economy class
syndrome
Example:
Phlebitis is quite common, the result of immobility because
of an injury or traveling in a confined space, like a coach seat on a
crowded flight. So many travelers are turning up with phlebitis that it is
becoming known as "economy class syndrome."
—Eleanor Clift, "Flying
Toward Phlebitis," The Washington Post, September 2, 1997
Background:
This phrase first appeared in the subtitle of an article published in the medical journal The Lancet on August 26, 1988. The title is "Air Travel and Thrombotic Episodes: The Economy Class Syndrome," and it was written by Dr. John M. Cruickshank, a cardiovascular consultant to Imperial Chemical Industries, Dr. Richard Gorlin of Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, and Dr. Bryan Jennett, a neurosurgeon at Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. A synonym is coach-seat clot (1994).
hyperflier
Example:
"Hyperfliers can be identified by pallid
complexion, red, watery eyes and a crease in their stomach from having a
laptop crushed into their body by the reclining seat in front of
them."
—David Olive, "Modern Business Usage," The National Post, July
1, 2001
Background:
This phrase first appeared in the following wired magazine article:
The final jet-booster of this
trend is the airlines' extraordinarily successful frequent-flier programs,
which have provided the burgeoning hyperflier culture with its own
currency, lexicon, and class structure. ... The hyperfliers may think
they're getting something for nothing, but they're actually playing the
airlines' game. By tightly restricting free flights, airlines have rigged
it so that a passenger flying for free almost never displaces a paying
customer, and typically costs the airline only about $20 per flight. But
to earn that $20 flight, hyperfliers will go out of their way to book all
their tickets on one airline, and may waste hundreds or thousands of
dollars building their status."
—Warren Berger, "Life Sucks and Then
You Fly," Wired, August, 1999
-8/31/2003-
