Leg Room - how much will you get?

Friday 8 February 2008

Nick's Travel Bytes

Seat pitch can be defined as the distance between a single point on an aircraft seat and the identical point on the seat in front.

The British Air Transport Association outlines the definition in more detail:

“The United Kingdom is the only country that has regulations defining the minimum size of passenger seats and the space between seats. These regulations apply to all aircraft registered in the UK. The regulations state that the minimum distance between the front of the back support cushion of a seat and the back of the seat or other fixed structure in front should be 26 inches (660mm). This distance is designed to ensure the rapid and safe evacuation of passengers in an emergency. This dimension is not the same as seat pitch.

Consideration must also be given to the thickness of the back support and cushion which will vary with the type of seat but is on average about 2 inches (51mm) thick. In practice, the minimum seat pitch necessary to comply with the regulations is 28 inches (711mm).” (www.bata.uk.com)

The table below shows the seat pitch of short haul flights for a number of popular carriers within the UK:

Airline	Economy	Premium
bmi*	32	32
bmi regional*	32	-
KLM	32	-
XL Airways*	31	-
Flybe*	31	-
Brussels Airlines	31	-
Germanwings	31	-
bmibaby*	30	-
British Airways*	30	34
Jet2.com	30	-
Ryanair	30	-
SAS	30	-
Astraeus*	29	-
Monarch*	29	34
Easyjet	29	-
First Choice Airways*	28	33
My Travel*	28	-
Thomas Cook*	28	-
Thomsonfly*	28	-

* Source: Bristish Air Transport Association April 2007

Seat pitch largely depends on how much leg-room the passenger is provided with on the flight. This is less of an issue on short haul flights but even so, for the taller traveller, those few extra inches of space can be important.

Analysis of the table, suggests it is the charter airline companies that provide the least amount of space for their passengers - indeed only the legal minimum, if one observes the advice from the British Air Transport Association regarding the average depth of seat cushioning.

It is on long haul flights that economy class passengers can really suffer from cramped conditions though. It makes sense to find out which carriers offer more favourable seat pitch than others since even a little extra room on a long flight can make all the difference. The following links provide information about the seat pitch of a large number of global airlines.
• http://www.uk-air.net/seatpitch.htm
• http://www.travelmood.com/Holidays/flights/rtw/seatpitch.asp
• http://www.seatguru.com

The amount of space a passenger has and how mobile they are during a flight can also have health implications. One of the concerns, for some people, regarding air-travel is the risk of getting a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Although the likelihood is very small, sitting still for lengthy periods on a long-haul flight can increase the risk of developing DVT for the small number of people who are susceptible to the condition. For more advice on taking measures to prevent DVT and information about it, go to the following link.

For those passengers more prone to the usual stiff joints and puffy ankles associated with long-haul flights in economy class, this link may prove useful.

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Are you sitting comfortably? - finding the right airline seat