You think the legroom in the planes is bad now? He is about to become much worse

Air transport becomes a test of physical endurance. The seats have shrunk, the legroom has disappeared – and the airlines are not over yet.

Last month, Cebu Air, the Philippines' largest budget carrier, announced that it was moving the kitchens and bathrooms of some of its new A330neos to a record 460 seats, 20 more than the current maximum of the plane.

This is part of a wider campaign to encourage more people to use jets on the most popular routes, according to aeronautical researcher Landrum & Brown.

"It's about compelling as many pbadengers as possible," said Mathieu De Marchi, a Bangkok-based consultant. "It will only get worse over the next decade."

READ MORE:
* Emirates unveiled airplane concept unveiled and new premium economy clbad
* British Airways is preparing for the war of reclining seats
* American Airlines reduces room for maneuver in the economy of 737 newcomers later this year
* Free wine in danger on Asian airlines after rising fuel costs

Even though paying customers are less satisfied, packing more in cabins has helped revive the US aircraft industry in recent years.

And in Asia, where 100 million people travel for the first time each year, the strategy now is to offer low-cost carriers a service to the growing middle clbad who care more about price than comfort.

Demand from Asia has resulted in a shortage of almost everything in the industry, be it drivers and mechanics, airports or runways. landing (not to mention the safety margin for the legs). & # 39;

Cramming in more chairs

Carriers are trying to avoid buying more aircraft and paying additional landing fees at airports that are about to burst.

Buying bigger planes is one way to solve the problem, as does the AirAsia group. In June, the Malaysian low-cost carrier had announced the transformation of an order for hundreds of aircraft into a larger model carrying 50 additional pbadengers and traveling about 1,000 kilometers away.

Another tactic is simply to fix more chairs. The European low-cost airline Ryanair led the charge in 2014, when it ordered Boeing's high-density jets with eight more seats than normal.

Cathay Pacific Airways, which was once a comfort brand, began in 2017 to occupy an additional seat in each economic row of its Boeing 777-300, at a cost of about an inch of personal space per pbadenger.

Less space for the legs is now the norm of the industry. In the early 2000s, the ranks of the economy were spaced 86 to 89 centimeters apart; Nowadays, the average is 76 to 79 centimeters, although 71 centimeters can be found on short flights, according to the rights group Flyers Rights, based in Washington DC.

Seats have also been reduced from about 47 centimeters to 43 centimeters on average.

Rage up, low price

The beginning and end of a person's personal space can be controversial, especially when there is not much space to start.

It is not surprising that air rage occurs most often in economy clbad. The planes were forced to make unplanned landings because pbadengers were bickering for reclining seats.

Janet Bednarek, an aviation historian at Dayton University in Dayton, Ohio, says smaller seats are less controversial in Asia, in part because Asians tend to have lighter construction Americans or Europeans.

"Where people are smaller on average, the problem is not as bad," she said. "Many people are willing to endure discomfort in exchange for cheap tickets."

And prices have gone down. According to Qantas Airways, some international flights cost less than half of what they did ten years ago.

Competition from low-cost carriers has forced airlines around the world to lower fares and charge services that were once free. Among the new extras, one can buy: space.

A one-way ticket to Shanghai from Manila, a four-hour flight, costs less than US $ 100 ($ 145) on Cebu Air. But there is another price to pay: the seats of the aircraft are only 42 centimeters wide, less than the width of the reach of both hands and less than the minimum of 46 centimeters that the manufacturer Airbus said comfortable.

Cebu doubled in June with a $ 6.8 billion order for Airbus aircraft with 16 A330neos of greater capacity.

Airbus indicates that the aircraft is designed to accommodate between 260 and 300 pbadengers in a typical layout consisting of upscale, business and economy cabins. For "high-density configurations" – code for a crude economy – planes fit 440, says the builder.

Cebu provides 460, once the layout is certified.

In an email, Cebu Senior Consultant Mike Szucs said, "The comfort and experience of customers will be a primary consideration", but air fares are "always something consumers are aware of".

The aviation website, Simple Flying, sums up the situation: "It will make a long flight interesting."