Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. passenger (n.) [pas-uhn-jer] – a person who is traveling by airplane, car, train, ship, etc. and is not the person operating the mode of transportation.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. passenger (n.) [pas-uhn-jer] – a person who is traveling by airplane, car, train, ship, etc. and is not the person operating the mode of transportation.
Example: The passengers had their seatbelts on while
their pilot was landing the airplane.
2. stress (v.) [stres] – to give importance to something
Example: The flight attendants stressed that passengers cannot smoke on
the airplane.
3. overweight (adj.) [oh-ver-weyt] – weighing more than the normal or average weight
Example: Overweight passengers may not be comfortable sitting in tight economy
class seats.
4. touchy (adj.) [tuhch-ee] – describes something that might hurt people’s feelings
Example: Body weight may be a touchy subject especially to those who
suffer from being overweight.
5. long-haul (adj.) [lawng-hawl, long-] – describes a journey of long distance
Example: She brought books to
pass the time on her long-haul flight
from Malaysia to England.
Article
Read the text below.
Airlines may soon
be offering wider economy class seats to customers.
European aircraft maker
Airbus says airlines can now choose to add wider economy class seats on the
new A320 passenger jets and offer
these seats for an additional cost. Airbus
believes this option could be an extra source of income for airlines.
So far, only
airlines in the US have showed interest in these seats. Skytrax, an airline
research company, says wider economy class seats are important in the US
because passenger sizes are generally bigger there.
But Airbus stresses that the wider seats are not
just for overweight passengers.
Other people, including mothers with small children and large football
players, may be willing to pay extra for a wider seat.
Over the years, passenger
size has been a touchy subject
among travelers. Nearly 50% of British travelers who replied to a recent
survey by UK travel website HolidayExtras.com said it is only fair that
passengers pay extra not only for excess luggage weight, but also for excess
body weight.
Many passengers have
complained that overweight passengers sitting next to them take up their
space. This has led to some airlines advising overweight passengers to buy two
seats if they cannot sit comfortably in one seat.
As such, asking
passengers to buy a wider seat instead of two regular seats would be more convenient
for airlines and would also be less embarrassing and less expensive for
larger passengers.
Skytrax says seat
comfort and quality of seats is especially important to customers in long-haul flights, whether in economy
class, business class or first class.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you agree that having wider seats on
airplanes is a good idea? Why do you say so?
·
Should overweight people pay extra for body
weight? Why or why not?
Discussion B
·
Apart from lack of comfort, what other kinds of
problems can someone experience while travelling?
·
Do you think it is better to pay more money for
extra comfort and convenience when travelling? Why or why not? What comforts would like to have when
travelling?