One of the reasons people don’t enjoy flying economy is because of the limited legroom, particularly for taller passengers. In this post, I’m going to visit the topic of legroom, and introduce some airlines that offer the most seat pitch in economy.
Do note that seat pitch and legroom aren’t the same thing, even though there’s obviously a strong correlation. Legroom is how much space there is between your kneecap and the seat in front – it varies depending on how long your legs are, and also how thick the seatback is. Seat pitch, meanwhile, is the distance between a point on one seat and the exact same point of the seat in front. There probably ought to be a measurement of the seat pitch minus the seat back thickness, though nobody currently measures that.
I’m going to go ahead and say that I’m a 5’8″ man (I’m from Hong Kong – we run small!), so I’m not personally as fussed about whether a plane has 28″ or 31″ seat pitch. However, airlines with bigger seat pitch have a tradeoff as they can fit fewer seats in throughout the cabin. So I thought it’d be worth calling out the airlines that have the most seat pitch.
What exactly is seat pitch?
Seat pitch is the distance between a seat and the exact same point of the seat in front. While seat pitch isn’t exactly the same as legroom (e.g. two seats could have the same pitch, though one seat could have a much thicker seatback leading to less overall legroom), this is the industry-standard indicator of legroom out there.
Airlines have two ways of increasing legroom. The first, obviously, is to increase the seat pitch – space the seats further apart, at the expense of one or two rows of seats within the cabin. This is what this post will mainly explore.
However, there’s a second way which increases legroom without increasing seat pitch – this is to create slimline seats, which have thinner seatbacks. This means that less of the seat pitch length is eaten up by the seatback, giving more usable space for your legs. The tradeoff is that in most cases you end up with worse padding, since there’s less space to put cushioning behind the seat (this is why you sometimes end up with seats that feel like ironing boards – though technology these days is making it easier to create well-padded, slimline seats).
Eurowings only has 30″ seat pitch, though the seats are slimline, so I have no issue sitting in them
So which airlines offer the most seat pitch, and which planes do they offer this level of legroom on? Firstly, I’m ignoring the “economy plus” section seating, as that’s not offered throughout the rest of the plane. Instead, I’ll focus on airlines that offer the most seat pitch as their minimum offering throughout the cabin.
Air Premia economy – 33-35″ seat pitch
Let’s start with the airline that offers the most seat pitch out of any carrier out there. This may surprise you. Air Premia is a Korean hybrid carrier, and offers low-cost fares on routes between Seoul and various U.S. cities. The airline’s three oldest 787s feature 35″ seat pitch, which is the most out of any carrier out there. These 787s are deployed across their route network, which ranges from Hong Kong/Danang to further afield, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The airline subsequently inherited six more 787s from Norwegian’s longhaul division (which ceased operations) – these feature a relatively less generous 33″ seat pitch, which still would’ve made this list on its own merit.
That generosity doesn’t extend to their seat width – width is just 17-17.5″, as they cram nine seats across onboard their 787 aircraft. 9-abreast onboard a 787 is now industry-standard, though, as all but Japan Airlines now operate their 787s with a 9-abreast configuration.
Air Premia offers the most seat pitch in normal economy out of any airline
StarFlyer economy – 34″ seat pitch
The second airline to top this list is also one that you might not have heard of – Japanese hybrid carrier StarFlyer. StarFlyer is another carrier that aims to undercut its competition with low operating costs, while offering a premium onboard product. The main difference between StarFlyer and Air Premia is that StarFlyer currently operates exclusively domestically, and has a fleet of A320s and A320neos.
The A320s feature 34″ pitch, while the A320neos strangely feature 34″ pitch in the front half of the aircraft and 31″ pitch in the rear half (and it’s not like they have an intra-European business class product either). I’ve written about this airline before, and endeavour to fly them soon.
StarFlyer’s A320 economy class with 34″ seat pitch (credit: KNAviation)
Korean Air economy – 34″ seat pitch
Now moving on to an airline that may be more familiar to most, and is more renowned for having great seat pitch. Korean Air features 34″ seat pitch on most of their longhaul fleet in economy class. Even their 737s have 33″ seat pitch in economy, which is more than what you’ll get on most carriers (and these only run regionally).
The airline is starting to backtrack on their commitment to industry-leading seat pitch, and their newest A321neos and 787s have 32″ seat pitch. While that’s still a respectable amount of seat pitch (and not a reason to avoid the airline), it’s not quite the same as what you’ll get on their 777s, 747-8s, and 787-9s.
Korean Air features 34″ seat pitch on most of their older fleet, though their newest A321neos and 787-10s only feature 31-32″ seat pitch
Oman Air 787 economy – 34″ pitch
Oman Air advertises 34″ pitch in their economy class product onboard their 787s, which leads the way amongst Middle Eastern carriers. Do note that this level of seat pitch is only available on the airline’s 787s – their 737s consistently figure 31″ seat pitch.
Oman Air’s economy class features 34″ pitch
ANA economy – 34″ seat pitch
Here’s another airline that has always committed to an industry-leading amount of seat pitch. Japanese airline ANA has always offered 34″ seat pitch, and while their seats have gotten tighter in width over time (e.g. moving from 9-abreast to 10-abreast on their 777s), they haven’t given up on giving an industry-leading amount of legroom. Even the airline’s newest 777s still advertise 34″ seat pitch, which is great.
Do note that ANA is just committed to this level of seat pitch on their longhaul jets – their domestic fleet has never promised this amount of legroom, and their regional fleet (including their 787s) only have 31″ pitch.
Although ANA has made lots of changes to seat width onboard their planes, they seem to remain committed to offering 34″ seat pitch
Japan Airlines economy – 33″ seat pitch
On the same lines, Japan Airlines also features 33″ seat pitch on virtually their entire longhaul fleet. Even their new A350s that debuted in 2023 feature similar seat pitch in economy class. The two main Japanese airlines really seem to invest in different parts of the passenger experience compared to the rest of the world (for example, their business class lounges are really mediocre), though they certainly don’t skimp on legroom on longer flights.
Once again, this is limited to Japan Airlines’ longhaul fleet – their shorthaul fleet features 31″ of seat pitch in economy class.
Japan Airlines’ A350s feature 33″ seat pitch in economy, and they have 34″ seat pitch on their other aircraft
Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” economy – 33″ pitch
Qantas’ current economy class features a 31″ seat pitch. However, they’re planning on introducing a new “Project Sunrise” economy class on their A350XLRs, which will fly ultra-long routes such as Sydney to London and New York (clocking in at ~20 hours). The airline is planning to introduce an economy cabin on those jets, though promises a 33″ pitch.
Qantas’ upcoming “Project Sunrise” economy cabin will feature 33″ pitch
What about Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines, etc.?
I’ve heard many great things about economy class on Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. I’ve also heard great things about Cathay Pacific economy class (it’s been a while since I’ve flown them longhaul, though I’m going to soon). While I’m sure that the seats are great, and I particularly respect Singapore Airlines keeping a 3-3-3 configuration on their 777s, all of these planes feature a 32″ pitch in economy class.
32″ is still on the generous end of things (more than 31″ on European carriers), though we’re taking an “every inch makes a difference” approach to this post, so I won’t include those airlines. Many airlines in Asia have 32″ seat pitch on their planes, including most Chinese carriers, Southeast Asian carriers such as Malaysian and Thai, and Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Qatar and Gulf Air (Etihad features a 31″ pitch).
Cathay Pacific’s economy class features 32″ seat pitch – comfortable, but not industry-leading
Conclusion
The closest industry-standard measure of legroom on airlines is seat pitch, since there currently isn’t an industry-wide measurement for actual usable legroom. Out of the airlines currently flying, Air Premia and StarFlyer lead the way, following by Korean Air, Oman Air, and Japanese giants ANA and Japan Airlines.
While there are a few other factors that affect legroom (mainly how you tall you are, but also how thick the seatback is), a larger seat pitch usually translates to a higher level of investment in the economy class hard product, as it directly affects how many seats you can fit throughout the cabin. While there are multiple airlines offering less seat pitch that also offer a great economy class experience, the above airlines are unique in the amount of seat pitch they offer, which generally translates to very generous legroom.
Have I missed any airlines that have also 33″ or more of seat pitch? What’s your favourite airline to fly in economy class?
