Originally Posted by WindFlyer
For the same reason that all carriers leave a big open space upstairs in the 747 at the exit row: because there is an emergency exit there.
Basically, when the seat in in front is fully reclined, and the seat on (behind) the exit row is fully extended, you need to have the complete unobstructed clearance for the emergency exit. As is this is Biz and not Eco class, it would not make sense to restrict the recline of the row in front and pack them in a little tighter... You can save a few inches at the most, but not enough to put in another row of seats (which would take 50+ inches).
Edited to add: I am sure that there is some FAA or such regulation that dictates what that clearance should be.
Well I can understand the case of the Upper Deck of 747s because the door is rather large and putting a row of seats there would prevent passengers and crew from easily reaching the door in case of an emergency. However, in the case of the UA 757s, there are 2 window exits on each side which are slightly separated from each other as seen on the reg non-p.s. 757 configuration which have 2 rows around that area labeled "exit rows." I just think that if you have nearly 102 inches, divided by 2, is still 51 inches, maybe they could have moved all the rows in front of row 9 a bit forward or something. I don't know, to me nearly 102 inches is just a big waste of space because no one needs that much leg room.