KEY POINTS:
Seat pitch - the space between seats on commercial aircraft - is a sensitive issue for airlines, because there can be significant differences between them. So two more airlines, Emirates and Qantas, have wanted to correct the data that accompanied this article on seat pitch last
month. However, the revised data they submitted shows how complicated the subject can be.
The article related principally to long-haul routes to and from New Zealand and the data was derived from Skytrax, a usually reliable international source but it says: "We illustrate the 'typical' seat pitch offered by an airline on international flights - this seat pitch may not be available across all of an airline's aircraft fleet."
Part of the problem is that seat pitch can vary between aircraft used by the same airline but on different routes, or even within a single aircraft, which helps explain the range of measurements provided by Emirates and Qantas.
Similarly, although Air New Zealand's economy class seats on its B747-400 aircraft - which fly to London via Los Angeles - do include the superior 86cm pitch cited by Skytrax and included in the previous article, the airline's website refers to an 81-86cm range. It also shows a different seat pitch, 79-84cm, for economy class on its newer B777-200 planes that fly to London via Hong Kong, and to San Francisco.
A further complication is that that seat pitch data does not necessarily correlate with legroom. Skytrax defines seat pitch as "the measurement from the same position on two seats, one behind the other - it is not the legroom area".
Another source, Seatguru, has a similar definition but adds: "While it is not the exact equivalent of 'legroom', it does give a very good approximation of how much seat room you should expect. Bottom line: the more seat pitch the better."
The introduction by some airlines, including Air NZ, of lie-flat beds in first or business class and the introduction of "premium economy" with roomier seats have improved the lot of passengers on long-haul routes who are able and willing to pay the higher fares involved.
Airlines have also begun to look for ways to improve the comfort of economy class - including Air NZ, which has asked the US design firm IDEO to make more comfortable arrangements for the B787s and B777-300s it has on order.
Cathay Pacific says it has already begun to introduce a new economy seat, although not yet on the Hong Kong-Auckland route. The airline describes the seat as having a hard shell surround, inside which the seat reclines so the passenger no longer has the seat in front leaning back into his or her personal space. Also, the seat pocket has been moved to below the cushion behind the passenger's legs, to produce more leg room without actually extending the seat pitch.
At the Asian Aerospace Expo in Hong Kong this week, the British firm Premium Aircraft Interiors demonstrated its new "Freedom" seats, in which the centre seat in a row of three faces the rear. Premium's business development director, Ben Bettell, is quoted by Flight International as saying "we wanted to humanise economy long-haul travel".
With that objective, the seats provide up to 10.2cm more legroom. Alternatively, to boost airline revenue, they could allow an airline to provide 21 more seats in a standard B777 configuration. The design includes a rigid seat back with a sliding seat pan which, like the Cathay design, resolves a big passenger concern - loss of knee space when the passenger in front reclines their seat. There are also extra privacy screens that stop eye contact between facing passengers. The space saving is said to work because there's no restriction at the shoulders and passengers get more comfort from the exclusive use of armrests.
Bettell says: "This is still a concept. The airline industry is conservative and people get used to what they know, like walking on and seeing rows of seats facing you. But change happens. We designed a urinal for aircraft and showed it seven years ago. It is about to be introduced on an airline for the first time. So it can take a while for new ideas to get acceptance. However, we know from the interest in this seat design already that the benefits of more space and revenue are attracting a lot of attention".
* David Stone is an independent aviation commentator and consultant.
