Dreading those long uncomfortable flights that you know you’ll sleep horrible on? Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer is trying to convince airlines to make more room for passengers to snooze.
After research was conducted for the company by the London Sleep Centre, Airbus is proposing that an 18-inch wide seat become the standard over the current 17-inch seat. Turns out the 6% adjustment boasts big results for how well people rest on airplanes.
The Sleep Centre Experiment showed that sleep quality with the 18-inch seat improved by 53% over the 17-inch version. Also, the test subjects fell asleep 14.7% faster with the new seat adjustment and stay asleep longer before waking up. As people slept in wider seats they didn’t move around as much as they did in the 17-inch seats. The experiment was conducted by using a mockup of an airline cabin, including simulated noise.
Unfortunately, lobbying for the comfort of airline passengers may not be enough to improve passenger seats. Carriers such as American Airlines and United, have maxed out there seats limits trying to get as many passengers as they safely can on an aircraft. According to Seat Guru, American’s 777-300 ER uses 17-inch seats to cram 10 passengers across in coach, while United’s Dreamliner to Tokyo from LAX stretches 9 passengers across in 17.2-inch seats.
Air carriers seem to be in favor of the new thin seating technology that has allowed airlines to cram more passengers onto their aircrafts to generate more revenue from airfares and fees, prompting people to pay more for extra leg room and avoid being crushed.
Even though the number of flights over 6,800 miles has increased by 70% over the seats and waistlines are constantly expanding, it will take a lot more get carriers to widen their seats. Airbus estimates that the airlines will buy more than 29,000 jets in the next 15 years, meaning which ever seating standard wins out will be in place for a generation.
In the meantime, don’t get discourages by trying to sleep on an airplane. Along with packing an eye-mask and travel pillow, find out more ways to sleep better on your next flight here!
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