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Seat pitch measures the distance between rows of seats on an aircraft. Like seat width, this is an area where airlines do have a significant amount of control over how they configure their aircraft. On narrowbody aircraft, airlines can play with the space between the armrests a little, but at the end of the day, all Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s will be seated six abreast in economy class. Many low and ultra-low-cost airlines configure their seating rows at around 28 to 29 inches (71.1 to 73.7 cm), which is about as restricted in legroom as it gets, and is what Ryanair passengers have.
Most airlines configure their economy class seats with 30–32 inches (76.2 to 82.3 cm) of seat pitch. It is difficult to find any airlines that go above this, although a select few may offer 33 or 34 inches (83.8 to 86.4 cm) of seat pitch. So, when discussing which airlines offer more seat pitch, it’s worth noting that most are within two to three inches of the industry standard. Additionally, existing row seats have more legroom for obvious reasons, as do bulkhead seats. Here are five airlines offering a greater amount of seat pitch.
5
JetBlue
Up to 33 inches of seat pitch
JetBlue is notable in the North American market for offering a greater amount of seat pitch and wider seats. Until recently, JetBlue was notable for offering a seat pitch of 32 to 33 inches on its A320/A321s. However, some configurations are transitioning to having a seat pitch of 30-32 inches. This will mean JetBlue is going from exceptional to industry standard. It does have “Even More Space” seats with up to 35 to 38 inches, but its standard for economy (Core) is 32 to 32.7 inches. Some economy class seats may only have 30 inches, which is getting close to the squishiness seen on ultra-low-cost carriers like Ryanair (29 inches).
JetBlue’s wider seats are mostly thanks to the type of aircraft it flies. The JetBlue fleet is made up of 289 aircraft, of which 229 are A320 family aircraft, and 60 are Airbus A220, giving it a greater share of A220s relative to its fleet than Delta Air Lines. The regional A220 (formerly CSeries) may be narrower than the A320, but it only seats five passengers abreast instead of six.
This more than makes up for the narrower fuselage and gives passengers more sideways space. On that note, one of the best airlines in the United States for the most side-to-side seating is Breeze, as its fleet is made up of 55 Airbus A220s and eight Embraer ERJ-190s, meaning most passengers will enjoy passage on its fleet of new A220s.
4
Egyptair
Up to 33 inches of seat pitch
Egyptair is the flag carrier of Egypt and is a carrier that doesn’t appear in a lot of lists. It is notable for being one of the few non-East Asian or Southeast Asian airlines to configure its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with nine-abreast as 3-3-3. This is a rather modest fleet with Planespotters.net listing it as having only five Boeing 777-300ERs in service. Overall, Egyptair has a fleet of 68 aircraft, including 15 A320 family aircraft, nine A330s, 30 Boeing 737s, five Boeing 777-300ERs, and eight Boeing 787 Dreamliners. It is also purchasing A350s as it modernizes its fleet.
These aircraft are equipped with a total of 346 seats, including 49 business class seats and 297 economy class seats. On the Boeing 777, economy-class seats are 18 inches wide and come with 10.6-inch touchscreens. Arguably, the most important factor in sideways room for most passengers is not so much the distance between the armrests (how seat width is typically measured), but the spacing between passengers. Egyptair’s A330-300s are also configured 2-4-2 or eight abreast in economy class; typically, only low-cost airlines configure these nine abreast.
Egyptair’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are also configured in the industry-standard nine-abreast seating (3-3-3). Notably, Egyptair lacks premium economy on its long-haul fleet. The seats are reported to have an industry-standard seat pitch of around 31–32 inches (79-81 cm), although Skytrax suggests that at least some of Egyptair’s fleet offers agenerous 33 inches of seat pitch in economy.
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3
Aerolíneas Argentinas
Up to 33 inches of seat pitch
According to Skytrax, Argentina’s Aerolíneas Argentinas has a generous seat pitch of 32-33 inches for its economy class. However, looking at its website, it seems its seat pitch is closer to the international standard at around 31-32 inches. On its narrowbody Boeing 737-700 aircraft, its seat pitch is at the lower standard at 30 inches (76 cm), although this rises to 31 inches (78.7 cm) on its regional Embraer 190s. The longer Boeing 737-800s range between 30 inches and a much more generous 32 inches.
However, the seat pitch falls back on some of its new Boeing 737 MAX 8s at just 29–30 inches. The seats with the least legroom are found in its MAX 8 aircraft. Other MAX 8 aircraft are configured with 32 inches of seat pitch, acting as a reminder that how much room one gets on an aircraft is a combination of airline, aircraft type, configuration of that specific aircraft, and where passengers are seated on the aircraft.
The least legroom on its long-haul fleet is around 30 inches; these are some seats found on its Airbus A330-200, although that aircraft also has seats offering 32 inches in economy class. The aircraft listed with the most economy class legroom of any of its fleet are some MAX 8s with 33 inches (83.82 cm) of legroom. Aerolíneas Argentinas only has two Boeing 737 MAX 8s configured with 33 inches of seat pitch in economy. It highlights that while some airlines may have up to X-inches of seat pitch, in practice, it can literally be only a couple of aircraft.
2
Japan Airlines
Up to 34 inches of seat pitch
Japan Airlines is one of the most exceptional airlines in the industry. Not only is it one of the few remaining airlines to configure its Boeing 777-300ERs as nine-abreast, instead of the industry standard 10-abreast, but it is also the last airline to still have Boeing 787s configured eight-abreast in economy. All other economy configurations for the Dreamliner are configured eight abreast.
Japan Airlines says, “Seat pitch: Approx. 86 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 777 and JAL SKY SUITE 767, approx. 84 cm in JAL SKY SUITE 787.” In Imperial units, 86cm is around 33.8 inches, and 84cm is around 33 inches. This means that when flying on these specific aircraft, economy class passengers can enjoy the greatest side-ways and some of the greatest front-to-back space that mainline carriers still offer.
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Airlines with more side-to-side spaced seats (per Japan Airlines, others) |
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|---|---|
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Airlines offering 9-abreast seating in 777s |
Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Thai Airways, ANA, Egyptair, and EVA Air |
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Airlines offering 8-abreast seating in 787s |
Japan Airlines |
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US-based airlines flying A220s |
Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Breeze (Air Canada in Canada) |
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Airlines with 34+ inches of economy seat pitch |
Extremely rare (e.g., some seats on Caribbean Airlines) |
It should be stressed that when talking about seating space, it is generalizing to talk about airlines. Most major airlines operate a selection of aircraft types with a greater range of seating configurations built for different routes and market segments. An airline like Japan Airlines, offering exceptional space, does so on specific aircraft and routes. For example, its rival, All Nippon Airways (ANA), is also notable for having generous space, and yet, it operates the world’s highest-density Boeing 787-10s. These are configured with a whopping 429 seats and used on dense domestic routes.
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1
Caribbean Airlines
Up to 34 inches in seat pitch
Caribbean Airlines is the flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, making it a rare example of a flag carrier of more than one nation. Its primary base is at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and operates a modest fleet of 20 aircraft. These are made up of ten regional turboprop ATR-72s and ten Boeing 737s, with those 737s consisting of one 737-800 and nine MAX 8s.
According to its website, the seat pitch in its turboprops is 31 inches. However, this ranges from 30 inches to 34 inches in economy in its Boeing 737s. Caribbean Plus comes with 37 inches of seat pitch, while business class passengers can expect 42 inches of seat pitch. The airline says of its economy class, “The warm on-board atmosphere extends to Economy Class. Our flight attendants are dedicated to looking after you, giving you a friendly welcome and sincere hospitality. It’s all part of being Caribbean and part of all the Caribbean Airlines experience.”
There are only a few other airlines around the world that provide 34 inches of pitch in economy class. Skytrax only lists Avianca, Royal Jordanian, and Saudi Arabian in this category, as well as Asiana Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, and Thai Airways as having 31-34 inches of seat pitch. Of these, Asiana is disappearing as it’s absorbed by Korean Air, and it can be hard to verify that all these airlines actually do offer this much seat pitch in practice. For example, Avianca appears to offer closer to 28-32 inches on most of its aircraft, while Royal Jordanian typically seems to offer 30-32 inches of seat pitch.
