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

Updated 04/30/19

Girl fastening seat belt on stuffed animal on airplane — Rafal Rodzoch / Getty Images

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

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

Benet J. Wilson
- 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

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

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- 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

Benet J. Wilson
- 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

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