HN Explorer

Ask HN: Why are airliner sits especially in Europe getting smaller and smaller?

2 points by muse900 ↗ HN
Am about 1.90m, I guess I am considered tall in many countries but not extremely tall. Traveling through Europe has got worse for me, as I usually find it that my feet can’t fit in the seat anymore and I have to either pay extra to travel a bit more comfortable or I have to drag through a 4-5 hours flight having my back and legs go numb.

Now am not talking only about Ryanair which used to be like that since the start of times, I am talking about star alliance airliners that used to have some level of comfort. The more I travel the more I dread. I’ve made up my mind and it seems like I’ll have to pay the extra 15-20 euros per flight no matter what.

Isn’t there supposed to be some regulation around it? I mean ok profit, we all get the concept of it, although profiting on my health and what my back is gonna go through that flight is not nice. Same applies for everybody.

I am sure there is some regulation about what is the minimum between sits, but should that be increased by law? Is it just me being worried about it?

9 comments

[ 3.8 ms ] story [ 22.3 ms ] thread
aurizon
they need a mixture of 3-4 seat widths, scattered randomly, with wider ones costing a little more, since wider people = more weight = more cost to fly. I see no real reason why weight is not a factor in costs. Children often fly for less.
eesmith
If I read https://www.wired.com/2012/09/how-can-airlines-reduce-fuel-c... correctly, for intra-continential flights the cost is something like $1/10kg.

Assuming a delta of 50kg that's $5 between a light person and a heavy person, which is far less than the price of the ticket.

The enforcement scheme (setting up scales, getting complaints about being weighed, etc) has its own cost.

That's not to say that weight isn't a factor. Samoa Air charges by weight: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/02/samoa-air-pay-... . I believe there is a wider range of weight in Samoa and the fuel costs are higher.

gargravarr
Passenger weight is nearly negligible in airline terms, as you note - considering the weight of the plane itself and the cargo, a few hundred humans on board makes little difference to the fuel consumption. The biggest factor is how many people they can cram into a plane at once. The only regulation holding this back to sane levels is emergency egress - too many people in one row and it'll significantly hamper evacuations.

I've read a number of articles that conclude airline seat sizing is deliberately designed to be just at the point of unbearable, to persuade you to upgrade to the next class. Frustratingly, the next class up costs at least twice as much. You either have to pony up a huge sum for semi-comfortable seating, or try and bear it. I've flown London-Hong Kong (12 hours) in Cattle Class a few times, and that is about the most I can stand.

aurizon
True enough, modern planes are far more efficient and oil prices are low
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muse900
I find your comment absurd! You are basically suggesting that we airliners should discriminate against people that were born taller?

What’s next ? Charging disabled people more because they have higher handling fees for the airliners?

We live in a society and we should set some standards that accommodate everyone without discriminating else we are lost!

aurizon
So someone could set up a skinny people airline, with 15 inch seats for a lot less, and grab that sector, let the others carry the hippos...
TomMarius
I have similar problems (sometimes the stewards even take pity on me and place me into the larger seat if its free - for free). What I found out is that it's compliant with current regulations and that there is no push to increase the space because the current regulation is just enough for average people.
jxub
r/sits/seats/g