Why is Traveling So Uncomfortable?

We take for granted how safe mass travel is. We expect there to never be accidents. And when there is, it makes huge news. Like the door being blown out on a Boeing aircraft a few weeks ago.

I, like so many others, have deep fear of dying on an airplane. And this deep fear has pushed Airlines to make flying more safe. Commercial flights is a young business. Less than a hundred years old. And we’ve managed to bring down the crash rates. It’s impressive.

But as flights have gotten safer, they’ve also gotten more uncomfortable. That’s again, part of the same human nature instinct.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Whenever I ride the trains across Europe, I usually spring for first-class tickets. Surpringsly, they're usually available even though they are just one or two carriages. There's a reason for that. It isn’t exactly a steal. You shell out almost double the price, and all you get is a seat that’s slightly wider, an extra plug for charging your phone, and maybe having a row to yourself instead of being crammed next to a stranger.

Here’s first class:

This is second class. Not a huge difference to justify the 100% price increase, right?

Obviously it isn’t exactly a bargain. Double the cost for marginal perks. It’s mostly the corporate suits expensing it since the average person wouldn’t see it as money well spent. That’s why first class always looks like a ghost town. But that somehow flips the script and makes it an actual decent deal in disguise. You end up riding an almost empty car with a ton more room and avoid the loud drunks or families with screaming babies. It's a little more peaceful.

Most people are buying train tickets based on price not comfort.

Rule: What drives each purchase is either cost above all else or quality above all else.

Rory Sutherland noticed this about Airplane seating. Premium economy feels much more civilized to sit in for 6 hours than the claustrophobic and narrow 3-3 seating in economy. Look at this. It doesn’t feel luxurious. It just feels like the right way to fly.

But premium economy is double the price of an economy ticket then. People won’t buy that much. Instead they’ll come up for hacks for economy class like this

@nalae.co

Ok, economy class seats aren’t the most confortable place to be in, but these products helped make the flight so much more bearable 😌 all ... See more

When people fly on planes they are thinking about costs not quality. So the market isn’t there for a more comfortable plane ride within budget.

Does it make sense? It does, at a certain level. If you consider that humans make purchases based on stimulation and thrills. People get a thrill from

1) a bargain (everyone loves a sale)

2) from an extravagant purchase

But we don’t get an endorphin rush from better than mediocre. The end result is uncomfortable train and airplane seats.

The market funnels us all into playing price wars or luxury splurges. But the market is a reflection of our preferences. Everything in between just feels meh - not enough savings to celebrate, not enough indulgence to feel special. And the corporations keep funneling products and experiences into either extreme, because euphoria and rage get people to whip out their credit cards faster than mild contentment ever could.

The Furniture Market

When it's time to furnishing your home, you have a choice - bargain or luxury. The furniture business is basically Ikea or drop 20 grand on a sofa. There's no middle ground. Even places like West Elm, CB2, Pottery Barn - that stuff no better quality than Ikea's particle board and glue construction, just higher price tags.

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