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jackal said:
So I think that, technically, the quiz is accurate in that Amtrak's LD seats roughly correspond with business-class seats. I think the biggest failure in understanding is the fact that most Americans aren't familiar with what a business-class seat is (since they're only offered on international flights) and don't realize that business-class seats are actually better than domestic first-class seats.
Perhaps the question could be rephrased to indicate that either Amtrak's LD seats feature more seat pitch than domestic first-class seats or feature a comparable seat pitch to international business-class seats. Perhaps clarifying between domestic and international would reduce confusion.
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There's definitely such a thing as domestic business class. It's usually offered on transcontinental flights. I lived in San Francisco for a number of years, and most flights I took to New York (where my family lives) were on 3-class aircraft that had first, business, and coach. I was upgraded to business class a few times, and remember that the seat pitch was about 50", just about the same as on Amtrak. See here, for example: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/C...scontinental.29 Here's a typical seat configuration of a 3-class domestic 767: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_...ing_767-200.php

jackal said:
I agree: it's strange that if you put any info on that second-to-last page, you're forced to sign up for the service before seeing your results, but if you leave it blank, it takes you right to the results. Are there any similar quiz sites which aren't as confusing (and maybe aren't geared towards people looking for love :D )?
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It's not a matter of providing information, it a matter of leaving the following checked if you do: "Still, save my result! (One more quick page - it'll be worth it)"

The website interprets your request to "save my result" as a desire to sign up and save it permanently. It's a bit confusing, I agree.
 
Cascadia said:
I got 96%, "railfan" and I love the accompanying picture - that's a riot, where is it from?
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Got it from a Wikipedia article on railfans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railfan :)

Cascadia said:
I only know anything from reading here and all the knowledgeable people here. I think I got wrong about the fatality rate, and also with a sleeper ticket, do you get all three meals or only breakfast and dinner? Not sure about that.
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Lunch is definitely included. :)

Cascadia said:
I cheated on the "how many destinations served" question, I went out to the kitchen and looked at my big amtrak system poster sized wall map. I guesstimated 500, is that even right?
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Doesn't the Amtrak system poster say "Serving over 500 destinations" right under "THE AMTRAK SYSTEM"? :)
 
Damn.....I did the quiz and gave out my personal info at the end to get my results and now I have 602 "winks" from 602 female train freaks wanting to meet me on the rails! :lol:
 
RailFanLNK said:
Damn.....I did the quiz and gave out my personal info at the end to get my results and now I have 602 "winks" from 602 female train freaks wanting to meet me on the rails! :lol:
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I wouldn't hold your breath. :) At this point, I've had 546 test takers, out of which 378 provided a gender. So, it's time for some statistics:

amtrak_test_stats.jpg


Disappointing but not altogether surprising...
 
darien-l said:
There's definitely such a thing as domestic business class. It's usually offered on transcontinental flights. I lived in San Francisco for a number of years, and most flights I took to New York (where my family lives) were on 3-class aircraft that had first, business, and coach. I was upgraded to business class a few times, and remember that the seat pitch was about 50", just about the same as on Amtrak. See here, for example: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/C...scontinental.29 Here's a typical seat configuration of a 3-class domestic 767: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_...ing_767-200.php
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Ah, yes--forgot about the AA Flagship Service, UA p.s., and the odd international-config plane that makes a domestic hop.

Still, that is a VERY limited subset of flights that most Americans (and your test-takers) would be familiar with.

I still think it might be clearer (and make Amtrak look better!) to phrase the question along the lines of "Compared to typical domestic first-class airline seats, Amtrak seats feature:" with the correct answer being "approximately 10 more inches of seat pitch" or something like that. (I don't have the quiz in front of me, so I don't know how you originally phrased it.)
 
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jackal said:
darien-l said:
There's definitely such a thing as domestic business class. It's usually offered on transcontinental flights. I lived in San Francisco for a number of years, and most flights I took to New York (where my family lives) were on 3-class aircraft that had first, business, and coach. I was upgraded to business class a few times, and remember that the seat pitch was about 50", just about the same as on Amtrak. See here, for example: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/C...scontinental.29 Here's a typical seat configuration of a 3-class domestic 767: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/American_...ing_767-200.php
Click to expand...
Ah, yes--forgot about the AA Flagship Service, UA p.s., and the odd international-config plane that makes a domestic hop.

Still, that is a VERY limited subset of flights that most Americans (and your test-takers) would be familiar with.

I still think it might be clearer (and make Amtrak look better!) to phrase the question along the lines of "Compared to typical domestic first-class airline seats, Amtrak seats feature:" with the correct answer being "approximately 10 more inches of seat pitch" or something like that. (I don't have the quiz in front of me, so I don't know how you originally phrased it.)
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AirTran Airways (formally ValuJet) runs a mainly 717 fleet where "business class" is the upgrade...
 
I got 96%, "Railfan", but I don't know what question I missed. Perhaps it is the one about Airline First Class seats and Amtrak Long Distance seats.

It was a very good test. How about another one soon? I enjoyed the pictures. I think the photo of Darien-l in the sleeper was taken on a Superliner.

When I travel alone in a Superliner Roomette, when I get into the top bunk, it is too near the top of the car and I get a bit claustrophobic. Anyone else

experience this too??
 
ALC_Rail_Writer said:
AirTran Airways (formally ValuJet) runs a mainly 717 fleet where "business class" is the upgrade...
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... and Midwest Airlines, which was my basis for comparison, claims that every seat is business class, or at least they did until they recently introduced two class service by splitting the cabin into Signature and Saver classes...Boeing 717's with twelve rows of 3-2 seating with 33" pitch ("Saver Seats") and ten rows of 2-2 with 35"-36" pitch ("Signature Seats"). Previously, every seat in their 717's were "Signature Seats." Its a great airline and is my first choice whenever Amtrak doesn't fit my schedule. You can't beat complimentary, baked-on-board chocolate chip cookies and custom all leather seats. I just wish I would have had a chance to fly with them back in the '90s when they still served gourmet meals to ALL passengers on real china. (sorry, went off on a tangent there)
 
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