Anyone who has flown economy class in recent years knows that airline seats are bigger and more comfortable than ever, making the air travel experience a pleasure.
Ahaha. Just kidding.
To the contrary, of course, seats are getting small enough that federal regulators are concerned, as they could be a danger to passenger health and safety.
In a reminder that even more seats can be put in planes, Airbus unveiled a mock-up at the Aircraft Interiors Expo 2015, of its new 11-abreast "Budget Economy" configuration for the A380 jumbo jet.
That's right: 11 seats in a row. The seat configuration would be an option available to airlines beginning in 2017. Currently, the A380, which many aviation enthusiasts refer to as "the whale," is the largest passenger airliner ever in service. In today's version of the jet, airlines typically install up to 10 sets per row.
“Choice” becomes new #PaxEx curse word on 11-abreast Airbus A380 http://t.co/wQVu77YMAf Up Front @thatjohn #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/y6cfrz5B4j— Runway Girl Network (@RunwayGirl) April 15, 2015
The aircraft manufacturer said that each seat is 18 inches across, which aviation writer Jason Rabinowitz proved with a tape measure in a photo posted to Twitter.
In terms of seat width at least, then, it's not as bad as it could be. As a point of comparison, Ryanair, which is famous for passenger discomfort, has seat widths of just 17 inches.
The 11-abreast @Airbus A380 cabin has 18 inch seat width. Here's the measuring tape to prove it. #aix15 #PaxEx pic.twitter.com/z3waGLPOzj— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) April 14, 2015
Despite the seat width measurement, however, a photo of Rabinowitz in one of the seats does not make the configuration look comfortable.
The problem with the 3-5-3 A380 layout, as demonstrated by @AirlineFlyer. #paxex #AIX15 pic.twitter.com/iXkvbKpGM2— John Walton (@thatjohn) April 14, 2015
If airlines were to choose this configuration, Boeing may also be tempted to introduce more seats per row in its larger aircraft.
Anyone else excited about flying in 2018?