{"id":48205,"date":"2016-08-24T00:10:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T07:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=48205"},"modified":"2016-08-25T03:29:10","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T10:29:10","slug":"planes-arent-windows-aligned-rows-seats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/planes-arent-windows-aligned-rows-seats\/","title":{"rendered":"Why aren’t the Windows Aligned with the Rows of Seats in Commercial Aircraft?"},"content":{"rendered":"
M. Silverman asks: Why aren’t the windows aligned with the rows of seats on planes?<\/div>\n

\"view-from-airplane\"<\/a>While airplane manufacturers do design the planes with general row positioning and pitch (the measurement from one seat to the same exact point on the seat in front or behind it) in mind, with the windows often lining up with the seats, the designers’ exact recommended arrangement is rarely, if ever, followed. You see, the final placement of seats is left up to the individual airlines that purchase the plane.<\/p>\n

To make the seating arrangement as flexible as possible for airlines, there are multiple tracks on the floors that the seats are mounted on. This allows the seats to easily be moved closer together or farther apart. The airlines can even switch the aisle arrangement via moving a line of seats to a completely different track.<\/p>\n

For example, on some versions of the Boeing 777<\/a>, Boeing recommends a layout of 3+3+3 with a 32 inch (81.2 cm) pitch for economy passengers. In this layout, you need a passenger density of 67% before a passenger may be required to sit next to someone else. And if some passengers choose<\/em> to sit next to one another, the percentage is even higher before other passengers must<\/em> sit next to someone. Boeing recommends this layout because, in internal studies they’ve conducted, they claim that one of the biggest factors in passenger perception of comfort on a flight is whether there is someone directly next to them or not.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, disregarding the manufacturer recommendation, pitch on a given class of seats on the 777 varies from airline to airline (resulting in the seats not necessarily lining up with the windows) and it is not uncommon for airlines to choose to go with an arrangement of 2+5+2 in economy on this plane, which requires only a passenger load of 55% before people potentially have to start sitting next to each other. (For reference, United Airlines flies at around a 70%-75% passenger load per flight on average.)<\/p>\n

On that note, as is readily apparent to anyone who’s flown recently, for various reasons airlines are increasingly less about the comfort of their customers, who often have little other choice but to take planes for fast, long distance travel, and more about how much money can be sucked out of each flight. Since passenger seating is the biggest money maker for airlines, they try to cram as many seats (and therefore as many potential customers) as possible on a plane. Beyond profitability, this also allows them to be more competitive with their pricing to try to get customers to choose them over a competitor; this is particularly important for relatively short flights where customers almost always pick ticket price over comfort, no matter how much they’ll later complain about the miserable flight.<\/p>\n

Towards this end, only a few decades ago the average pitch between seats on commercial aircraft was 34 inches (86.3 cm), but today has diminished to just 31 inches (78.7 cm), with even 28 inch (71 cm) pitch seats now starting to be introduced.<\/p>\n

Airlines are not only shrinking the pitch between seats, but also in some cases the width, despite the general populace’ ever expanding girth. For instance, while 18 inches (45.7 cm) or more was once the norm for economy class (18.5 inches still being the recommendation by Boeing for economy seats on the 777), rows as narrow as 16.7 inches (42.4 cm) are not unheard of today. (For your reference, the average adult’s shoulder width is approximately 16 inches, though of course varying significantly from person to person and whether the person is male or female.)<\/p>\n

If narrowed enough on certain planes, this allows for an extra seat in each row. For example, the Airbus A330 was designed to have eight seats in a row, but it’s not uncommon for airlines to use thinner than the recommended width of seats to accommodate nine seats in a row on this aircraft.<\/p>\n

And if you were wondering, according to\u00a0Cynthia Corbett of the FAA, there is no set rule for how many passengers and seats can be crammed into commercial aircraft, and the exit rows are even allowed to have the seats block the exit by up to 50%.\u00a0 The only caveat is that the FAA requires all commercial aircraft be able to be fully evacuated in less than 90 seconds with half the exits blocked. This must be demonstrated by manufacturers in both computer simulated and live tests. (More on this and the inherently flawed nature of the testing in the Bonus<\/span> Discussion below.)<\/p>\n

So next time you’re on a plane and the window doesn’t line up with your seat, know that the reason this is the case is because the airline used a different seating plan than the plane was originally designed for, generally in an effort to cram more seats into the aircraft. And don’t forget to stretch your legs and flex your leg muscles occasionally on a long distance flight in whatever way you can manage given the tight quarters. The ever-diminishing leg room aboard commercial flights is resulting in more incidents of flight-induced venous thrombosis;<\/a> so regular stretching and movement while flying just might save your life.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Google Play Music<\/a>, Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n