Slimline seats put squeeze on air passengers

Passengers on US planes are finding themselves in a tighter squeeze as airlines install new slimline seats that take up less space from front to back, allowing for five or six more seats on each plane.

By The Newsroom

Published 15th Oct 2013, 18:09 BST

The changes, covering some of the most common planes flown on domestic and international routes, give the airlines more paying passengers and a smaller fuel bill because the seats are slightly lighter.

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.

Whether the new seats are really closer together depends on how they are measured. By the usual standard, called “pitch”, the new ones are generally an inch closer together from front to back as measured at the armrest.

Airlines say passengers will not notice. The seats on Southwest’s 737s have thinner back magazine pockets. Alaska Airlines will have slightly smaller tray tables. United’s new seats put the magazine pocket above the tray table, away from passengers’ knees.