Airline passenger news and views
19 May 2012 | Sign In
Are we getting less leg room on aircraft?
Has leg room effectively shrunk and have aircraft seats become smaller ?
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Kayte Platts Wednesday 16 February 2011 |
A colleague of mine recently travelled by Virgin on a trip to the Far East. He had flown previously with Virgin, whom he had always found to be superb, but his one gripe was he was sure from his last trip the extent of the legroom had diminished.
My colleague stands at around six foot something and I imagine aircraft economy class seating causes misery to a lot of people of this height.
For once, I really think size matters and determines passenger satisfaction. The airlines do appear to be listening to passengers and United has launched a program to increase seat pitch, defined as the distance from one row of seats to the next, in the first several rows of economy. American hopes to get one-up on United by increasing economy seat pitch throughout its entire fleet.
Meanwhile, several airlines are weighing up their options, or merely insisting they already offer more mathematically correctd leg room. Although 'standard' seat pitch has decreased almost industry-wide from 33-34 inches to about 31 inches, airlines maintain that effective leg room has not actually diminished.
The adoption of a higher density seat back 3-4 inches thinner than the older padded seat backs gives some theoretical extra room which allows the airline to squeze in more seats without taking away any calculated leg room.
Clearly, increased seat numbers mean more income per flight to help keep airfares down. For short-haul flights, research shows that low fares count more than seat pitch but, as flights get longer, the priorities then change.
This where the luxury of an upgrade comes into its own. However, for the average passenger this is just not an option.
What are your views on leg room on aircraft? Let us know here at flights.co.uk.
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Chloe Adams, Croydon 17 February 2011, 04:11PM | |
My boyfriend is 6ft 4" and he has a terrible time when we fly long haul. We try to get the seats in economy with the extra leg room, but it is not always possible. I really feel airlines should take this into account and the problems associated with height issues. | |
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Colin Drake, Oxfordshire 17 February 2011, 04:15PM | |
They really need to accommodate people in economy class who are over 6ft tall, especially for long haul journeys. I spend most of my time standing up when I can as a result. I would love to be able to afford Business class, but it is really out of my league. | |
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Natasha Skellon, Lancs 18 February 2011, 10:59AM | |
This is a major problem, and Kayte's colleague is right that seating has got smaller. I am 5ft 11" and am one of the 'plebs' that cannot afford to travel in business class either. I have to travel transatlantic a great deal for my job, and I find it very uncomfortable. Maybe, I need to change my job! | |
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Stan, Bromley 21 February 2011, 05:17PM | |
There have always been taller people than others so surely this has always been a problem. It appears that flight companies have just chosen to do nothing about imcresing leg room but they do not have a problem about increasing the prices as often as possible. I guess until they decide to make changes us taller folk will just have to put up with it until we win the lottery and can afford to upgrade!! | |
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Wendy, Sutton 4 March 2011, 06:27PM | |
I'm 5'8" and I find it uncomfortable and sympathise with taller people. The thing is, to make myself comfortable, I have to sit with my legs open, not an option if it's my time of the month. So, with less leg room how can airline NOT contravene their own safety regulations in an emergency? No way can I get my head between my legs, I can only rest it on the seat in front. So what is the danger to me if there is an emergency?..... | |
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Fiona, Slough 7 March 2011, 11:45AM | |
I think it is diabolical that unless you can afford to fly business class then basically you have to deal with cramped conditions. I am surprised that travellers are not charged on how tall they are and then given seats appropriately! | |
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Stacey, Essex 25 July 2011, 11:48AM | |
The standard seat pitch on Monarch's long-haul flights is a snug 29 inches, which is a joke. Obviously if you can afford to upgrade then you will get more room! | |
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PAUL, BIRMINGHAM 17 October 2011, 09:40PM | |
Why should tall passengers have to pay for extra legroom seats? Im 6'4" & suffer EVERY flight with little or no effort made by flight staff to find me a seat that I will fit into. I once refused to sit down in my seat that I simply didnt fit into on a flight & luckily a sympathetic stewardess let me sit in extra legroom,(her partner was 6'7"). I only got away with that once though, being told every time since that I would have to pay money to get a seat that didnt cripple me! It stinks how long-legged passengers are treated. | |
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Anthony, London 12 December 2011, 04:22PM | |
I am 6'5" tall and 72 years of age. It really guts me when I cannot be allocated an emergency exit seat to find these are filled with people who would fit adequately into a standard seat. Little effort is made by most airlines to accommodate tall people. Much is made of safety on board aircraft and we are reminded to put our seatbelts on. If you are my height you will know that your knees will be touching the steel crossbar on the seat in front of you and that the seat belt will be of little use in the event of a crash. What would happen is that knees and hips will be broken before the seat belt will come into operation and there will be little hope of exiting the aircraft. | |
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