The 3 + 4 seat rows in the front cabin are narrower seats than the 3 + 3's in the larger back cabin.
28'' pitch was said to be the case down the back with 2 extra rows, but not so up the front 30''.
There were no armrests on the 4 seaters - and looking at the pic it is probable the 3's on the other side are the same as they too are squashed up against each other.
The 1968 HS Trident 2E sales brochure shows a 149 seat version using 7 abreast seats down all of one side except for the last 4 rear cabin rows.
It also mentions that for the latest Trident 3B series that by adopting quadruple seating (first 7 rows of the rear cabin) then 171 passengers can be accommodated.
This configuration would necessitate an extra Type 2 door added on the port side aft of the wing.
149 passengers was the Trident 3B maximum without this extra door (so it says)
Thus the high density 3B would have 4 doors forward of the wing (2 on each side) - 2 larger overwing exits, 1 on each side, and 2 doors at the rear
(1 on each side)
I have just read that it was a DH salesman at Hatfield that thought up the 7 abreast seating for the Tridents - He (the article says) went on to work for AC Buses.
Last edited by rog747; 8th Aug 2022 at 12:19.