Flying long-haul in economy class is rarely an enjoyable experience for most of us. Thinner seats, less legroom, and more middle seats as airlines attempt to generate revenue from every nook and cranny possible on an aircraft.
An extra lavatory doesn’t make an airline money, where there could instead be more seats, despite it potentially detracting from passenger comfort. The dawn of low-cost long-haul travel has meant that more seats are being crammed into some aircraft than ever before.
Applicants to the Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific’s recruitment job event queue up next to … [+]
Economy configurations on many aircraft 10 to 15 years ago would have been 2-4-2 for example on a Boeing 767 or A340 aircraft. Then, some airlines decided to start pushing for 3-3-3 seating, and 9-abreast on widebody jets. That meant not only less pitch to the seat in front of passengers but also less width and inevitably more elbows protruding into your limited space.
Then, came the moment many passengers had feared. 10-abreast seating. Both Boeing and Airbus have pitched 10-abreast seating in a 3-4-3 layout to many airlines, particularly low-cost carriers for years, in the hopes of making routes profitable and allowing airlines to see the potential of cramming in more revenue-generating passengers.
Emirates airline, based in Dubai, UAE, is the largest operator of the Airbus A380-800. They operate … [+]
10-abreast seething was considered justifiable in the leisure and charter market but many legacy carriers held out from operating these more cramped configurations. However, even full-service airlines such as Cathay Pacific have now rolled out 10-abreast seating on their 777 aircraft. Although many airlines have kept their seat pitch largly unchanged (also known as legroom), many large full-service carriers have followed suit with 10-abreast, including United, Qatar and Emirates.
Lots of airlines didn’t go with this modus operandi, fearing that passengers simply would not be satisfied with such a congested seat map. However, as the aviation industry continues to become ruthlessly competitive, and the exponential growth of low-cost carriers, every airline has had to at least consider this.
AIRPORT NARITA, TOKYO, JAPAN – 2017/05/03: Cebu Pacific Air Airbus 330-300 seen leaving Tokyo Narita … [+]
However, 10-abreast seating mixed with minimal legroom is a concept that many airlines have shied away from. The dawn of more fuel-efficient aircraft has allowed low-cost airlines to offer long-haul routes with more seats.
The Airbus A330-900neo is one of those new aircraft. Airbus guidelines suggest 287 seats in a standard three-class layout, with an eye-watering single-class layout of up to 440 seats.
Airbus Industrie Airbus A330-900 aircraft, the longer edition of Airbus A330neo wide body jet … [+]
Enter: Cebu Pacific. The Philippine low-cost carrier has gone one step further and squeezed 460 seats into their A330-900neos. Chief executive advisor Mike Szucs suggested that the increase in density had been achieved by a ‘clever’ reconfiguration of lavatories and galleys.
For comparison, the highest density A380 super-jumbo, which is a full double-decker aircraft that offers nearly double the cabin space that the A330-900neo affords, has a highest operated density of 615 seats. Emirates fly this high-density version of the A380. Air Austral turned heads when it ordered 2 A380 aircraft in an all-economy layout that was set to have a staggering 840 seats with 11-abreast on the lower deck. The order was eventually canceled in 2016.
In relative terms, Cebu Pacific’s new A330s looks set to offer the most crowded aircraft in the sky.
