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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Germany is an 8 hour flight-- we were happy to have premium economy but would have been happier in business ;)[/quote]

My family has put a hard rule in place. If a flight is longer than five hours, we plan for business class. Economy is only for travelers under 25. Past that age, the body simply doesn’t tolerate long hours in a confined seat, and the medical risks stop being theoretical. They become real exposure points.

Multiple studies make it clear that long-haul economy seating isn’t just uncomfortable. It can be dangerous. The World Health Organization warns that flights over four hours significantly increase the risk of venous thromboembolism because cramped seating suppresses blood flow in the legs. A major case-control study in The Lancet found that remaining immobilized in tight seating for extended periods raises the odds of a deep vein thrombosis two to three times compared with normal daily life.

Ergonomic research paints an equally serious picture. Studies in Applied Ergonomics and the Journal of Travel Medicine show that standard economy seat pitch forces the spine, hips, and neck into stressed positions that heighten the chance of nerve compression, severe muscular strain, circulation impairment, and sleep disruption. These effects compound with age. What a 22-year-old can bounce back from often leaves older travelers stiff, fatigued, swollen, and in some cases unable to fully recover for days.

By your mid-twenties, your circulation slows, tissue resilience drops, and inflammation responses spike under prolonged pressure. That combination makes long-haul economy a genuine health risk. People have ended flights with dangerous leg swelling, impaired mobility, and in rare cases serious clotting events that required immediate medical attention.

If you are over 25, treating long-range economy travel as harmless is its own kind of gamble. The medical issues linked to cramped, extended seating are well-documented and potentially severe. Saving and budgeting for safer seating isn’t luxury. It is risk avoidance.[/quote]

Might want to tell your family to exercise a bit so they can "handle" such an arduous task. 25! seriously, maybe 65 or 75[/quote]

You’re reducing a medical and ergonomic issue to “just exercise,” which is simply wrong. Long-haul economy risks are tied to immobility, restricted seat pitch, and impaired circulation. Fitness does not prevent deep vein thrombosis, nerve compression, or the circulation problems documented by the WHO, The Lancet, and travel-medicine research.

Calling it a toughness problem is uninformed. Physiology changes after the mid-twenties, and prolonged cramped seating creates real, measurable strain regardless of how fit someone is. Pretending this is only a concern for people in their seventies is exactly the kind of myth airlines rely on to sell cheap travel at the expense of passenger health.

Ignoring the evidence isn’t a flex. It’s just taking the bait of budget-travel bravado while dismissing well-established medical risks.[/quote]

If the risks were as profound as you state, we’d hear about the high numbers of 28 year olds with DVT.

I actually had a family member pass away from a DVT at age 58. He had multiple risk factors including high weight, smoking, and drinking. I’m well aware of the risks of DVT. You are overstating them.[/quote]

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