Are ‘Extra-Wide’ Seats the Aviation Industry’s Solution to Growing Waistlines?
Joe Cortez January 23, 2015
Travel expert suggests extra-wide seats will be needed in the near future to accommodate bigger passengers on commercial aircraft.
With the narrowing of economy seats on many commercial aircraft, one travel expert suggests airlines and aircraft manufacturers need to reconsider seating options for bigger flyers. The Daily Mail reports George Hobica, founder of airfarewatchdog.com, believes the solution for wider passengers may lie in more extra-wide seating availability.
According to SeatGuru, economy class seats in both short-haul and long-haul aircraft range between 17 and 21 inches in width, with the median coming closer to 17 inches. Meanwhile, waistlines in the U.S. continue to grow. USA Today reports the average American male’s waistline is just under 40 inches, as published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
The solution, suggests Hobica, calls for airlines and aircraft manufacturers to install “extra-wide” seating to accommodate bigger passengers. The “extra-wide” seats would be similar to other premium economy products and create dedicated seating options for those who need a little extra room.
“Why not install one or two rows — just four or eight economy seats — in a two-by-two configuration with the standard amount of legroom?” proposed Hobica. “These seats would be about eight inches wider. If no ‘passengers of size’ needed or reserved them, then the airlines could give them to their frequent flyers at check-in or to lucky passengers by the luck of the draw.”
The extra-wide seat is one idea suggested to address the growing problem of wider travelers on aircraft. The Daily Mail reports Airbus previously suggested narrowing seats even further to make room for extra-wide seats, while Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary suggested adding a surcharge for flyers over a certain weight.
[Photo: iStock]
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The real issue is that airline seats were designed wrong in the first place! The airlines originally used the male hips of college students to set seat widths! People get bigger after college, our shoulders are much wider than our hips and women have bigger hips then men. The current seat is not even comfortable for the "average" person. The airlines are never going to admit this due to the revenue involved
"Why not install one or two rows — just four or eight economy seats — in a two-by-two configuration with the standard amount of legroom?" This suggestion comes up over and over again, but it already exists! It's misleadingly called "first class" but in most domestic aircraft it's 2-4 rows of two-by-two with no more legroom than one can get in the "economy comfort" or "economy plus" section. So the author is proposing to add another first class cabin, just without the early boarding and booze? How would that be a money maker for the airlines? On many domestic US flights, first class can be purchased for <50% premium over economy, making it much more cost-effective than buying 2 economy seats.
The Ryanair solution is nothing more but an obesity surcharge and that's appalling
I slowly stop to believe that the world gets more and more obese ... maybe that is just a marketing conspiracy of the airlines so that they can make the seats narrower ever few years. Every petty item in air traffic is regulated - must have 1 FA per 50 seats even if unoccupied for safety, no kids in exit row etc etc but the DVT killer #1 through #10 narrow seats and no legroom are up to the bean counters to decide. How hard would it be for the EU to mandate 18" wide and 31" pitch as the minimum to obtain travel rights? That would also eliminate the whine about the competitive pressure that made the seats evolve from matching human anatomy to Hobbit shape.
I have a bulging 34" waist that I'd rather get down an inch or two. I pay for premium economy on BA though, which on a 777 is 2-4-2 rather than 3-3-3, and 38" rather than 31". Makes an enormous difference, and with things like a better meal is well worth the extra 50-70% over economy. Sadly not many airlines do this -- american and the ME3 don't. VS and BA it's standard (except on the terrible A321 midhauls on BA), CX do it a fair bit, QF and JAL too. Word on the streets is it's BA's most profitable cabin per square foot, so why do people like AA, EK, and SQ do it? You either get sardine class, or you get a lie flat bed, with nothing in between.