Thrifty thursday: economy plus seats wider?

The plane has landed, and you pick up your carry-on, exit the plane and then make your way down the busy walkway to where the taxis are. As you look around you see the throng of people waiting for the crowd to break enough to pile in to a taxi.

Economy plus seats are not wider

Q: Is the economy plus seat wider than standard economy? A: No. Economy plus seats are not wider than standard economy seats. The width of the seat is the same for all economy class seating in all aircraft that United Airlines flies. The only difference between the two types of seating is the amount of legroom you get.

Economy plus seats have 34 inches of pitch (the distance between your knees and the back of the seat in front of you). The standard economy pitch is 32 inches; premium economy has 37 inches; and business class has 38 inches or more.

Are economy plus seats comfortable?

If you're flying economy, the best way to get more legroom is to book an economy plus seat. These seats are typically located at the front of the plane, and offer up to five inches more legroom than coach. But what if you're flying in a premium cabin? Are economy plus seats wider? And are they comfortable? In this week's Thrifty Thursday blog post, we'll answer these questions and more.

Are economy plus seats wider? The short answer: Yes, they are wider. Economy plus seats are located in rows 1-7 on many aircrafts, and have between 31" and 34" of pitch [see chart below]. On some planes they can be found in rows 8-10 as well. If you want to see which airlines have them available at different times of year, check out SeatGuru's chart here Economy plus seats are also typically located at the front of the cabin so that when boarding begins from the back of the plane (which usually happens first), your aisle seat will be closer to departing passengers than if you were sitting further back in coach class.

This means you'll be able to get off faster once your plane lands as well!

Can i buy an extra legroom seat?

Economy Plus seats are wider than Economy seats. I don't know how much wider, but it is enough to fit an additional person. It also has more legroom than Economy, so you can stretch out more. You can buy an extra legroom seat for about $25-$50 per flight if you book early.

In the past, our family has gotten Economy Plus seats by showing up at the airport and asking if we could upgrade from coach to a Business Class seat. The thing to keep in mind is that they only have a limited number of these seats available, so it might not be available when you want to fly.

They also make them available on a first come/first serve basis, which means that people who have already purchased tickets will be ahead of you in line.

We have reviewed the best economy plus seating for you

You can find the best economy plus seating for you Now, I know what you're thinking: how does an airline make seats wider? Well, it's actually pretty simple. The airlines were able to create these seats by eliminating the middle seat altogether and moving the armrests inward. This allows for more legroom and comfort for passengers of all sizes.

Now that you know what economy plus seating is, you might be wondering if it's worth the extra cost. The answer is yes! In fact, this type of seating has become so popular that many airlines have added more economy plus seats to their planes. For example, Delta Airlines now offers nearly half of its planes with this type of seating configuration.

If you're someone who prefers extra space during your flight, then you might want to consider purchasing a ticket in this section rather than in coach (economy).

In Brief...

The width of an economy plus seat varies depending on the airline and aircraft. To give a little more specific info, the Boeing 757 economy plus seats on both Virgin America and Alaska Airlines are each 1" narrower than the standard economy seats on their Airbus 320 aircraft. The economy plus seats on Virgin's A321s are 3" wider than the standard economy seats, while the international business-class coach seats on Virgin Australia's Airbus 300-400 aircraft are each 17" wider than their standard economy seats.

The premium economy seats on American Airlines' Boeing 777-200s are each 1 inch wider than its standard economy seats, however, when flying to Hawaii in premium economy, the seat actually becomes 8" narrower and 17" shorter than the standard economy seat.