Narrower Seats & Fatter People
Packed in like sardines ? No, it’s densification
Aircraft manufacturers are cramming more seats into economy.
If you thought flying economy was cramped and uncomfortable, assume the brace position, because it could be about to get worse.
Last week, Airbus revealed that an unnamed European airline was going to cram an unprecedented 10 seats abreast into its new A350 XWB — an aircraft built to rival Boeing’s 777 and Dreamliner models. That might not sound like much to get worked up about: positively geeky, in fact. But what it means is that an inch will be shaved off both your seat and your armrest, bringing the former down to a shoulder-bumping, elbow-cramping 16.8in wide, and reducing the latter to something approximately the width of a Mars bar — and this on planes that, if industry rumours are true, will be used on nine-hour flights to the Caribbean.
To put that in its buttock-numbing context, Ryanair seats, which you only have to endure for a couple of hours, are bigger. On the aviation website Runwaygirlnetwork.com, Airbus’s Mark Pearman-Wright is quoted as saying: “I hesitate to use the words less comfortable, but it will clearly be less comfortable.”
It’s an ominous portent of the future of cattle class. Airlines want to maximise revenue from economy by shoehorning in thinner, lighter, narrower seats. The industry term for this is a triumph of spin-doctor euphemism: it’s “densification”. And it’s well under way. The first plane to be “densified” has been Boeing’s highly successful 777. Its cabin is 10in wider than the A350 XWB’s, so getting in an extra seat isn’t quite such a tight squeeze. As a result, last August, Qatar Airlines introduced 10-abreast seating on its 777s — fitting in 23 more economy fares on each flight. Aeroflot, Air New Zealand and Jet Airways have also gone 10 abreast.
Even the A380, the aircraft that promised to bring comfort back to economy, isn’t exempt. From 2017, Airbus will offer the “high efficiency” option of 11 seats abreast in economy. If you draw seat F — the hell seat in the middle — you’ll have two passengers on either side. Emirates has wisely resisted the temptation to follow this route on its new A380s, though they will carry an astounding 557 economy seats by paring back premium classes (see Briefing, p2).
Across the pond, American, Delta and United are fully committed to densification. So, with no legal limit on seat width, how crammed can economy get?
“I think we’ve reached the practical limit of what’s physically possible,” says Jami Counter, of the airline website SeatGuru.com. “Airbus are the good guys here. They’ve been pushing for an 18in minimum seat width since 2013, but they’re fighting a losing battle against the airlines that buy their products. Consumers also have themselves to blame for demanding the lowest possible fares. This is going to lead to a ‘budget economy’ class at the back of the plane.”
A seating arrangement proposed by Airbus. (US patent office)
We may not have reached that practical limit: last month, Airbus filed an application to the US Patents Office for an economy seating configuration with passengers in two tiers. If the scheme is adopted, fellow passengers won’t just be jostling our shoulders. They’ll be breathing down our necks.
This interesting 10 seat arrangement may be acceptable although getting out looks a bit trickier after a few drinks
Original Article
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/travel/Your_Travel/article1632183.ece#commentsStart
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