight as soon as possible? It gets the problem out of their face and lets the airline have an on-time departure."

Difficult passengers stuck in the back "tend to be more drunk and rowdy," says Renee Sheffer, a flight attendant for US Airways and founder of the Skyrage Foundation, an advocacy group for flight professionals. She should know: Last year, Sheffer says, she was assaulted by a passenger sitting in the back of the plane who claimed to have dropped acid and threatened to "bring the plane down."

Most airlines deny they instruct reservationists to send travelers with tots to the back. Only one domestic carrier, Northwest, has a special "family section" in the rear of the main cabin. El Al offers a 15-row, 150-seat special section on two of its Boeing 747 aircraft that it once referred to as a "family zone," but an airline spokeswoman insists the seating is "not mandatory" for passengers traveling with young children. Southwest Airlines abandoned its family section a year ago because it was "inconvenient" and now says it makes flying in the rear "voluntary" for families.

Nonetheless, many carriers now block choice seats at the front of the economy class cabin for passengers who buy unrestricted tickets or for frequent fliers. That leaves families, which tend to travel on restricted bargain tickets, stuck at the back.

"I've seen it," says travel agent John W. Frenaye, who owns the Carlson Wagonlit Travel affiliate in Annapolis, Maryland. "The parents with babies sit together - in the back."

For Ann Link, owner of a photo preservation business in Portland, Oregon, getting relegated to the back when she flies with her four children is as disappointing as it is disconcerting. The unofficial seating policy is "discriminatory," she says. Airlines, Link adds, are "taking the most defenseless people and putting them in harm's way."

Avoiding third class

Here are some tips on how to stay away from the back of the plane:

Book tickets early. By buying in advance, you not only get a better fare but also have first pick of the good seats. As a rule, the sooner you make your plans, the better your chances of avoiding third class.

Ask. Call the airline ahead of time and request a seat near the front (exit rows, which have extra leg room, are off limits to children). If that doesn't work, repeat your request at check-in time.

Use an agent. If you don't travel often or only occasionally, find a reliable travel agent. An accredited professional knows all the tricks of the trade - like how to snag a more comfortable seat - and can keep you out of third class.

Wait. Once the cabin doors close, you can usually move to another empty seat, provided it's in the same class of service (provided the flight isn't full.) If you're unsure about moving, ask a flight attendant to tell you when it's OK to get up.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator and author of A Bridge to Nowhere: A Year in the Florida Keys. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.