While most people search for cheap travel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals , cheap vacation packages and discount travel packages, you should not assume that it does not matter where in coach you end up being seated. Some coach seats are worse than others.
One of the most accurate ways to evaluate the quality of a seat is its seat pitch. Seat pitch is the space from one seat to the same point of the seat in the row ahead or behind. This spacing often is critical in the comfort or discomfort of individual seats. The norm for most airlines in coach is a 31 to 32 inch pitch. A variance of even one to two inches can make a significant difference in the comfort of your trip.
The following are tips from Smarter Travel on how to avoid, at least most of the time, the worst seats:
In the United States the tightest seating is on Spirit A320 planes that offer 28 inch pitch and seats that do not recline. Other planes with seats arranged closely together (with 30 inch pitch) are Air Tran B717, Allegiant MD83 and MD87 (with no recline), Delta DC9-50, A319, MD88, B757-200, and B757-300, Hawaiian Airlines B717-200 and US Airways B737-400.
Twin aisle (commonly referred to as jumbo) North American planes with the least legroom (30 inch pitch) are American B767-300 and Hawaiian B767-300 Version 2 models. Such closely spaced seats are especially difficult to endure on long flights.
31 inch pitch seats which are almost as bad on long flights are Air Canada B767, Delta A330-300, B747, B767, and B777, United, B747, B767-300 and B777, and US Airways A330. These planes usually fly international routes.
The least legroom, with 28 inch pitch, single aisle plane flown by European and Pacific airlines are Finnair A757 and Monarch A300, A320, A321, and B757 models. Planes with 29 inch pitch include AirAsia A319, Air India Express B737, Brussels Airlines B737, and easyJet A319 and A320. Surprisingly Ryanair does not fly any of the planes with the least pitch.
The tightest (30 inch pitch) twin aisle planes flown by overseas airlines are Airberlin A321 and A330, Austrian B767, Flythomascook 320, A321, B757-300, and B767, and Virgin Atlantic A330. Most European airlines, including the biggest, use a 31 inch pitch. Most Pacific airlines have a little better than 32 inch pitch, with a couple offering as much as 34 inches.
The narrowest seats among North American airlines are Canada based Air Transat A310 and A330-200 planes. These aircraft offer nine very narrow seats in each row instead of the usual eight narrow seats.
The narrowest seats on overseas airlines can be found in the eight seats per row B767 which is even narrower than the nine per row in the Airbus 300/310/330/340 family. These planes are offered by European package tour operators Flythomascook and Thomson Airways. XL Airways offers low fares from the U.S. to Paris over the summer flying very narrow seats with nine seats per row.
The airline/airplane with the worst pitch and seat width is Flythomascook B767 which comes with 30 inch pitch and the narrowest seats in the sky. Overall the seating on small jets and turboprops is worse than on mainline planes. The exception is the newer Embraer 170-190 which provides some the best seating in the industry.
If you want to check the seat size before selecting your next flight, most airlines post seating diagrams of their planes online. Some of the better third party sites that post seat maps with lots of detail include SeatGuru, SeatExpert, SeatMaestro, SeatPlans, and Skytrax.
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