dailynewsnblog
Most mainline economy class seats have a seat width of around 17 to 18 inches (43-45 cm), with many US-based carrier widebody seats being closer to 17 inches. A few airlines go over 18 inches up to as much as 19 inches (48.26 cm) on select aircraft types. At the other end of the spectrum, airlines like the low-cost airline French Bee have seats just 16.7 inches wide.
Except for some Asian airlines that configure Boeing 777s as nine-abreast, aircraft like the Airbus A220 and Airbus A380 typically offer the most space. It should also be noted that regardless of whether the passenger is in Ryanair’s Boeing 737s with their 17-inch widths or Southwest’s Boeing 737s with their 18-inch widths, the aircraft cabin is still 11.62 feet (3.54 meters) wide and six passengers abreast. In that regard, nothing changes.
Japan Airlines Has Some Of The Widest Seats
Japan Airlines stands out for having some of the most generous personal space in economy class, perhaps the most of any mainline airline. It is one of the few airlines to configure the Boeing 777-300ER nine-abreast instead of the industry standard 10-abreast. It was once common to configure these aircraft nine-abreast in economy, but it has largely disappeared. These are configured as 3-3-3 instead of 3-4-3 in economy class.
Japan Airlines says, “Approx. 47 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 777, approx. 45 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 767.” This converts to around 18.5 inches in the 777s and 17.7 inches in its legacy Boeing 767s. Allowing for some variation between aircraft types operated by different airlines, Japan Airlines likely offers the widest economy class seats overall. Korean Air is another airline configuring the -300ERs as nine-abreast. It recently planned to reconfigure them 10-abreast, but backtracked after a public outcry.
Japan Airlines is also essentially unique in configuring Dreamliners eight-abreast instead of nine-abreast. Japan Airlines says, “JAL SKY SUITE 787 features a more relaxed 8-across seat layout rather than the industry standard 9-across, allowing for an extra 5 cm in seat width.” These are configured 2-4-2 instead of 3-3-3 and give passengers wider seats at around 18.9 inches or 48 cm. ANA (All Nippon Airways) also originally offered early eight-abreast 787s, but it later reconfigured them to nine-abreast.
Other Asian Mainline Airlines
The other airlines that often offer the widest economy class seats are typically in Asia. Singapore Airlines is famous for its comfort and its economy class seats of around 18.5 to as much as 19 inches (47–48 cm) on widebody aircraft. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific offers economy class seats up to 18.5 inches (47 cm). These airlines often offer as much as 18 inches of economy class seat width on their Boeing 777s. These are also configured nine-abreast.
One of the best aircraft to find wide seats is the Airbus A380. ANA is the main rival of Japan Airlines and also offers extra-wide seats, and it offers seat widths of around 18 inches on its fleet of three Airbus A380s. Airbus says of Singapore’s A380 economy seats, “Economy Class also offers more space with 18.5-inch wide seats and an improved design that provides additional back support and a six-way adjustable headrest with foldable wings. Also incorporated on the seats are an ergonomically-designed footrest with adjustable positions.”
|
Aircraft offering increased economy class lateral space (per Japan Airlines, AeroLOPA, others) |
Passenger abreast seating |
Airline |
|---|---|---|
|
Boeing 777s |
9 |
Korean Air, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines |
|
Boeing 787s |
8 |
Japan Airlines only |
|
Airbus A350s |
9 |
All but a few with 10-abreast seating |
|
Airbus A380s |
10 |
Emirates, Singapore Airlines, others |
|
Airbus A220s |
5 |
Delta, JetBlue, Breeze, Air Canada |
Asiana Airlines is in the process of being absorbed by Korean Air, but its A380s and Boeing 747-8s, and Boeing 777s are configured with extra-wide economy class seats of 18 to 18.9 inches. Asiana advertises its A380s as having economy class seats with seat widths of 18.9 inches as well as a seat pitch of 33 inches (83.82 cm). Korean Air’s A380s are configured with economy class seats 18.1 inches wide with 33–34 inches of seat pitch.
Which Airlines Provide Amenity Kits In Economy Class?
Surprisingly, some airlines offer amenity kits in regular economy.
17-Inch To 18-Inch Is Widebody Typical
Most mainline carriers around the world offer between 17 inches and 18 inches in economy class seat pitch in their widebody airliners. Examples include Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Qantas, Ethiopian Airlines, Air New Zealand, Air India, and others. Except for Delta’s A220 regional aircraft, the three main US carriers (Delta, United, and American) generally do not stand out for wide economy class seats.
It should be noted that for the most part, airlines are constrained by the airliner’s dimensions and have little room to maneuver with seat width. Economy class A320s and Boeing 737s are always configured six-abreast, A220s are configured five-abreast, A350s and Boeing 787s are configured nine-abreast, and 777s are configured 10-abreast. As stated, there are exceptions for those widebodies, but exceptions are rare.
The airlines’ ability to affect seat width is marginal. Some choices that do have some influence include sidewall and insulation design (potentially gaining 0.3–0.6 inches per seat), adjusting the armrest thickness, slightly adjusting the aisle width, changing the seat shell, and some other things. In practice, changing the width of the rest armrest thickness is one of the biggest things they do in lieu of cutting a row of seats out. However, reducing the armrest thickness doesn’t mean passengers are actually sitting further apart from each other.
Boeing 777 vs A350
The Boeing 777-300ER is a wider aircraft than the Airbus A350, although it is typically configured 10-abreast, while the A350 is normally configured nine-abreast. The 777-300ER was designed with the width to comfortably seat 9-abreast (3-3-3) in economy, but in practice, almost all now squish 10-abreast. For some airlines (like United and American), this means the seats can be just 17 inches or narrower.
Meanwhile, the Airbus A350 was designed with a narrower cabin, although slightly wider than the Boeing 787, especially after the new production standard gave another four inches of space thanks to thinner walls. The A380 was designed to offer 18 inches of seat width as standard. In practice, this typically ranges from around 17.5 inches to 18.5 inches. So while the Boeing 777 is a wider aircraft, economy class passengers can generally expect wider seats on the narrower A350.
But of course, this varies. The A350 can fit 10 abreast, and the stretched A350-1000 has the legal exit limit to carry up to 480 passengers. In practice, very few low-cost carriers do this, including the French low-cost leisure carrier, French Bee. Its 480-seat configured A350-1000s have seat widths of 16.7 inches (42.4 cm). The premium economy class (Premium Blue) offers a 2-4-2 layout with wider 18 to 19-inch seats. Interestingly, this means French Bee’s A350-1000s carry more passengers than most of the world’s A380s.
The Airlines With The World’s Longest Legroom In Economy In 2026
Who has the most room to stretch in coach?
JetBlue & The Airbus A220
JetBlue stands out among US carriers for having longer on-average flights and some of the widest seats. Economy class seats are often around 18 inches on the Airbus A320 family. Its economy seat width range is from 17.3 inches to 18.6 inches, with the widest being in the A220-300s. JetBlue lists all of its A320s and A321s as having a seat width of 18 inches (17.8 inches for A320 Classic).
The Airbus A220 was originally designed as the Bombardier CSeries and is a regional aircraft designed for carrying five-abreast (2+3). Among narrowbody and regional jets, the A220 offers some of the widest economy class seats in the United States. With JetBlue, seats AC have a width of 18.5 inches, while those DEF have a seat width of 19 inches.
Delta Air Lines is the world’s largest A220 operator, and it offers 18.6 inches (47 cm) of width in Delta Main and 18.1 inches (46 cm) in Delta Comfort. The other great operator of the Airbus A220 is Breeze Airways, with it offering 18-inch wide economy class seats and 30 inches of seat pitch. Delta currently operates 82 A220s, JetBlue operates 58, Breeze Airways operates 49, and Air Canada operates 41.
The Curious Case Of Southwest
Southwest has long been a hybrid carrier operating only Boeing 737 family aircraft, although it has been trending toward a low-cost carrier. Curiously, even though it operates exclusively the Boeing 737, it also provides some of the widest seats (17.8 inches) in its market segment. The 1960s-designed 737 is 7 inches (about 18 cm) narrower than the 1980s-designed Airbus A320. Both aircraft types sit six-abreast (3-3).
To do this, Southwest uses slimmer armrests, thinner seat backs, and optimized cushioning to allocate more width to the seat bottom and hip area. These are available on its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and retrofitted 737-800s. These seats provide a width of around 17.8 inches. American typically offers 17 inches, United up to 17.3 inches, and Delta around 17.5 inches.
One area where Southwest stuck out before 2026 was by being the only major carrier to offer plus-sized travelers the ability to request an extra seat at no extra charge. From January 2026, passengers who “encroach upon the neighboring seat(s) should proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel to ensure the additional seat is available“. It is industry standard in the US for larger passengers to be required to purchase an extra seat or upgrade to premium.
