Do bigger people need bigger seats? Why overweight passengers are airlines’ largest problem

Operating an aircraft is all about making calculations, but there is one that doesn’t quite add up. As passengers are getting heavier, seats are getting narrower, and it’s creating something of a flashpoint at 35,000 feet.

This week the subject came to the fore after a photograph emerged online of a passenger on a flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen. He was described as “protruding into the aisle,” forcing fellow travellers to squeeze around him to get to the bathroom.

In 1993, the average British man weighed 12 stone 6lbs (79kg), and the average woman weighed 10 stone 7lbs (67kg). By 2021, these averages had risen to 13 stone 6lbs (85kg) and 11 stone 5lbs (72kg), according to the NHS.

This means that on a flight with a capacity of 189 seats, allowing for a couple of dozen children on board and some empty seats, this adds up to over 2,200lb of weight. Passengers literally weigh a tonne more than they did 30 years ago.

To airlines, this has caused an operational headache in more ways than one.

According to the US National Air and Space Museum, the average Boeing 737-800 has a maximum takeoff weight of around 160,000lb (80 tonnes), which sounds like a lot. But once you have accounted for the weight of the jet itself (around 82,000lb; 41 tonnes) and the fuel (36,000lb; 18 tonnes) this leaves just 42,000lb or 21 tonnes for cargo, baggage and passengers.

As passengers get heavier airlines are finding ways to cut the pounds elsewhere. Virgin Atlantic, for example, now uses thinner glassware in upper class and redesigned its meal trays so it could carry fewer dining carts. Losing just one pound (0.45kg) of weight from a plane, they say, saved them 11,600 gallons (53,000 litres) of fuel per year, equating to tens of thousands of dollars. Other airlines have scrapped in-flight magazines and clunky seat-back screens to save weight.

But while trying to reduce overall weight, airlines seem to have neglected to introduce positive changes to make flying more comfortable for passengers. In fact, the opposite is true.

Seats are getting tighter

Each airline has its own regulations, but on the whole plane seats are shrinking in terms of both width and legroom as carriers attempt to fill their jets with as many seats as possible.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Boeing 747 and early Airbus jets typically had a seat width of 18 inches, widening to 18.5 inches on the Boeing 777 in the 1990s and on the Airbus A380 in the 2000s.

In economy class on most of the aircraft you’re likely to board today, Boeing 737s or Airbus A330s being among the most popular, seat widths are more often set between 17 and 17.5 inches. Business and first class, of course, have much more generous seat sizes, and some airlines offer more space in premium economy.

But the squeeze on economy class seats is a strange thing, because in most other public settings seats are getting wider. When Wembley Stadium reopened in 2007, its seats were 19.7 inches compared to the 16.1 inches that football fans endured beforehand. Many theatres now list their seat widths online on their accessibility pages, which became a hot topic last year when the London-based Danish comedian Sofie Hagen refused to perform at any venues that didn’t do so. Airlines didn’t get the memo, and it’s having a real-world impact on passengers.

Plus-size passengers say some of the issues at 35,000 feet include having to request seat belt extensions, struggling to use the bathroom, and being on the receiving end of unkind comments from fellow passengers.

What do the airlines say?

Many have no official policy, although some – like Ryanair, easyJet and KLM – say that if you are unable to lower your armrest, it is recommended that you book an additional seat for your flight. KLM and Air France offer a 25 per cent discount on these additional seats. Others, like Virgin and Tui, recommend contacting the airline before you book.

The most hospitable airline in Europe is Eurowings, which allows you to book an additional empty middle seat next to your seat for just €10, providing there is space on the flight.

Will passengers have to be weighed before boarding?

It may sound like an extreme measure, but one airline is taking a more scientific approach when it comes to calculating the weight of its passengers.

Air New Zealand is carrying out a passenger weight survey, in which travellers will be asked to stand on a digital scale when checking in for their flight. This information will then be submitted to their survey, but remains anonymous.

“We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight, not even us,” said Air New Zealand’s load control improvement specialist, Alastair James. The survey, they hope, will give them more accurate information on how much fuel is required per flight.

In a slightly more extreme case, Samoa Air in 2013 became the first airline to charge passengers according to their weight in a scheme dubbed “pay only for what you weigh”. At the time the airline’s chief executive, Chris Langton, said: “There is no doubt in my mind that this is the concept of the future.” Alas, the airline received widespread criticism for the move and folded in 2015.

The Air New Zealand announcement prompted some to speculate as to whether other airlines could follow suit. Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair told The Telegraph they were not considering weighing passengers any time soon, and aviation experts agree that passengers don’t need to worry about this becoming the status quo.

Aviation expert John Strickland said: “To weigh people would add hideous amounts of time to the check-in process. Airports couldn’t cope, flights would be delayed. It’s not going to happen.”

Paul Charles, founder of the PC Agency, added: “The idea of then asking passengers to stand on a pair of scales sends shudders down my spine, as this would take far too long to process.

“It is pointless because pilots are already able to take an average weight per passenger into their calculations, and are more focused on the actual weight of checked-in luggage as well as cargo in the underbelly of the plane.”

So while you may not be stepping on any scales before you board a flight any time soon (unless you’re in New Zealand), the issue of heavier passengers on flights is going nowhere.

It’s on airlines to figure out how to carry this burden without diminishing the in-flight experience.