A Look at Airline Seat Width in US Economy Class

One of the biggest complaints we all share about flying is the lack of space in economy class. Most airlines try to capitalize on that concern by advertising the amount of legroom or pitch that they offer which is good, but the real problem, especially for passengers of size, is seat width. After all, we can all bend our knees to make up for lack of legroom but we cannot magically make our waists and hips shrink for the duration of a flight.

Recently Condé Nast Traveler conducted a review of the seat width offered in economy by major US airlines and published the top twelve most spacious seats available to fliers. We present some of their findings below.

JetBlue, Spirit & Silver Airlines

Personally, I’ve long been a fan of JetBlue’s seat sizes as a plus-sized person. By far, their seats have been the most accommodating to my size and so I am not surprised to see them on the list. With a range of 17.8 to 18.4 inches of width you’re best bet is to fly on their Airbus 220’s or Embraer E190’s that have the wider width.

Spirit Airlines, soon to become part of the JetBlue fleet thanks to the approved merger reported on back in October, also has decent seat widths at 17.75 inches. However, the budget airline does not give with both hands. With a tight pitch of 28 inches and no recline its still a tight squeeze, but with their price point, lots of people are willing to make that sacrifice.

Silver Airlines, the least well known of this trio of airlines, has a standardized 18 inch seat width across their entire fleet, making them well worth your time and investment if you ask me.

Delta Airlines

As one of the largest airlines, the Delta fleet encompasses many different types of aircraft at many different types of seat widths. Their newer planes like the Airbus 220 offer a generous 18.6 inches of width and the A321neo offers 18 inches. However, you also have Boeing 737’s with a 17.2 width creating a variety of flying experiences depending on where you are going and which plane you are on. Recently I took a flight aboard a Bombardier CRJ-900 which was definitely challenging with a seat width of 16.85 inches.

Southwest Airlines

With a standard width of 17.5 inches, Southwest is one of the wider seats available in economy class but what really makes them favored amongst bigger passengers is their “person of size policy”. While most other airlines require large passengers to book a second seat ahead of the flight, Southwest only recommends it, just for planning purposes. They will also refund you for the extra seat provided you contact them for it after the flight. If you chance it and only book one seat, you can talk with the agent at the gate to see if you can be accommodated with a complimentary extra seat (or two) provided the availability on any given flight.

To see Condé Nast’s full list of their top 12 airlines by seat width click here.

Also to check out the seat width of every major airline we recommend  SeatGuru.