Seat Width on US

[CLT-Douglas]

I was looking at the seat pitch and seat width comparisons in economy to other airlines in regards to my next trip I will be taking on US which I will be aboard the A330. I am not really even going to get into why the seat pitch is awful because we all know the answer to that. However, I can't really understand why the seat width varies so much between airlines? Most airlines the seat width is 17.5" to 18" on their A330's. US is on par with Air Lingus A330's in that they are only 17" wide. All airlines including US flying the A330 are 2x4x2 seating in coach so what reasoning is there for having a 17" seat when a 18" seat fits the same overall layout? Is there really a need for wider isles on US? Perhaps it's just to make coach as uncomfortable as possible so people will want to upgrade to Envoy? I'm just guessing, maybe someone can enlighten me as to the real answer.

 

[Dog Wonder]

When the A330 was ordered there was a petite woman in charge of cabin configuration. The narrow seats and short seat belts were comfortable for her.

It wasn't until average size, or bigger, people started riding on the plane anyone noticed.

 

[Dorf]

Is there really a need for wider isles on US?

Have you seen some of those senior mamas working the 330 lately?! Sorry, couldn't resist. But, on my last flight to LGW, there were some "weight challenged" attendants on board. Not to mention the 6 or 7 bags and personal items they were trying to drag down the aisle. Some of them looked like they were packed for a 14 day cruise.

Dorf

 

[jimcfs]

Widest seat in the fleet is the Beech 1900D if US still has any after Air Midwest shut down.

Colgan might have a few, assuming they haven't all gone to UA Ex.

 

[Hope777]

All, as used numerous times before, this is a very good site......

http://www.seatguru.com/

 

[az_wild727]

There's also seatexpert.com, but some of the information there is outdated. (Like the US East A320 showing 16F and US East A321 showing 26F). But I found some of the Europeans carrier more often updated than SeatGuru.

-Kinglobjaw

 

[PHL]

I'm not sure about the widebodies, but I thought one of the benefits of an A319/A320 is that the fuselage is approximately 7" wider than a 737, thus allowing seat widths to be wider. Someone verify/dispute that for me, as I don't have any recent data/link to confirm this.

As for an A330, if every seat was even 1/2" wider, that would make the 2 aisles 2" narrower. Perhaps US carts were already a specific size that this wouldn't work?

The 767 Envoy cabin is pathetic when it comes to aisle width. They should have gone with wider seats in a 2-1-2 setup like CO does on their 767.

 

[FWAAA]

I'm not sure about the widebodies, but I thought one of the benefits of an A319/A320 is that the fuselage is approximately 7" wider than a 737, thus allowing seat widths to be wider. Someone verify/dispute that for me, as I don't have any recent data/link to confirm this.

For narrowbodies, you're right. Airbus narrowbodies are about 6 inches wider, allowing the seats to be an inch wider than Boeings, which typically feature 17.2 inch coach seats.

AA's AB6s (same cabin diameter as A330s) feature coach seats that are 17.8 inches wide, 0.6 inches wider than the Boeing 17.2 inch seats. Dunno why US would go with narrower seats.

 

[SS255]

Dunno why US would go with narrower seats.

Because it's cheaper?

 

[PHL]

It probably was cheaper in 1999 when the A330-300s were being finalized with interiors for the deliveries in 2000. So, maybe you should go look up Stephen Wolf and Rakesh Gangwal to get their perspective on seat width selection.

But let's not forget that they compensated for that small width difference by giving 33-34" of pitch throughout the entire coach cabin, which was (and still would be) a leading comfort factor for standard coach seating (since US never had economy plus). If Tempe didn't cram the coach seats together, people probably wouldn't complain about the width so much.

 

[CLT-Douglas]

I got back from my trip. The seats are definately 17" wide instead of the industry standard 18". They were very, very narrow. Now my question since experiencing a ride on the A330 is, how in the World do those seats on the A330-300 list a seat pitch of 31" on seatguru? There is no way it's 31". I guess it's some how my fault for being 6'1", but my legs were wedged into the seat in front of me the entire flight. They were with out a doubt the most uncomfortable seats I have ever experienced on any airline or fleet type I have ever flown on including regional jets. Could it be because I was seated towards the back of the plane? Is their more seat pitch towards the middle section of economy? I was in seat 28A and 27A on the return flight. I can't believe this isn't a safety hazard. There is no way I could properly get into a crash position if I needed too.

These pictures are not faked, and I am not slouching to make it seem worse then it really was. This is honestly the leg room I had. Why can't the people that come up with an idea like this or approve them fly in these seats for 8 hours on a regular basis? I wasn't the only one shocked by this. I heard a complaint from everyone seated around me. They guy behind me asked the flight attendant for a coke and a epidural during one of the drink services.

 

[SolidCactus]

OMG, that's worse than an RJ..

 

[wopr21]

Man, if you grow anymore you'll be paying for that seat in front of you too.
Thats sad

lol

 

[N965VJ]

Tempe wants you to be close to that neato IFE screen.

 

[Dog Wonder]

Just take those magazines out of the seat back and give them to the flight attendant while trash is collected.

That's two inches right there.