Trust humans to take their clash of clans 36,000 ft up in the air

A recent study by researchers at the universities of Toronto and Harvard on class consciousness in the air has been revealing: flyers are 3.8 times more likely to get unruly if there is a first-class section on a flight. And that figure doubles if they have to walk through the cushy area to get to their lower-cost seats. The conclusion, naturally, is that conspicuous inequality is actually resented more than cut-price service and amenities. So, as more and more airlines in the west gear up to roll out their bare-bones ‘last class’ options, they had better ensure those passengers don’t get a peek into just how much they are missing just minutes before settling down for their uncomfortable flight.

As airlines are reportedly mulling denying those last class —or ‘basic economy’ — passengers even the right to the overhead bins, restricting them to using whatever little legroom they have under the seats in front to stow their luggage, a rise in air rage is a distinct possibility. Most intriguing, however, is the assertion by some airlines that baggage bans would create a ‘safer cabin’ for their passengers, there would be less altercations and loading delays, leading to more on-time departures. It remains to be seen how full-fare airlines — complete with dangerous cabin baggage-loaded aircraft — regard this argument.