It’s the holiday season. Cue the perennial media moaning about disastrous travel experiences during the great migration of Americans hoping to spend the holidays with their families. The crush of travelers, while paling in comparison to China’s holiday migrations, puts tremendous strain on our nation’s (decrepit) infrastructure, while providing good fodder for news reporters gleefully updating viewers from packed airport terminals about how painfully the holiday travel experience is unfolding this year. Throw in some overhead shots of stalled traffic and news viewers, comfortable on their couches, will undoubtedly feel superior to the poor souls entrapped in some hellish attempt to get off the highway.
As bad as the packed terminal/station and traffic scenes are, however, perhaps the most gory displays are those generated by irate airline passengers. The rise of cellphone video has treated us all to scenes of mayhem in passenger cabins, especially when flights are delayed. The holiday crush is usually fertile ground for delays, making the holiday travel period a bonanza of wild plane videos. From the typical fights over carry-on baggage space to the sparring between worn-out flight attendants and disgruntled passengers, we have all been treated to visuals of some epic onboard confrontations. While funny viewed from a distance, frequent travelers pray that such incidents be reserved for someone else’s flight. (Perhaps no one wishes for smooth travel more than law firm associates, for whom holiday weeks can often be the only (and even then, not always) permissible time to actually get home to family or away for a vacation.)
Yes, Biglaw partners (and maybe some lucky associates) will have the ability to avoid much of the fray by flying business class. Sure, it can be much more expensive, but there are certain trips where one must be productive immediately upon landing. In those situations, the expense of flying business can be a necessary one. Fellow IP litigators will readily recognize the frequency of travel for many in our field, as well as the sometimes critical need to sleep on a plane in certain situations. While I personally have been the grateful beneficiary of my fair share of business class flights, I have also endured “ultra-long range” flights in coach, to and from the Far East — multiple times.
Legal Is Changing. And NeoSummit Is Where The Future Is Being Built.
Legal and operational leaders are gathering May 6–7 in Fort Lauderdale to confront the questions the industry hasn't answered—with a keynote from Amanda Knox setting the tone.
When you are in coach for a long-haul flight, every square inch of space is precious. Which is why on my various trips to and from Asia I have begged for exit-row seats, beseeched a gate attendant to leave the middle seat next to me open, and cheered zealous United flight attendants shooing away fellow passengers with the temerity to try and sneak into extra-legroom coach seats. The latter experience, on a return from Shanghai to Newark, forever cemented the value for me of having a full coach row to myself. Again, every inch of space is precious, especially when there is 15 hours of flying ahead of you.
It is no surprise, therefore, that various long-haul airlines have been looking for ways to innovate — and thereby monetize — the coach seating “experience” for passengers. We can ignore for a moment that domestic airlines seem hell-bent on achieving their monetary goals by making coach travel as constraining as physically possible. Their foreign counterparts, like the highly-regarded Air New Zealand, have introduced (patent pending) innovations like the “SkyCouch” which uses clever footrests that raise up to make the entire economy row a flat “couch” that makes the trip more comfortable. Yes, it is not cheap, but the configuration is much cheaper than an equivalent business class ticket. Available since 2012, Air New Zealand even licensed the concept to Taiwanese-carrier China Airlines. While China Airlines’ version is apparently no longer offered, Air New Zealand continues to market the SkyCouch as a relatively-affordable option for families and even solo passengers looking for a more comfortable flight. And it appears that Brazilian carrier Azul has also licensed the concept from Air New Zealand for their “SkySofa.” Chalk one up for patent protection leading to licensing of competitors.
As you may expect, Air New Zealand is not the only innovator in this space. An Air France subsidiary named Joon has recently unveiled their coach seat improvement approach which uses the headrests (rather than Air New Zealand’s modified footrests) to create a middle row couch of sorts for families to book. And in contrast to the substantial Air New Zealand upcharge for the SkyCouch seating, Joon is offering these special middle seats free to families who book them close to departure. But since Joon’s offering is only available to families traveling together, it is clearly aimed at the leisure market and thus of less relevance to business travelers.
Ultimately, the presence of innovation in the coach seating space is a good example of how companies hope to drive demand for their products through unique offerings. As IP lawyers, we always prefer to see companies use innovation to drive additional revenue, especially where that innovation helps better the customer experience. And while we will always hope for a client-paid business class seat when we have to travel, it is good to know that there are more economical ways to have a comfortable flight and a chance to sleep relatively well coming online. Having been jammed against a window in coach for a 15-hour flight from New York to Seoul, I can tell you that I would gladly pay a premium for a SkyCouch rather than replicate that experience. It may seem unrealistic now, but with continued customer-focused innovation, coach comfort for passengers may no longer be a myth.
LexisNexis Practical Guidance Rolls Out Dedicated Practice Area for AI & Technology
The new generation of AI-related legal issues are inherently cross-disciplinary, implicating corporate law, intellectual property, data privacy, employment, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at [email protected] or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.