A new survey commissioned by First Choice indicates that many people have inadequate shoulder room on flights because their seats are too narrow.
The study by Bodymetrics found that around a third of adult male passengers in seats measuring 17 inches across would feel uncomfortable. Alitalia and South African are among the airlines whose seats have these dimensions.
Other figures show that 78.5 per cent would feel uncomfortable in a seat measuring 17.5 inches across. Air Canada, Swiss Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, BA, KLM and bmi all have seat widths equal to or less than this measurement.
First Choice itself has seats measuring 17.8 inches across for long-haul journeys (at which 83.9 per cent of adult males would feel comfortable), and the carrier notes that the new Boeing Dreamliner jets that it will begin using in 2009 will improve things still further.
“In the past, airlines have tended to push extra leg room as a selling point,” the airline
