“Say, how can we increase profits and make customers even more miserable?” ponder airline corporate heads constantly, I imagine. Well, prepare to say goodbye to that roomy eighteen inch seat, because United Airlines is reportedly thinking of increasing the amount of seat rows in their Boeing 777-200s from nine to ten — which will potentially add up to 100 extra passengers to every flight. And on that note, say goodbye to overhead compartment space as well.
Currently American Airlines is the only airline in the United States that boasts a ten row configuration. According to MSN:
In a statement, United declined to confirm the report, saying only, “We evaluate lots of options across our fleet and haven’t made any further announcements specific to the 777 fleet.”
Passengers sitting in United’s current nine-seat economy configuration get a seat width of 18 inches. On European and Middle Eastern airlines that fly the 777-200, which uses ten seats abreast, the seat width is only 17 inches.
I am not a large person by any means and I already get claustrophobic on flights — god forbid I don’t get a window or aisle seat. The last time I flew Southwest with their delightful open seating policy, I got stuck sitting between an overweight man and overweight woman who made me cram in between them, and I absolutely lost my sh*t when I realized as we were deboarding that they were actually traveling together (in all likelihood married) and made me sit between them like some sort of sadist psychopaths. So… I may have made a teensy minor scene and my husband may have been completely mortified about it.
What I’m trying to get at here is that flying is already a super stressful and temper-inducing affair, but it seems as though airlines won’t stop until it’s straight up Jerry Springer in the sky.