Arlington wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2019 11:45 am
I would like to see amtrak buy the VII sleeper shells (all the usual windows) and operate them with some form of "business class" interior. A semi-closed but not fully closable "pod" in which it feels more normal to be seated "next to" a stranger, and have seat occupants change over the course of the journey (easily changed "linen kit" / "sack sheet").
Phase 1: V2 Business Class module would be built from an existing kit of Amtrak's nicest seats, spaced at much greater pitch.
Phase 2: V2 Business Class would use standard "international first" lie-flat seats bought from an airline supplier
Phase 3: the creation of a lie-flat interior that uses the full height of the car's volume (as a Slumbercoach did), still without a door and lower requirements for an attendant.
How many threads must I kill the idea of lay-flat seats on? Apparently every one!
Amtrak’s new Viewliner sleeper cars reportedly will have:
1 handicap friendly room, 2 rooms, and 12 roomettes - plus 1 shower and 1 restroom compartments.
At double occupancy per room and roomette, that is a total of 30 bunks
Amtrak’s existing Amfleet 2 coaches have 59 seats, that’s with 15 rows of seats with 2 seats removed from one row to make room for a wheelchair space.To be revenue neutral, Amtrak needs to collect the same amount of revenue it could get from each coach car. At 30 seats, fares need to be twice coach. At 20 seats, fares need to be thrice coach. The best anyone has suggested is squeezing in 32 lay flat seats, so that puts the fares needed being almost twice that of an Amfleet 2 coach.
But we are not limiting this discussion to just Amfleet 2s, let us include Amfleet 1s coaches into this discussion. Amtrak existing Amfleet 1s have 72 seats. 36 seats would require twice the fares for an Amfleet 1 coach, 24 seats would require thrice the fares. 32 lay flat seats puts the fares needed being more than twice that of an Amfleet 1 coach.
Do you really believe that many corridor travelers want to spend that much for a lay-flat seat?