DUBAI: If you tip the scales on the heavier side, flying should not amount to mid-air torture even if you pay economy, thanks to carriers like Emirates and Etihad.
A global survey ranks the two UAE-based carriers among the most generous in providing comfort for economy passengers.
The Airline Survey, published by Business Traveller magazine, showed Etihad and Emirates landing among the top global airlines in terms of both legroom and seat width.
Etihad was ranked fourth in terms of legroom for economy-class seats (31-35 inches) and tenth for seat width (17-19 inches).
The survey compared 32 of the world’s leading airlines and published by the magazine’s sister website Seatplans.com.
Emirates, meanwhile, is sixth in terms of legroom (31-34 inches) — tied with Japan Airlines and Thai Airways — a fact confirmed by another website, seatguru.com.
The aviation industry defines legroom, also known as “seat pitch”, as the distance between the end of a seat and the front end of the seat behind it.
Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific shared the top spot for legroom, with an average of 32 inches each.
Emirates originally topped the seat-width race, but seatplans.com’s amended list showed the Dubai carrier downgraded to No. 13, and Air Canada rising to the top (with 18-18.5 inches).
Seatguru.com, however, lists the Canadian flag-carrier’s fleet of B767s (30 units) seat width at 17.5 inches — the same as standard width of economy seats on Emirates’ A380s (26 units) and a great majority of its B777 fleet (110 units). Flyers are taking notice. “Tomin Scotland” who reviewed Emirates’ economy class (B777-300ER) for seatplans.com, wrote: “It is obvious why other airlines are pulling out of services through to Australia and New Zealand as Emirates (and Etihad, Qatar by all accounts) are offering a far superior economy product in terms of seating, service and routing options than the competition.”
The survey also suggests that taller passengers should avoid low-cost carriers, especially the European ones, which ranked badly. Ryanair’s seat width landed at the bottom with just 16 inches. EasyJet finished second from bottom with 29 inches of legroom.
Iberia, a BA affiliate, landed at the bottom for having just 28-inch legroom on its Airbus A319s and A320s. However, more than 50 per cent of its planes have between 30-32 inches of legroom.
There was no immediate comment from Etihad or Emirates.
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