Aeroplane seats are shrinking – but how small can they go?
When Boeing designed its first 737 it had 50 to 60 seats – but the 700 series now holds 137 passengers. Here’s how aviation companies have been shrinking seat size
In the world of cheap flights, the plane seat is the prime battleground. According to the New York Times, manufacturers have shaved off crucial centimetres by “replacing padding with elastic mesh”, which sounds a little inhospitable. But is less seat space necessarily uncomfortable?
When Boeing designed in the mid-60s, it had 50 to 60 seats. But the first client, Lufthansa, requested the number be increased to 100. The plane lengthened across subsequent iterations and the 700 series now holds 137 passengers. In 2019, Ryanair will take delivery of 737s that contain eight extra seats.
