Seat Map of Continental Airlines Flight 36 from Newark to Edinburgh

See me waving from Seat 34E? See how convenient it is to the Loo?

See how the seatmap is colored RED for Row 34 and how kind Continental

is because they don't charge extra for the red color and location? Hmmm....

Sitty #1:  On September 15, 2009 I found myself sitting comfortably in Business Class on South African Airways heading from Washington Dulles Airport to Johannesburg, South Africa. The seat was cushy, great lumbar support, and with a push of a button the seat turned into a recliner and then into a flat, as in 180 degrees flat, bed. I even blogged about the joy of the journey, which I'm sure is imprinted in your memory!

Sitty #2:  Flash forward to yesterday, October 17, 2009: I found myself sitting uncomfortably in Coach/Cattle class in the last row of a Continental 757. On the plus side, Continental loaded the plane from the rear forward, thus giving us a wonderful selection of space in the overhead bins. On the downside of this, our seat backs moved only 2 inches before hitting the wall. Another plus, we were right next to the toilets so we could easily avail ourselves when the urge hit. The negative was the aroma of urine that wafted through the air every time the door to the "loo" opened.

Hoping to get a better seat, I commented to the flight attendant that our seat backs didn't recline like the other coach seats. The attendant, acting appropriately surprised, answered, "Sure they do," as he tried to demonstrate the equality of the seatbacks. "Well, almost!" he added cheerily, "Enjoy your flight!"

Do I sound ungrateful? Yes! Am I ungrateful? No. We made it to Edinburgh, Scotland, and I truly appreciate that we are able to afford to fly here at all. I just wonder if the number crunchers and engineers who plotted the seating plan have ever had the pleasure of traveling in the last row of the Coach section and receiving the gift with purchase, the perfume of dried urine, at no extra charge?