Seat Pitches and Widths on the Top 6 U.S. Carriers

As the airlines continue to try and squeeze out every penny of profit, one of the ways they do it is by putting as many seats in an aircraft as possible. As a result, we’ve seen less legroom—the space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front of it—seat width in a steady decline in the past 10 years.

The average seat pitch in coach class on U.S. carriers is between 30 and 33 inches, and seat width is 17 inches to 18 inches, which isn’t very comfortable, even for shorter people. Below is a list outlining seat pitch and width in economy class for the top North American airlines.

01 of 06

American Airlines

Airbus A319 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17.7 inches
Airbus A321 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17.7 inches
Boeing 777-300ER - pitch, 31/32 inches; recline, 6 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 777-223ER - pitch, 31/32 inches; recline, 18 inches; width, 18.5 inches
Boeing 767-223ER - pitch, 31/32 inches; recline, 18 inches; width, 17.8 inches
Boeing 767-323ER - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17.8 inches
Boeing 757 - pitch, 31/32 inches; recline, 6 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-800 - pitch, 31/32 inches; recline, 6 inches; width, 17.2 inches
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17.8 inches

02 of 06

Delta

Airbus A19 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Airbus A320 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Airbus A330-200 - 30/31 inches; width, 18 inches
Boeing 717 - 31 inches; width, 18 inches
Boeing 737-700 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-800 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-900ER - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 747-400 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 757-200 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 767-300 - 30/31 inches; width, 17.9 inches
Boeing 767-400ER - 30/31 inches; width, 17.9 inches
Boeing 777200LR - 30/31 inches; width, 18.5 inches
Boeing 777200ER - 30/31 inches; width, 18.5 inches

03 of 06

United Airlines

Airbus A319 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 18 inches
Airbus A320 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 18 inches
Boeing 787-8 - 32 inches; recline, 5 inches; width, 17.3 inches
Boeing 787-9 - 32 inches; recline, 5 inches; width, 17.3 inches
Boeing 777-200 - 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 18 inches
Boeing 767-300 - 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 18 inches
Boeing 767-400 - 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17.3 inches
Boeing 757-200 - 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 747-400 - 31 inches; recline, 4 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 737-700 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 3 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-800 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 3 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-900 - pitch, 31 inches; recline, 3 inches; width, 17.2 inches

04 of 06

Southwest Airlines

Empty cabin of airplane — fStop Images - Halfdark/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

Boeing 737-300 - pitch, 32/33 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-500 - pitch, 32/33 inches; width, 17.2 inches
Boeing 737-700 - pitch, 31 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 737-800 - pitch, 32/33 inches; width, 17 inches

Continue to 5 of 6 below.

05 of 06

JetBlue

Airbus A321 - pitch, 33 inches
Airbus A320 - pitch, 34 inches; width, 17.8
Embraer 190 - pitch, 32 inches; width, 18.5

06 of 06

Alaska Airlines

Boeing 737-700 first class - pitch, 36 inches; width, 21 inches; economy class, pitch, 32 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 737-800 first class - pitch, 36 inches; width, 21 inches; economy class, pitch, 31-32 inches; width, 17 inches
Boeing 737-900 first class - pitch, 36 inches; width, 21 inches; economy class, pitch, 32 inches; width, 17 inches