Reclining end seats

We have a love-hate relationship with reclining airplane seats. They're great if you want a more comfortable nap, but if you don't and the passenger in front of you wants to, it can be very annoying. Airlines know this, and… They think they will disappear forever.

These seats also pose other problems for airlines. They're more prone to breakdown, but they also add weight to the seats, which doesn't help with final fuel economy.

Some airlines do not provide this button on coach seats, as of the late 2000s “Pre-reclining” seats are starting to appearlighter which holds the backrest at a moderate angle: neither completely upright nor fully reclined.

British low-cost airline Jet2 was one of the first to use it in 2009, and British Airways also later began using it for flights lasting less than four hours.

Ryanair He charged them directly in 2004 As a measure to make better use of space. The airline then commented how this would allow it to save around €2 million a year. When it's not trying to save for itself, it's trying to get its users to pay more with questionable ideas. Like traveling standing up.

There are many other cases: In 2019 Delta Reduced inclination score From only four inches to two inches for economy class, and from 5.4 inches to 3.5 inches for first class. American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines It also has limited recline To two inches on domestic flights

There are two additional obvious factors behind the partial or complete disappearance of this option. First, airlines can remove the option of reclining seats in economy class Ship these seats as an interesting addition To raise ticket prices. After all, the future seems vulnerable to the emergence of “privileged” middle-class seats.

Reimagining the airplane seat

The other, of course, is space saving. According to CNNIf the airline could provide 2.5cm of space per row, that would equate to about 76cm on a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. Or what's the same: a whole extra row of seats.

There are several attempts to Revolutionizing seating arrangements. For example, with benches at two heights like those designed by the young Spanish businessman Alejandro Nunez Vicente. There are also weird designs that reposition the middle seat, usually the worst value when traveling by plane, or unique — or perhaps even terrible — ideas like upside-down seats.

For now, yes, airlines are betting on pre-reclining seats. This is pointed out by the aforementioned CNN article, which gives the example of manufacturer Recaro, one of the companies exploiting the trend to outfit airline planes with their seats.

To know the degree of inclination – in Recaro it is mild and ranges between 15 and 18 degrees – The concept of “max pax” is used. Used by industry. This means the maximum number of passengers each aircraft is certified to be able to carry.

On the Airbus 321neo, for example, the number of passengers reaches 244 if everyone travels in economy class, but when using the front portion of traditional seats in first and business class, the seating is significantly reduced and drops to less than 150 passengers.

However, traditional seats are “slimming” in parallel with the rest of the technology. It changes the structure and becomes thinner in the part where travelers' knees are to allow them to be more comfortable. Of course, this extra knee space is usually another argument for raising the ticket price.

Advantages of eliminating reclining chairs They are evident on short flightsBut things change with longer flights. Meanwhile, if you're traveling by plane, it might not be a bad idea to let the passenger behind you know whether or not we're moving the seat back.

Image | Alexei Zaitsev

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