Winging It: Winging It: Airlines see comfort, fun as a plus

Flying is fun again! I'm writing this column while sitting comfortably in the middle of a typical airline three-seat row that I have all to myself. I'm writing on my laptop, which is resting across two tray tables. If only the fidgety, middle-aged guy in the row ahead, wearing a baseball cap with "Bite Me!" written across the strap, would quit stretching his arms over his head and into my space, all would be right with the world.

Of course, enjoying this kind of space on a typical flight - and the opportunity to open a laptop at all when all the seats are full - is quite rare these days. The key is to take a 7 a.m. flight on the Tuesday before Labor Day. The flight was only half-full because it was missing a lot of business travelers.

Things will be different in the air tomorrow, when about a quarter of this planeload of leisure travelers should be in school. And road warriors will return to their routines, squeezed three abreast into my space in seats 19D through 19F.

In the months ahead, the discomfort level is likely to rise even more as airlines reduce their schedules to save money on fuel, jamming as many as possible into the remaining flights. The upcoming holiday season is likely to be especially unpleasant, unless the much-higher air fares that carriers are charging keep many people at home.

The in-flight spaciousness I enjoyed made me think of what airlines do to their airplane cabins, and what they do in flight, to make them more passenger-friendly. If you're flying first- or business-class, most carriers spare no expense, giving customers seats that recline to a flat or almost-flat position, along with all they can eat and drink. Of course, most of us can't afford that.

On most domestic and international airlines, coach passengers are lucky to have 33 inches of legroom (what carriers call "seat pitch," or the distance between the back of one seat and the one in front of it). You can find how much space you'll have on virtually any airline worldwide at

» READ MORE: www.seatguru.com

, which has cabin charts showing which seats have the most legroom and which to avoid.

On last week's trip, I was on Southwest, which has 32 or 33 inches of pitch in every row of its 737s, the only kind of plane it flies. US Airways and United have a variety of configurations in their fleets, with most of them 31 or 32 inches. The largest carrier, American, is about the same as US Airways on most of its planes. AirTran's jets give you 30 or 31 inches, Continental and Delta average about 31 inches. Some overseas discounters, such as Britain's EasyJet, give you only 29 inches between seats.

Now, 31 or 32 inches of space isn't so bad if you're on a domestic flight of no more than a few hours. But many carriers have just 31 inches of pitch in their widebodied, long-haul jets that fly seven to 12 hours nonstop. At least the air up at 39,000 feet is usually smooth, so you can get up and take a walk from time to time.

I made my first flights on JetBlue Airways this summer - first for me because it doesn't serve Philadelphia - and understood why it has so many devoted fans. We were on a new 100-seat Embraer 190 jet with two-by-two seating, 32 or 33 inches of pitch, and an above-average amount of room under each seat to stretch out your legs. JetBlue's A320 jets are even more spacious, with 34-inch seat pitch the standard.

But what made the biggest difference on JetBlue was having live TV and satellite radio at every seat. The distraction made the three-hour flight seem much shorter.

JetBlue's on-board service also was good, but that can be said of most airlines I've used recently. The more pleasant, or even fun, a carrier makes a flight, the more likely you are to forget about being cramped.

That was my experience earlier this year on a 6 a.m. flight on a US Airways Express regional jet operated by Mesa Airlines. This long, skinny 86-seat plane had the usual 31-inch seat pitch. But it also had a crew that was at least as entertaining as any I've ever heard on Southwest, which is legendary for lighthearted crews.

The lead flight attendant that day, Jane, practically sang all the announcements in a lilting voice, and smiled virtually the whole trip. When I complimented her on the way out, she said, "Yes, I was a music major and used to be in theater."

Before we pushed back from the gate, the pilot, Dave, announced: "Good morning folks. We'll be going as soon as I find the keys. My copilot this morning is 18 years old and this is his first flight. And by the way, I'm not a real pilot but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Needless to say, either Dave or the "18-year-old" was a real pilot and the rest of the flight was routine. But it put me in a better mood the rest of the day.