It looks like people will soon be dealing with tighter legroom when they ride in American Airlines' new planes. The airline is said to be cutting the legroom of its economy class in their new planes to be able to fit 10 more seats.
According to a report from CNN Money, the front and back space of some of its economy class seats will be decreased. American Airlines is planning to decrease the distance between two seats, which is known as pitch, by another two inches, from 31 inches to 29 inches on three rows of its new Boeing 737 Max jetliners.
The report adds that the rest of the plane's main economy cabin will be down to 30 inches. This will make American Airlines the first big U.S. carrier to offer legroom that has a pitch that's on par with budget carriers, such as Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
And American Airlines is not the only plane that's considering a shorter legroom on its plane as United Airlines is also thinking about it, according to a source. The reason why planes are making their pitch shorter is so that they can fit more seats on their plane.
Travel + Leisure reports that American Airlines is planning to add 10 more seats on their new plane, that's why they're decreasing the pitch. This would increase the plane's capacity to 170 seats instead of the previous 160.
Though this might seem like a big hassle for passengers, as it would increase their discomfort during plane rides, the report said it's possible that the decrease in the pitch won't mean lesser legroom. The design for the new seats tends to make their back slimmer, thus still offering almost the similar legroom despite the decrease in pitch.
The comfort level of slim seats can vary, though, so it's important for passengers to still prepare for an uncomfortable ride, especially if it's a long-haul flight. Check out the video below to learn how to get comfortable seats in a plane without needing to pay more.
