Cars & travel.
Updated: 16 Jul 2021
Which airline has the best seats?
Fed up with folding yourself in half when you fly? We reveal the airlines with the widest seats and most generous legroom
Plane seats are getting smaller. This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s played armrest wars in cattle class, knees painfully wedged against the seat in front.
As well as seats and legroom, aisle space is also shrinking, all in the name of cramming more people on to flights.
Back in the 1950s, you could expect a 40-inch seat pitch (the distance from your headrest to the one in front, and the best indicator of legroom). Compare that to the current 31 inches on British Airways and Virgin long-haul flights and the grazed knees suddenly make sense.
If you’re after extra legroom, you’ll need to pay a pretty penny for the privilege (£50 minimum with BA).
Long haul airlines
| Airline | Seat pitch (inches) | Seat width (inches) | Overall seat comfort |
| Air Canada | 31-35 | 17-18 | |
| American Airlines | 31-37 | 16.2-18.5 | |
| BA | 30-31 | 17-18 | |
| Emirates | 32-34 | 17-18 | |
| Etihad | 31-33 | 17.5 | |
| KLM | 31-35 | 17.5 | |
| Singapore Airlines | 32-34 | 17.5-19 |
Short haul airlines
| Airline | Seat pitch (inches) | Seat width (inches) | Overall seat comfort |
| BA | 29-34 | 17-18 | |
| Easyjet | 29 | 18 | |
| Jet2 | 29 | 17 | |
| Ryanair | 30-34 | 17 | |
| Tui Airways | 28-34 | 17.2-18 | |
| Using the table: Seat pitch The distance between two seat rows – an indicator of legroom. Data from SeatGuru. Seat width The distance between the armrests of a single seat. Data from SeatGuru. Seat comfort Rated out of five by Which? members in 2017. | |||
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