Airlines are looking to increase profits and add seats on popular routes without adding planes or flights. They just want to squeeze another body into your row.
British Airways has already shown a new configuration for its 777s flying from Gatwick; starting next year, they will have 10 seats in a row, instead of the current 9. That means shaving an inch off seat width (down to 17") and shaving a little off the aisle, while retaining 30" pitch between rows.
The move to 'densify' planes comes as carriers generally are having no trouble filling seats, but with heated price competition from discounters keeping prices relatively low. BA announced its plans in November; American has already been flying a 10-seat configuration since 2014 and others, including Etihad, Emirates, KLM, Air France and more are likely to follow. United is getting 14 new planes with the 10-seat configuration and is converting others.
And it's not limited to the 777; many 787s are now flying 10-across, and Airbus also makes similar configurations available for the A330 and A350. There's even a super-dense configuration available that can fill an A380 with over 800 passengers.
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