Economy seat size

[Tortuga]

What are everyones thoughts on economy seats.. I understand I will likely get the "Fly business if you don't like it". I am only 186cm but have very wide shoulders and every single time I end up in the aisle I get my shoulder smashed by the trolley. I also end up with half my shoulder in the person next to me's seat without being able to do anything. I dread to think how people taller than me feel who have to fly long haul in whY. I understand that those who are overweight in some circumstances are responsible for their size but in my case it is how I was born. Does anything think the industry is going to improve their service and offer up more space to those who are slightly taller or is the future of airline travel smaller seats with more people crammed in? I would love to fly business class believe me - but that is not an option in my current line of work. It has made flying non-pleasurable which is unfortunate because I used to love it as a kid.. Will we ever see an airline offer up a decent economy product or is the future of air travel grim? It may sound harsh but I can't believe we are in the year 2016 and still have to travel feeling like cattle getting herded onto a ship..

 

[ozjuice]

There's Premium Economy or maybe just upgrade to an Exit / bulkhead seat which i always do if travelling in Economy.

 

[JohnK]

Economy is ok but sometime can be quite tight.

Flew business class SYD-HKG-BKK 2 weeks and have forgotten the experience already.

Flew economy last night and another 2 flights today. Feel fine.

For me business class is a treat once in a while.

 

[mannej]

I guess what you have to look at is the relationship between an Economy fare and the width and pitch of the seat to gain some perspective.

Whilst I see the argument for taller people getting more room, you can make the same argument for any number of ailments/conditions/body size.

 

[Tortuga]

I guess what you have to look at is the relationship between an Economy fare and the width and pitch of the seat to gain some perspective.

Whilst I see the argument for taller people getting more room, you can make the same argument for any number of ailments/conditions/body size.

I fully understand that but where do you stop? It seems seats are getting smaller instead of bigger.. The biggest problem for me is the width - I am not just uncomfortable but also effecting the person next to me since I am taking up some of their seat due to my shoulder width. I step off a 12 hour haul flight with my shoulders and neck in major discomfort for at least a day after because I have done my best to pull them forward to avoid invading my neighbours space. Could they not make the planes slightly wider and increase each seat width to ensure greater comfort for more of the population? I do not consider myself abnormal when it comes to size. We should be improving the flying experience as the world evolves and time moves forward instead of making it less comfortable and trying to cram more people in. Budget airlines have their place for those who are fixated only on price. The majority of the routes I fly don't offer premium economy either. I would rather an extra few inches in seat width rather than all this wifi and IFE cough... I value comfort/sleep over the ability to watch a movie on a 4-5 inch screen - and I think most people would agree with me.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Picking your aircraft and airline can make a difference. Narrow body - boeing 737s have a 17 inch width, airbus A320s have 18. While it's only an extra inch, that's an inch for you and the person beside you.

Long haul - 10 abreast on a 777 will see width of less than 17 inches, ranging up to a spacious 18+ inches if you take an airline/plane with more generous seating.

Airplane manufacturers do make planes wider. Unfortunately seating manufacturers come up with new ways to fit more seats across.

 

[AnnaB]

I understand your dilemma, my husband is almost 2m tall and have problems on most flights. When we fly economy we try to make sure we get decent seats, prepay for emergency exit seats or seats with more space. Choice of airlines also comes into the picture. I would rather pay a little bit extra flying Singapore Airlines long haul when travelling economy then a cheaper airline with seats with less space, like China Southern. Those extra $$ is worth being a bit more comfortable for the 24 hour route.
Seat vary quite a bit depending on flights and airline, one of my favourite sites for picking economy seats would be seatguru.com At least it gives me a bit of a guide when I fly, seat pitch, width, bulkheads, toilets etc.

 

[Denali]

Fortunately we are currently able to fly J but if/when Im going to be flying Y, Im buying a comfort seat.

 

[Quickstatus]

Fortunately we are currently able to fly J but if/when Im going to be flying Y, Im buying a comfort seat.

some problems with a comfort seat:

1) not easy to purchase compared with regular seat - you have to ring up and you are asked why you need it. I say I'm not fat but I want more elbow room and room to man-spread.
2) if travelling solo you pay for comfort seat but benefit is shared with passenger next to comfort seat (unless you have a row of 2)
3)you don't get a boarding pass for the comfort seat to prove you bought the seat. Difficult to argue with intruder who grabs your comfort seat inflight who thinks it's an empty seat
4)sometimes you and the comfort seat are in different sections. Then the lack of 3) makes it even more difficult.

1-4 have happened to me.

Benefit is that you get the luggage allowance but no taxes and surcharges. SC and FF?????

 

[Denali]

some problems with a comfort seat:?

Trust me, when I show up - youre happy youre not sitting next to me and Im honest enough to get a comfort seat. Why is it so hard for people just to be honest about themselves and/or just admit you need/would like extra room to be comfortable. Heck, even if I was teeny tiny, I will still want a comfort seat.

For neighbour claiming my space, lift the arm rest and spread out As I always travel with hubby, if its a 3 row, we get it to ourselves.

 

[bismarck]

Plane type can make a big difference as well. It's all about knowing which plane and which seat in my experience.

I have a similar problem (shoulder width) in that exit rows, bulkheads etc tend not to have more shoulder room, despite the much appreciated additional leg room.

Consider the rows at the very back (for some aircraft....e.g. QF 747s) as they sometimes drop number of seats from 3 to 2 per row (on the sides) due to the narrowing of the aircraft. The window seats there often have a little space between the window and the actual seat giving a couple of extra inches of shoulder space.

I think the same is true on upper deck A380 at the rear. Other airlines/planes may have similarly advantageous seating.

 

[Quickstatus]

If they made it easier to get a comfort seat (maybe a carrot/stick approach ) maybe more will get a comfort seat. I agree that that should not be an impediment though.

Airlines should see it an as opportunity to sell seats and have less passengers. Except I think Airlines with artificially high T&S like the Roo will have to rejig their wallet vacuuming techniques.

 

[medhead]

some problems with a comfort seat:

1) not easy to purchase compared with regular seat - you have to ring up and you are asked why you need it. I say I'm not fat but I want more elbow room and room to man-spread.
2) if travelling solo you pay for comfort seat but benefit is shared with passenger next to comfort seat (unless you have a row of 2)
3)you don't get a boarding pass for the comfort seat to prove you bought the seat. Difficult to argue with intruder who grabs your comfort seat inflight who thinks it's an empty seat
4)sometimes you and the comfort seat are in different sections. Then the lack of 3) makes it even more difficult.

1-4 have happened to me.

Benefit is that you get the luggage allowance but no taxes and surcharges. SC and FF?????

I highly recommend a comfort seat for anyone that finds themselves overhanging the aisle and other people's seats.

I don't find most of those points to be the case at all. Sure calling to book is a minor inconvenience. However, I've never been asked why I want the seat. Never had to justify myself. In any case, it is not hard to say that you don't fit in one seat.
Sharing the seat with the person on the other side is hardly a big issue. I don't know about your points 3 and 4. I would have no problem telling an interloper to nick off if they put themselves in the seat next to me, that I'd purchased. Point 4 seems completely unrealistic. If that really happened then it's time to demand a refund from the airline for the comfort seat - not being next to you entirely defeats the purpose. But given that a BP isn't issued for the comfort seat that implies that the seating has to move with your allocated seat. In fact, if someone tries to sit in your comfort seat, I'd ask to see their BP.

QF and VA give SC and points for comfort seats. I guess you have done comfort seats on different airlines.

 

[Quickstatus]

(4) occurred on AC. Technically the seat was blocked with a note to say it was for my PNR. Unfortunately I think I was subsequently moved without reference to the blocked seat.

(3) occurred on MH, intruder was tourist in King-gees. Had an argument with him. The CSM could not confirm that my comfort seat was mine - just showed up in manifest as blocked.

(2) occurred on QF before I was a FF. Wife and I given aisle and therefore my comfort seat was next to my aisle seat and was shared with someone who should have paid for comfort seat herself . Airline probably thought "kill two birds with one stone".

(1) was with AC.

Maybe I should try again

 

[juddles]

..... Will we ever see an airline offer up a decent economy product or is the future of air travel grim? It may sound harsh but I can't believe we are in the year 2016 and still have to travel feeling like cattle getting herded onto a ship....

Tortuga, I must say I disagree with what appears to be anti-airline sentiment you express. Maybe a different perspective would be to applaud the airlines, who through constant striving have managed to make air travel more and more affordable. A ticket from Australia to Chile these days costs about $2000 - an amount that most people could afford if they really needed to get there. 30 years ago the same ticket cost - you guessed it - $2000!! Which at that time was a hell of a lot more money and few people travelled.

Effectively for the same real value you can now fly in a lay-flat business chair - because air travel has become so much more efficient and less costly that you can now buy business for what 30 years ago you would have paid for economy.

And likewise, 30 years ago the economy was 3 + 3 across in the 707 cabin - the same as now in an equivalent 737 or A320 family aircraft.

 

[Milefest]

What are everyones thoughts on economy seats.. I understand I will likely get the "Fly business if you don't like it". I am only 186cm but have very wide shoulders and every single time I end up in the aisle I get my shoulder smashed by the trolley. I also end up with half my shoulder in the person next to me's seat without being able to do anything. I dread to think how people taller than me feel who have to fly long haul in whY. I understand that those who are overweight in some circumstances are responsible for their size but in my case it is how I was born. Does anything think the industry is going to improve their service and offer up more space to those who are slightly taller or is the future of airline travel smaller seats with more people crammed in? I would love to fly business class believe me - but that is not an option in my current line of work. It has made flying non-pleasurable which is unfortunate because I used to love it as a kid.. Will we ever see an airline offer up a decent economy product or is the future of air travel grim? It may sound harsh but I can't believe we are in the year 2016 and still have to travel feeling like cattle getting herded onto a ship..

I'm about your height too, I have quite a few tall friends that travel regularly as well. I agree that it's not the most comfortable experience but for the price we pay for a Y ticket these days, it's definitely worth the slight discomfort.

And as you said, if Y isn't for you, there are normally more comfortable cabins available. If you can't justify the cost, you probably couldn't justify the cost of a bigger economy seat either.

 

[juddles]

.... If you can't justify the cost, you probably couldn't justify the cost of a bigger economy seat either....

Milefest, you said what I wanted to say, but so much better

 

[Quickstatus]

Juddles and Milefest , you have stated the obvious which is obviously not obvious to some.

Most airlines have wider/larger seats - you can get them in various sizes - premium economy, business, First.

Yes many can't afford premium seats, but the airline has already made the seats wider at a price. Are we so naive to believe that airlines should make seats wider and with more legroom without the commensurate increase in price.

 

[juddles]

...Yes many can't afford premium seats.....

and a couple of years ago they couldn't have afforded to contemplate international travel....

 

[Quickstatus]

Travel has become an entitlement. We have become accustomed to going to the airport when on holidays.

What became of the "Staycation"?