You might also like:
American Airlines plans a tighter seating configuration for the Boeing 737 Max aircraft that it will take delivery beginning this fall than on its existing narrowbody fleet, a company spokesman said Wednesday.
Most of the American 737 Max economy cabin will have 30 inches of space between rows, a metric known as pitch in industry parlance. That’s compared to the standard 31 inches that American currently offers on narrrowbodies. In addition, three rows on the planes will have just 29 inches of pitch, spokesman Josh Freed said.
Within the U.S. airline industry, only the ultralow-cost carriers Spirit and Frontier offer less than 29 inches.
The configuration will allow American to fit 172 seats into its 737 Max aircraft, up from the 160 that are on the carrier’s 737-800s, which are the same dimensions.
Freed said the seats on the 737 Max will have a slim design that helps with legroom. People who have sampled the layout, he said, have generally said it feels like there is an inch more pitch than there really is.
“We think it’s a good setup,” Freed said. “We think it’s a solution that makes sense for the both the customer and the business.”
American will take delivery of four 737 Max aircraft this year, and has 100 on order in total.
News of the tighter configuration, which was originally reported by CNN, comes as the airline industry is under fire for its customer service performance. On Tuesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee grilled airline executives about numerous policies, including the industry’s move toward more tightly packed planes.
The hearing was called in the aftermath of the April 9 incident on United Express Flight 3411, when the airline had Chicago Department of Aviation police remove a paid passenger to make room for crew. The passenger, David Dao, was dragged, bloodied and injured, off the plane.
On Wednesday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) seized on American’s plans in a press release.
“It’s like the entire message of yesterday’s hearing was lost on the airline industry,” Cohen said. “It is extremely frustrating to read that airlines are considering further decreases to legroom just hours after they told Congress they’re working to improve the passenger experience.”
Cohen has previously said that he plans to introduce a bill this year that would set minimum seat pitch standards for airlines. He introduced a similar measure last year, but it failed.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com