One airline is giving passengers a good reason to choose the dreaded middle seat.
Low cost carrier Frontier Airlines will install new 19-inch-wide middle seats – a full one inch broader than corresponding window or aisle seats.
The carrier says the new seats will have more width than any other comparable seating in the US, and surprisingly for the self-confessed bare bones airline, there is no extra fee to pay.
"This will make sitting in the middle seat a little less uncomfortable," said Daniel Shurz, Frontier’s chief commercial officer.
However there is a caveat. The new cabin layout will pack in more seats overall on its Airbus A320s and A319s, reducing legroom by two inches.
The new seats, which are also thinner with less padding will be ‘pre-reclined’ hopefully leading to less ‘knee defender’ incidents.
"The cost of operating an airplane is basically the same no matter how many seats you put on it," Shurz said.
"We are spreading the cost of operating the airplane across more seats."
