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Passengers on U.S. planes are finding themselves in a tighter squeeze, as airlines remove out old, bulky seats in favor of so-called slimline models that take up less space from front to back, allowing for five or six more seats on each plane.<\/p>\n
The changes, covering some of the most common planes flown on domestic and international routes, give the airlines two of their favorite things: More paying passengers, and a smaller fuel bill because the seats are slightly lighter. It\u2019s part of a trend among the airlines to view seats as money-makers, not just pieces of furniture. Add a few inches of legroom and airlines can charge more for tickets. Take away a few inches and they can fit more seats on the plane.<\/p>\n
Some passengers seem to mind the tighter squeeze more than others. The new seats generally have thinner padding. And new layouts on some planes have made the aisles slightly narrower, meaning the dreaded beverage cart bump to the shoulder happens more often.<\/p>\n
And this is all going on in coach at a time when airlines are spending heavily to add better premium seats in the front of the plane.<\/p>\n
Whether the new seats are really closer together depends on how you measure. By the usual measure, called \u201cpitch,\u201d the new ones are generally an inch closer together from front to back as measured at the armrest.<\/p>\n
Airlines say you won\u2019t notice. And the new seats are designed to minimize this problem. The seats going onto Southwest\u2019s 737s have thinner seatback magazine pockets. Passengers on Alaska Airlines will find slightly smaller tray tables. United\u2019s new seats put the magazine pocket above the tray table, getting it away from passengers\u2019 knees. And seat-makers saved some space with lighter-weight frames and padding.<\/p>\n
This allows airlines to claim that passengers have as much above-the-knee \u201cpersonal space\u201d as they did before, even if the seats are slightly closer together below the knee.<\/p>\n
New seats going into United Airlines\u2019 Airbus A320s are 1 inch (25 millimeters) closer together from front to back. The new seats Southwest has put on nearly its entire fleet are 31 inches (787 millimeters) apart, about an inch less than before. In both cases, the airlines were able to add an extra row of six seats to each plane. Southwest went from 137 seats to 143. Both airlines say the new seats are just as comfortable.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s says the new seats make each A320 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) lighter. Southwest says the weight savings is cutting about $10 million per year in fuel spending. In addition, the extra seats allow Southwest to expand flying capacity 4 percent without adding any planes, says spokesman Brad Hawkins, while also collecting more revenue from the additional passengers.<\/p>\n
International passengers are feeling crowded, too.<\/p>\n
As recently as 2010, most airlines buying Boeing\u2019s big 777 opted for nine seats across. Now it\u2019s 10 across on 70% of newly-built 777s, Boeing says. American\u2019s newest 777s are set up 10-across in coach, with slightly narrower seats than on its older 777s.<\/p>\n
The extra seat has generally meant skinnier aisles, and more bumps from the beverage cart for those at the end of the row. That\u2019s the biggest complaint from travelers, says Mark Koschwitz of SeatExpert.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to recommend the aisle seats, because you could stretch out more,\u201d he says. He tells passengers who want to sleep \u201cto bring a jacket and prop up against the window.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boeing\u2019s new 787 could also be a tighter squeeze in coach. The plane was originally expected to have eight seats across but United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier currently flying it, went with nine across. Those seats are just 17.3 inches wide. So, passengers will have a skinnier seat for United\u2019s 12-hour flight from Houston to Lagos on a 787 than on its one-hour flight from Denver to Omaha on a different plane.<\/p>\n
Delta Air Lines has already added slimline seats to about one-third of its fleet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreasing density is a priority for us from the perspective of maximizing revenue, but the slimline seats are great because they allow us to do that without sacrificing customers\u2019 comfort,\u201d said Michael Henny, Delta\u2019s director of customer experience.<\/p>\n
Airplane seats from 30 years ago looked like your grandmother\u2019s BarcaLounger, said Jami Counter, senior director at SeatGuru.com, which tracks airline seats and amenities.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that foam cushion and padding probably didn\u2019t add all that much comfort. All that\u2019s been taken out,\u201d he said. \u201cYou haven\u2019t really lost all that much if the airline does it right.\u201d <\/p>\n
Photo: AP\/John Mone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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