New nickname for air travelers: sardines

As someone who travels a fair amount, I'm sensitive to news involving the airline industry. And so I was intrigued by the title of a Time magazine come-on that announced "Why Air Travel Is About to Get Much Worse."

In short, the story says that aircraft manufacturers — no doubt responding to ongoing airline demands to pack more people in each flight — are doing exactly that. At a recent news conference, Airbus showed off the floor plan of its new A380 superjumbo jet, which features a 3-5-3 seat configuration that rouses all my claustrophobe anxieties just thinking about being forced to sit in the middle of that 5-seat row.

On an Air France flight from Atlanta to Vienna a few years ago, I had to sit in one of the interior seats in a 3-4-3 seat configuration. The guy between me and the aisle must have weighed 250 pounds. And not only did he merge over into my space, but he fell asleep almost immediately and left me feeling trapped in place for some six and a half hours.

According to Time, the A380 will boast 544 seats, up from 525.

That may be good news for the airlines that use the plane — reportedly Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and Qantas, so far. But it's not particularly good for those of us who travel long distances at Economy Class rates.

Good thing I've already seen much of the world. I'll keep buying those lottery tickets because that's the only way I'll ever be able to afford the non-claustrophobe's fantasy.

I believe it's referred to as Business Class.