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View Full Version : Norwegian new seats 16.8 inches wide!?!?!


underfire
5th Jul 2018, 23:29
Norwegian will introduce the new seats on their fleet of Boeing 737 Max’s.

The new seats will be 16.8 inches wide with a 30 inch pitch. :mad:

The average seat width is approximately 17 inches, while some American airlines offer as much as 19 inches.

Norwegian’s new fleet will be used for their UK to New York and Boston routes. UK to NY with 16.8 inches wide?!?!?!?
“However, customers who find airplane seats are already too narrow (the new seats are as much as 2 inches narrower than most American airlines), will find their comfort will be reduced, even more so as there will no longer be seat cushions.” and no seat cushion.....

Gulf Julliet Papa
5th Jul 2018, 23:36
AA, according to seat guru, have achieved 16.6 on a MAX...

stilton
5th Jul 2018, 23:49
What’s the point of reducing seat width to such a painful dimension?


Its not like you can squeeze in an extra seat across, I understand reducing the pitch as that can allow extra rows but this seems pointless


It seems incredibly uncomfortable

cappt
6th Jul 2018, 00:41
Maybe they're increasing the width of the flight attendants?

BAengineer
6th Jul 2018, 01:05
UK to New York on the 737? - not sure I fancy that whatever the seat width is.

rationalfunctions
6th Jul 2018, 01:43
Or setting themselves up for sale, so the legacy carriers can offer more of a differentiated product :hmm:

Andrewgr2
6th Jul 2018, 05:43
If an average seat is 17 inches wide and some American airlines have seats 19" wide then simple math(s) suggests that seats less than 17" wide must not be uncommon. Is the average person going to notice if a seat is 0.2" (5mm) narrower than average? Who works out these averages anyway?

Kerosene Kraut
6th Jul 2018, 05:45
More aisle space is helpful for fast turnarounds and on time ops. However Norwegians are tall and XL guys that need some space. Almost as much as chubby Germans.

crewmeal
6th Jul 2018, 06:05
Perhaps they're trying to dissuade obese pax from flying with all that extra weight.

wiedehopf
6th Jul 2018, 06:48
https://twitter.com/AirlineFlyer/status/1012321851765350400

krismiler
6th Jul 2018, 07:07
It means sitting down is similar to maneuvering a vehicle into a tight parking space. Basically your hips and thighs will be touching the sides most of the time, if you have significant love handles then these will be rubbing as well. The increased comfort from the extra legroom is partially negated by the reduction in width. Tall and thin are best suited to this.

DaveReidUK
6th Jul 2018, 08:07
Tall and thin are best suited to this.

If the reported 30" seat pitch is correct, they aren't.

Hotel Tango
6th Jul 2018, 09:24
If you don't like it, then don't fly with them. If enough people did that the airlines would get the message. The problem is most of the travelling public want to fly for peanuts and then complain about their discomfort! I, for one, do not fly with airlines which don't provide me with my minimums for comfort, regardless of how cheap their fares might be.

Peter47
6th Jul 2018, 11:21
You might get someone to fly the first time. Getting repeat business could be another matter. I had a workmate who was 4ft 11 in old money and told her she had a great future in testing airline seats.

NWA SLF
6th Jul 2018, 13:07
Wiedehopf posted the real answer - only the bulkhead seats are narrower to accommodate the tray table. I thought it had to be something to do with the armrests as the seat rows remain at 6 and aisle width was unchanged. So only bulkhead seats change, just like I have seen on many airliners in the past. Not much of a story here.

Timmy Tomkins
6th Jul 2018, 13:10
If you don't like it, then don't fly with them. If enough people did that the airlines would get the message. The problem is most of the travelling public want to fly for peanuts and then complain about their discomfort! I, for one, do not fly with airlines which don't provide me with my minimums for comfort, regardless of how cheap their fares might be.
I agree in principle, however, it depends where you live sometimes. In some areas the availability of flights to the destination you need is pretty limited. I recently flew with a well known Irish airline - which I always avoid if at all possible - and could barely get hold of the seat belts if they were between me the side of the seat and I am not exceptionally wide. I am over 6 foot tall and anything other than an emergency exit on a low cost carrier is close to impossible. If a legacy airline served my needs I would willingly pay for the better quality of travel.
It is worth noting in the present industrial climate that the crew were professional and charming; the employer doesn't deserve either them or the business it attracts.

ph-sbe
6th Jul 2018, 15:42
If you don't like it, then don't fly with them. If enough people did that the airlines would get the message. The problem is most of the travelling public want to fly for peanuts and then complain about their discomfort! I, for one, do not fly with airlines which don't provide me with my minimums for comfort, regardless of how cheap their fares might be.

That works very well if you're the one that's paying the fare. With roughly 40% of air travel being for business, paid for by business, with air fares chosen based on the lowest fare per CWT, Concur or whatever agency the business uses, a lot of people will not have a choice to make.

underfire
6th Jul 2018, 20:23
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmforum.com-vbulletin/640x630/which_is_the_actual_width_of_a_seat__dd0170daf0b52ec26ee5778 1705c773576496465.png

Delta seat widths per ac...https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/airports-and-aircraft/Aircraft/boeing-737-900er-739.html
You must also check where the measurement is from. Some use center of armrest to center, others use distance between armrests

BAengineer
6th Jul 2018, 20:33
Wiedehopf posted the real answer - only the bulkhead seats are narrower to accommodate the tray table. I thought it had to be something to do with the armrests as the seat rows remain at 6 and aisle width was unchanged. So only bulkhead seats change, just like I have seen on many airliners in the past. Not much of a story here.

I agree, it's a non story. If you take any airline that has fixed armrests to accommodate the tray table then I doubt that they will be significantly different from these measurements if at all.

llondel
6th Jul 2018, 21:58
More aisle space is helpful for fast turnarounds and on time ops. However Norwegians are tall and XL guys that need some space. Almost as much as chubby Germans.

Tall guys need more leg room, especially if they don't have the seat width to allow a bit of diagonal leg alignment. If they're tall and wide then they really need both.

krismiler
7th Jul 2018, 09:29
These extra narrow seats are bulkhead seats which have extra legroom and are normally sold at a premium price. The regular seats are slightly wider but have reduced legroom so either way you lose, but personally I would prefer the extra legroom and easier access.

DaveReidUK
7th Jul 2018, 12:11
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.gmforum.com-vbulletin/640x630/which_is_the_actual_width_of_a_seat__dd0170daf0b52ec26ee5778 1705c773576496465.png

Delta seat widths per ac...https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/airports-and-aircraft/Aircraft/boeing-737-900er-739.htmlI (https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/airports-and-aircraft/Aircraft/boeing-737-900er-739.html)
You must also check where the measurement is from. Some use center of armrest to center, others use distance between armrests

I think it's pretty universal to quote "seat width" as the measurement between the inside faces of the armrests, as per B ("pax width") in the diagram.

The distance between the centres of the armrests, somewhat disingenuously described in the diagram as "hip clearance" (typically 2 inches more than B for a Y seat) only becomes relevant if you're having an armrest war with the passenger next to you. :O

Gilmorrie
8th Jul 2018, 20:47
There is something that puzzles me about these seat dimensions. Let's assume, for discussion, the spacing between the insides of the armrests is 16.8 in. So, 16.8 x pi = 52.8 in, which means that a spherical or cylindrical shape of that circumference would just fit, but barely. The central portion of my torso isn't exactly spherical or cylindrical, but even being a bit overweight, it is nowhere near 52.8 in, circumference. (My waist size in 38 in., and my hips measure 43 in. I am a male, 5ft-11in, 190 lb.)

Lascaille
9th Jul 2018, 17:10
There is something that puzzles me about these seat dimensions. Let's assume, for discussion, the spacing between the insides of the armrests is 16.8 in. So, 16.8 x pi = 52.8 in, which means that a spherical or cylindrical shape of that circumference would just fit, but barely. The central portion of my torso isn't exactly spherical or cylindrical, but even being a bit overweight, it is nowhere near 52.8 in, circumference. (My waist size in 38 in., and my hips measure 43 in. I am a male, 5ft-11in, 190 lb.)

And your body at your waist or hips is probably at least three times as wide as it is deep.

If we assume that exact ratio we can model the cross-section of your hips as a rectangle of width 3x and depth 1x, with a total perimeter of 8x. If we shove in the figure for your hips we get 43" / 8x = means x = 5.375. Width is 3x so 5.375 x 3 = 16.125". Congratulations, you fit.