ElmhurstNick

Actually, I'm bringing a tape measure with me on my VX flight tonight. I'm flying VX, WN, and AS this month, and I'm curious to see what the differences are before I get stuck on an Evolve flight

nsx

Please report your results here. FTers love a "mine is bigger than yours" debate.

plagwate

And don't forget - get both dimensions. "How wide it is" is just as important as "how long it is".

InkUnderNails

It is not just the length of ones legs, but also the thickness of ones derriere. Short people with big cabooses are at a disadvantage as well.

Tall people with extra seat to belt buckle separation are doubly penalized.

ElmhurstNick

Well, what spurred this was that VX claims that their seat on an A320 is 19.7 wide, which is a pile of hooey because they measure from the middle of the armrest to the middle of the armrest. The real width is 18" at the front of the armrest, so a little wider than WN's 737s. But most of WN's aisle outside airmrests go up. VX's don't, but they're designed so you can still get some additional width from them by putting your thigh under the armrest.

The VX seats seemed to have a little less room stomach-to-seatback than the current WN seats. (The exact number is irrelevant because, well, it's my stomach, not yours....) My guess is that the pitch is about 1/2 inch less than the current WN pitch. The VX neckrest was annoying to me because I'm too tall for it, so it just dug into my shoulders.

The real benefit of the VX seat was that the in-seat entertainment didn't take up any space. I was fortunate (and strategic in my seat selection at booking) that nobody sat next to me, as the flight was about 85% full.

The 18" wide seat on VX does make a difference, as does the AVOD. If the WN 737 Evolve seat is noticably worse (especially on the 800s), I will probably continue to fly VX on MDW-SFO when the airfare and schedule is similar.

lairdb

Been away-from-forum for a while, so the Evolve interior was a surprise to me on Monday; enough of a surprise that I didn't take good notes, prepare to take measurements, etc.

SJC-SAN and I got an exit aisle, so I didn't get to experience a long segment or "normal" row legroom, but I found the seat pretty comfortable. Do not like the new seat-pocket; much too slim for my 2 magazines plus iPad.

Many fellow pax mentioned the "new car smell". Heh.

lougord99

I am at a complete loss about this seat width issue. I had a vociferous exchange with the Airtran people 8-10 months ago about whether WN's seats were narrower than Airtran's seats. The only possibility is that Airtran ( and I guess from the previous post VX ) have narrower armrests. WHY, WHY, WHY, would any airline use a wider armrest than is necessary ( it seems that WN is doing that ) and consequently have a narrower seat. So, WN is refitting their planes - Are they not using the narrower armrests that are available??? Why not ???

nsx

For people who care about shoulder width, this is the correct measurement. Airbus narrowbodies allow about 1" extra width per seat than Boeing narrowbodies.

lougord99

OK, I missed that ElmhurstNick was talking about an Airbus. However, Airtran still claims to have wider seats than WN on the same aircraft : Boeing 737-700.

TSparky

I flew yesterday from PDX to BUR with a stop in OAK on an 'Evolve' plane. Leg room seemed the same to me (I'm 5'9"). When I put the tray down it seemed much closer - it was closer than the end of the arm rests. If I extended it it touched my torso - never had that happen before. I did get up and walk around during the OAK pit stop and use the lav. Even then, by the time I got off the flight, my tailbone ached.

For me, thumbs down

exbayern

I don't know how many of you are LH flyers, but is this similar to the NEK design? Those seats are good for maximum an hour for most of us.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...opakabine.html

And if it IS the NEK design, are there bin issues?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-feedback.html

tusphotog

I'd expect there to be more bin issues (regardless if it's similar to the LH design) with this design. They added an extra row, but kept the number of bins the same....

InkUnderNails

Yes, but the walls of the bins have been made thinner to increase the room inside.

DontCallMeShirley

is that so? reference please.

InkUnderNails

It was a joke. A bad one maybe, but a joke nonetheless.