When considering your cheap traveloptions, such as cheapairplane tickets, cheapfares, cheapdeals, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages, donot make the mistake of assuming that travel on all airlines is equal.
Selecting the airline which offers the most legroom ispreferable so long as that airlines ticket prices are comparable to itscompetitors. Seat pitch which is thedistance from any point on an airline seat to the same point on the seat in thenext row, is the most reliable measure of total front to rear seatspace/legroom.
The average economy seat pitch is between 30 to 31 incheson the Big Three legacy U.S. airlines (American, Delta, and United), comparedto 28 to 30 inches on low-fare competitors, and 32 to 33 inches on select nicheairlines. Transatlantic airlinestypically offer about the same seat pitch, with the average a little higher ontranspacific airlines.
Big airlines operate dozens of different types of planes,often without a single standardized seat pitch. Newer planes sometimes have different pitch seats than older ones, andpitch can change when planes are refurbished.
Given these uncertainties, there are only a few airlinesthat reliably offer above average pitch on all of its flights.
In North America the airline offering the most legroom,with 34 inches of seat pitch across all its planes is Interjet. This Mexico based, low-cost airline fliesfrom a handful of U.S. cities to many destinations in Mexico, as well as a fewin Central and South America, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, andGuatemala. Interjet operates AirbusA320s and Sukhoi SU9 Superjets. It claimsto intentionally forego about 30 seats on each of its planes to give itspassengers more space.
JetBlue comes in second, with a range of 32 to 34 inches onall its planes. JetBlues fleet used tooffer the most legroom, at 34 inches or better, until in recent years JetBluestarted adding more main cabin seats and decreasing legroom. JetBlues affordable Even More Space optionremains the best legroom in the sky, with 37 inches of pitch.
Virgin Americas planes feature 32 inches of seat pitchacross its fleet of A319, A320, and A321 planes. Alaska Airlines recently purchased VirginAmerica and has not announced whether it will adjust Virgin Americas seatpitch to match its fleet wide standard. Porter offers 32 inches of pitch on all its Bombardier Q-400 turbopropplanes, aiming for a higher-end niche on its regional flights in Canada andEastern U.S. Turboprop planes areusually viewed as louder and less desirable than standard jets.
Southwest recently shrank its fleet wide pitch to 31inches, a decrease of one to two inches. Likewise, Alaska is downgrading its main cabin pitch to 31 inches on allits new and refurbished planes compared to its previous standard of 32 inches.
Most North American airlines average economy pitch is 30 to31 inches. Larger airlines still flysome planes, usually older models, that retain 32 inches or better. Among them are Air Canada E175s at 32 to 34inches, older Alaska 7372 that remain at 32 to 33 inches, some American757-200s at 32 inches, Hawaiian 767-300s at 32 inches, and United B787s at 32inches.
The low fare airlines range from 30 inches on Allegiant toas low as 28 inches on Frontier and Spirit.
Long haul airlines that travel to North America retainpitches of 32 inches or more on at least some of their intercontinentalplanes. A few airlines, mostly based inAsia, offer pitches that range from 33 to 36 inches:
- Air India: 33 inches to 34 inches
- Air Tahiti Nui: 33 inches
- ANA: Some at 34 inches
- Asiana: 32 to 34 inches
- EVA: 33 to 36 inches
- JAL: 33 to 34 inches
- Air China: Most long-haul planes at 32 to 33 inches
- Turkish: 33 to 34 inches
Thereare many European and Asian airline that provide 32 inches of pitch or more, onat least many of their planes:
- AeroMexico: 31 to 36 inches
- Air France: 32 inches
- Air New Zealand: 32 inches
- Cathay Pacific: All long-haul planes at 32 inches
- China Airlines: Most long-haul planes at 32 inches
- China Eastern: 32 inches
- China Southern: 32 inches
- El Al: 32 inches
- Emirates: 32 to 34 inches
- Ethiopian: 32 to 33 inches
- Etihad: 31.5 to 33 inches
- Finnair: 32 inches
- Icelandair: 32 to 33 inches
- Korean: 32 to 34 inches
- LATAM Brasil: 32 inches
- LATAM Chile: 32 inches
- LOT Polish: 32 inches
- Philippine: 32 to 33 inches
- Qatar: 32 to 33 inches
- Royal Jordanian: 32 inches
- Saudia: All long-haul planes at 32 inches
- Singapore: 32 inches
- South African: 32 to 33 inches
- Swiss: 32 inches
- TACA: 32 to 33 inches
- TAP: All long-haul planes at 32 to 33 inches
- Thai: 32 inches to 34 inches
- Turkish: 31 to 34
- Virgin Australia: 32 inches
- Xiamen: 32 inches
Otherlarge airlines, including British Airways, KLM, and Lufthansa usually offer a 31-inchpitch, as does low-fare newcomer Norwegian Air Shuttle.
SeatGuruprovides detailed information on legroom by airline or other seat dimensionsand covers most in North America, listing 135 individual airlines. The U.K. based Seatplans website providesinformation on African, Asian, and European airlines, listing more than 200airlines.
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