Minimum seat pitch rules may be introduced

ALTHOUGH many corners of France have been opened up by the arrival of low-cost flights, travelling with the likes of Ryanair and easyJet can test your patience.

Not only does the price you see not always reflect the price you pay, but restrictive baggage allowances and expensive on board food can soon mean your bargain flight becomes a pricey trip.

And while you can pack light and have a bite to eat in advance, one thing you can't do a great deal about is the legroom, the so-called seat pitch.

This is a measure of the distance between a point in the headrest on one seat and the same point on the seat in front and it is something European officials are looking into.

The Daily Telegraph claims the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) may ensure aircraft have a minimum seat pitch, to help in the evacuation of passengers in an emergency but also to cut the risk of a deep vein thrombosis, usually due to lack of movement and which can prove fatal.

Aviation regulations currently exist that require an aircraft to be evacuated in under 90 seconds, but there is no requirement on seat pitch although a spokesperson for EASA said they were looking at "the possibility of changing the rules".

Budget airlines have seen the value of offering just one class of seating that means they can squeeze the maximum space out of their aircraft to ensure the largest number of seats are available.

So here is a guide to the seat pitch (in inches) offered by the major low-cost airlines flying to France:

bmibaby - 29"
easyJet - 29"
Flybe - 31"
Ryanair - 30"

Comments

[Keith Ewing]

It's not so much the seat 'pitch' but the 'narrow' seating and lack of elbow room and I am average height and weight.

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Keith, must agree that seats don't seem to have grown with the population.

Although I suppose the airlines would say the fewer seats the pricier the tickets.

All the best, Craig