Airlines insist on low fares, offering non-reclining seats more

U.S. carriers are currently engaged in a stiff competition to attract more and more customers by offering cheap airfares increasingly than ever before. A recent U.S. aviation industry survey has pointed out that airlines are getting their aircrafts configured with non-reclining seats in a big way so that they are able to get more customers than before. This is being apparently done to save on costs. However, the airlines are insisting that they want to provide cheap flights to the customers by offering them low fares.

According to the survey, the seats have little space between them now. The seat pitch has declined by about 10 percent. In the present times, the aircrafts are being fitted with seats having a seat pitch between 30 and 32 inches. Earlier, the coach class had a seat pitch of 34 inch. Over the years, the competition among the airlines has only intensified with some airlines offering a seat pitch of only 28 inch.

Southwest Airlines is one such carrier that has also reconfigured its aircrafts on similar lines. Southwest Airlines, which is the largest domestic carrier in the United States, is now configuring its aircrafts with seats that are made of lighter materials and have less padding. The new generation ‘slim-line’ seats have come as a boon for such airlines that are now earning big revenues, while at the same time making flying experience more cost effective for the customers.