Will every flight soon be an oppressive experience?
Once a year, aircraft manufacturer Boeing publishes its seat forecasts for the next 20 years (2024-2043). A graphic reveals: The average number of seats per commercial passenger aircraft will increase significantly!
In 2003 there were 138 seats, in 2023 there will be 169: Boeing expects an average of 190 seats per aircraft by 2043! What makes passengers sweat should please the airlines: because every additional seat makes the cash register ring.
Boeing manager: Airplanes are getting tighter!
The largest passenger aircraft in the world is the Airbus A380. It will soon be history and replaced by smaller models. And yet many aircraft will have more seats on average in the future.
Boeing manager Darren Hulst also confirmed the development to the trade magazine “aerotelegraph”: “We looked at it historically and the increase in the number of seats was evenly distributed between the switch to larger narrow-body models and densification by building more seats into the aircraft. And we believe that this is exactly what will continue to happen for the time being.”
Narrow-body models: passengers feel the squeeze!
But how do airlines manage to compress the cabins? With thinner seats, adjustments to toilets and galleys, even the last corner of the plane is used to the maximum. For travelers, this means that the plane is getting more cramped!
▶︎ A particularly blatant example is Ryanair's Boeing 737 (Max 8-200). The airline is already using the maximum seating capacity. According to manager Hulst, the plane with 197 seats is THE perfect example of densification. The plane is no bigger than Boeing's normal Max 8, but has lower costs per seat.
“I think we will see more of that in this market, whether with Boeing or Airbus jets.” The trend towards densification is evident in all regions, especially for flights of two hours or less in Europe.
The good news: increasingly tight seating won't last forever. “In the long term, we'll see more larger aircraft when airlines no longer have any options for densification,” says Hulst.