Nine seats per row on Boeing 777: which airlines give you an extra 3 cm in economy
Space, the final frontier. The phrase that for years opened every episode of the cult television series 'Star Trek' seems [...]
Space, the final frontier. The phrase that for years opened every episode of the cult television series 'Star Trek' seems today an increasingly impossible destination for those flying Economy Class on long-haul flights. And we are not talking about those operated by low-cost airlines, such as Asia's Scoot and Air Asia X or of the European Norse. But of full-service carriers. Some of them also awarded the prestigious 5 stars by the British rating agency Skytrax.
How much room is there in economy on a 777
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Today, the average width of an Economy seat on long-haul flights is just over 17 inches, or about 43 centimeters. And the trend is to squeeze as many seats as possible between the two ends of the fuselage, as evidenced by the arrangements implemented by Airbus to cram nine seats per row into the Airbus A350, which has 'historically' always accommodated eight.
The same process took place, starting several years ago already, within the Boeing 777 fleets scattered around the world.
The U.S. bireactor, which existed in a shorter-fuselage version called the -200 series (also in long- and ultra-long-range variants -ER and -LR) and in a longer-fuselage version called the -300 series (also -ER), had left the Everett plants in the late 1990s with a configuration-type that provided nine seats per row in Economy class.
Over the years, however, airlines realized that an extra seat could fit in those 6 feet 8 inches in diameter, changing from a 3+3+3 cross-section to 3+4+3. In some cases, the change was accomplished by a so-called retrofit; in others, planes were delivered new with ten seats per row in Economy.
To date, there are 33 airlines worldwide that boast the Boeing 777 in their fleet. And those that still offer their Economy passengers more space, having retained 9 seats per row instead of 10, are less than half: 15.
The names are not always what you expect: for example, Hong Kong's highly celebrated Cathay Pacific has 10 seats per row in Economy on all its Boeing 777-300ERs; so do two other '5 Star Skytrax' airlines such as Qatar Airways and Japan's All Nippon Airways.
Who are the 'magnificent' 15?
Mostly Asian companies: Asiana and Korean Air, Garuda, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Eva Air on some planes (all '5 Skytrax Stars'), Air China (on some planes), China Southern Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Kuwait Airways; a separate discussion should perhaps be made for Air India and the two African companies in the group, Egyptair and Taag, which still have nine seats per row having most likely wanted to avoid the expense involved in 'retrofitting' their 777s with 10 seats per row.
In Europe there is only one, and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, it is British Airways, which on 6 of its 16 Boeing 777-300ERs Has 9 seats per row in Economy class.
On average, the width of each seat with rows of 9 seats is 18 inches, or nearly 46 centimeters.
That is, three centimeters more than the measurements released by some of the companies that fit 10 seats per row, between 16.9 and 17.3 inches (42.9 and 43.9 centimeters). With China Southern and Japan Airlines claiming 18.5 inches (exactly 47 centimeters).
The latter is also the airline with the most unique layout, as the cross-section of each row of seats in Economy on its Boeing 777-200ERs (but not on the -300ERs) is asymmetrical to the center of the fuselage: 3+4+2.
The Emirates case
How ten seats are inadequate for the B777 may have been experienced by those who have traveled with Emirates, which mounts ten seats per row in Economy on both the Boeing bireactor and the Airbus A380 quadrireactor.
Too bad that the fuselage diameter of the 777, as mentioned, is 6 meters and 20 centimeters, while that of the A380 measures 7 meters and 14 centimeters, which is almost a meter more. That makes all the difference in the world.
