Airlines with the biggest and smallest economy seats have been revealed, but the results aren’t what you might expect.
Consumer champion Which? has confirmed which airlines flying from the UK have the smallest economy seats.
The results show that not all economy seats are the same with many airlines shrinking space to maximise profits, but it isn’t easyJet with the smallest seats in the air.
For long-haul flights, Virgin Atlantic came in bottom of Which?’s list of 15 carriers, with a seat pitch of 30-31 inches and a seat width of 17.5 inches.
Seat pitch is the distance from your headrest to the one in front of you, which is the best indicator of legroom according to the consumer advocate.
The width of a seat is measured between the armrests of a single seat.
At the top of the list were American Airlines with a seat pitch of 31-32 inches and a seat width of 17 inches.
Which? said: “British Airways or a US carrier will give you more room travelling transatlantic than Virgin Atlantic, while Emirates, Qatar and Singapore Airlines are the best bet for more space.”
The organisation also clarified the airlines’ short-haul seat size, revealing that Wizz Airlines and TAP Portugal had the worst seats.
Wizz Airlines had a seat pitch of just 28 inches and a seat width of 18 inches.
TAP Portugal had seat pitches of between 28 and 31 inches and a seat width of 18 inches.
For short-haul flights, Aer Lingus had the roomiest seats with a seat pitch of 31-32 inches, though their seat width was only 17 inches.
In comparison, Ryanair had a seat pitch of 30 inches and a seat width of 17 inches, while easyJet’s measurements were 29 inches and 18 inches respectively.
This is the full list of airlines and their seat pitch:
- Aer Lingus: 31-32 inches
- British Airways: 29-31 inches
- easyJet: 29 inches
- Jet2: 28-31 inches
- KLM 29-33 inches
- Lufthansa: 30-32 inches
- Norwegian: 29-31 inches
- Ryanair: 30 inches
- TAP Portugal: 28-31 inches
- TUI: 28 inches
- Vueling: 29-30 inches
- Wizz Air: 28 inches
And the same list for long-haul airlines:
- Aer Lingus: 31-32 inches
- Air Canada: 30-34 inches
- American Airlines: 31-32 inches
- British Airways: 31 inches
- Delta: 31-32 inches
- Emirates: 32-34 inches
- Etihad: 31-33 inches
- KLM: 31 inches
- Lufthansa: 31-32 inches
- Qantas: 31 inches
- Singapore Airlines: 32-34 inches
- Tui Airways: 33 inches
- United: 31-34 inches
- Virgin Atlantic: 30-31
Which? advised passengers that while upgrading their seats was sure to bag them more legroom, their research found that Premium Economy tickets were 99% more expensive than economy.
Passengers who paid the extras fees were not always convinced that it was better value.
