Pitch down

Moving beyond row spacing for passenger comfort

Aviation needs a new way to measure personal space within the cabin, and not just because American Airlines will be installing seats pitched at 29” in the back three rows of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Think Jetstar or Tiger A320 legroom but with the narrower Qantas or Virgin 737 seats, and wince. American’s seats will offer the smallest amount of personal space — legroom multiplied by seat width — of any major airline.

Historically, pitch, the distance between one point on a seat and the same point on the seat in front or behind, has been a strong indicator of legroom, and thus comfort. Surprisingly, though, few airlines that have made decisions to offer more pitch (and thus space) have marketed themselves as such. Few passengers know that Emirates, on most routes, offers an inch more pitch than Etihad (32” vs 31”, as a rule), or that Korean Air’s longhaul flights offer some of the most spacious pitch around, at 33-34”?