Are United seatbelts seriously only 31" ? ( FTers report UA's seatbelt girth is fine)
Oct 18, 2021, 7:25 am
#1
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Are United seatbelts seriously only 31" ? ( FTers report UA's seatbelt girth is fine)
According to multiple online sources (see one below), United seatbelts are by far the shortest in the industry, and their seatbelt extenders supposedly "must be pre-reserved." I've never flown United, but if this is true, I can't imagine starting now. I fit in all economy airline seats just fine, but with my 37-38" waist and my partner's waist size around 40", I can't see how we could even buckle the seatbelts. HA seatbelts are almost 2 feet longer!! Is United intentionally marketing itself as the skinny-traveler airline or something? Seems strange that they'd be such an outlier here.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-long-a...-belts-2972596
https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-long-a...-belts-2972596
Oct 18, 2021, 7:33 am
#2
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Don’t forget that the seat belts are anchored on either side of the seat about 17 inches apart. So if the 31 inches is right (I don’t know) that would be 48 inches. I’ll just say that my waist is larger than your partners and I could gain another 10 to 12 inches in my waist and still fit comfortably.
Oct 18, 2021, 7:45 am
#3
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Don’t forget that the seat belts are anchored on either side of the seat about 17 inches apart. So if the 31 inches is right (I don’t know) that would be 48 inches. I’ll just say that my waist is larger than your partners and I could gain another 10 to 12 inches in my waist and still fit comfortably.
Not sure the link from OP is particularly useful, as it doesn't really tell the whole story; the graph doesn't take into account where the seat belts are anchored, for instance.
Also, there's different seats on the same planes; I presume they are talking about E?
And 31" seat-belt length doesn't equate to 31" waist, otherwise UA would lose ~80% of its passengers!
This from OP - not very telling, IMO:
Oct 18, 2021, 8:35 am
#5
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Believe a problem may be what the metric means / how is it measure / how it was obtained. So I would not place too much reliance on this information as presented.
I can assure you the UA seatbelts are not limited to individuals with waistines of 31", I would guess in reality it is closer to at least the higher-40's or higher. There is some variability as occasionally seatbelts are trimmed in length due to wear and tear.
I can assure you the UA seatbelts are not limited to individuals with waistines of 31", I would guess in reality it is closer to at least the higher-40's or higher. There is some variability as occasionally seatbelts are trimmed in length due to wear and tear.
Oct 18, 2021, 10:01 am
#6
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The belt length mentioned for UA in graphic has absolutely zero to do with waist that can be accommodated. If I was to fully extend the belt, I could buckle in two of me - easily. I’m 32-33” waist. That graphic has to be the most useless piece of info ever posted.
Oct 18, 2021, 10:06 am
#7
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As others have stated, this information doesn't seem useful as there is no indication of how these measurements are obtained, and the article itself says it is an average so not particularly useful.
More relevant to UA, I'm under the impression that the extenders simply are stored on the aircraft? The "must pre-reserve" response that they got is a bit surprising to me.
I've definitely noticed a variety of seat belt lengths. In particular there was one regional aircraft type where they were really short. I want to say it was on CommutAir's Dash 8 200s but obviously those aren't around anymore.
More relevant to UA, I'm under the impression that the extenders simply are stored on the aircraft? The "must pre-reserve" response that they got is a bit surprising to me.
I've definitely noticed a variety of seat belt lengths. In particular there was one regional aircraft type where they were really short. I want to say it was on CommutAir's Dash 8 200s but obviously those aren't around anymore.
Oct 18, 2021, 10:12 am
#8
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This is what UA says
If you do not require two seats but require a seat belt extension, you may ask for one from a flight attendant on board. You are not allowed to bring or supply your own seat belt extensions.
*The average length of the seatbelt extension is approximately 25 inches. As the seat designs on our aircraft vary, it is possible that the seatbelt extension presented on your flight provides less than 25 inches of additional coverage. Regardless of the actual additional length the extension provides, if you do not meet the first criteria listed above when using the extension provided on your flight, it will be necessary for you to purchase an additional seat or an upgrade, where available.
*The average length of the seatbelt extension is approximately 25 inches. As the seat designs on our aircraft vary, it is possible that the seatbelt extension presented on your flight provides less than 25 inches of additional coverage. Regardless of the actual additional length the extension provides, if you do not meet the first criteria listed above when using the extension provided on your flight, it will be necessary for you to purchase an additional seat or an upgrade, where available.
Oct 18, 2021, 10:50 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 378
According to multiple online sources (see one below), United seatbelts are by far the shortest in the industry, and their seatbelt extenders supposedly "must be pre-reserved." I've never flown United, but if this is true, I can't imagine starting now. I fit in all economy airline seats just fine, but with my 37-38" waist and my partner's waist size around 40", I can't see how we could even buckle the seatbelts. HA seatbelts are almost 2 feet longer!! Is United intentionally marketing itself as the skinny-traveler airline or something? Seems strange that they'd be such an outlier here.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-long-a...-belts-2972596
https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-long-a...-belts-2972596
Oct 18, 2021, 3:47 pm
#10
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I am a larger human and I've never had any issues with either buckling the seatbelt on United, or requesting an extention if necessary. United, like most other airlines, will trim the seatbelt and reattach the hardware should the seat belt start fraying, so the seat belt length is not consistent.
Oct 18, 2021, 8:40 pm
#11
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That's a good question but yeah, the answer is useless if you don't know, you know, 31 inches from where to where. I'm a (sigh) gentleman of size but I and my 44" waist have had no issues in either an E+ or F seat. That is, I haven't had to ask for an extender literally ever.
Oct 19, 2021, 12:34 am
#12
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The seat belt doesn't go all the way around your waist. It is attached at each side and anchors you across your lap. If your waist is 40", hip to hip across the front would be 20". If we add 2" on each side for tethering to the seat frame, we will have used about 24" of the 31" length. The seat belt should accommodate a waist up to about 54".
James
James
Oct 19, 2021, 12:56 pm
#13
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The seat belt doesn't go all the way around your waist. It is attached at each side and anchors you across your lap. If your waist is 40", hip to hip across the front would be 20". If we add 2" on each side for tethering to the seat frame, we will have used about 24" of the 31" length. The seat belt should accommodate a waist up to about 54".
Oct 19, 2021, 1:36 pm
#14
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Many people don't even realize they need one until they get on a particular aircraft because the regular belts vary in length so much - people may easily be able to buckle up without an extender on one aircraft, change planes and then realize they need one on their connecting flight.
Nov 13, 2022, 6:29 pm
#15
Join Date: Sep 2014
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Never needed an extender, but never flew United before until a couple of months ago, no issues in the polaris seats coming to the US, but on the first class flights intercontinental I needed an extender on one flight and just managed close it on the second flight. I was quite surprised as I had lost 18 pounds since the start of covid and had no problems on Delta and American that I frequented before covid for intercontinental flights in the US. Big relief that it was the seat belts and not me despite my weight loss.